What is the Girl Scout position on atheism?

[riverdale]

I had always been under the impression that Girl Scouts did not propagate the same prejudices that Boy Scouts do. Then I downloaded the registration form and read the Girl Scout promise, "On my honor, I will try:
To serve God and my country,
To help people at all times,
And to live by the Girl Scout Law."
Why is there religious language in this promise? What is the Girl Scout position on atheism?

[Midlodemocrat]

1. There isn't one.

:shrug:

[ingac70]

2. The Girl Scouts is a private organization...

and the religious language has been there more or less since its inception.

GSUSA upholds a "don't ask, don't tell" policy on sexuality

[yardwork]

3. I think its probably don't ask don't tell.

[annabanana]

4. I have not heard of any theocrats getting belligerent about it yet.

so. . . shhhhhh. . It hasn't been an issue.

[SteppingRazor]

5. It makes God cry.

:popcorn:




Kidding aside, I believe the Girl Scouts has a specific statement that atheistic girls are not required to say that part of the promise, or may substitute their own wording.

As for the Boy Scouts, while there's similar platitudes in the Scout Oath, just how religious the organization is varies greatly from troop to troop. I'm an Eagle Scout, and I got through the whole thing without ever having to do anything religiously oriented.


On edit: See this section of the Girl Scouts wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl_Scouts_of_the_USA#To_Serve_God_in_the_Promise

[riverdale]

15. Thanks for the link. This still excludes atheists though.

From Wikipedia:
Since the belief in a spiritual principle is fundamental to Girl Scouting, not the word used to define that belief, it is important that individuals have the opportunity to express that belief in wording meaningful to them. It is essential to maintain the spiritual foundation of Girl Scouting, yet be inclusive of the full range of spiritual beliefs.

[gollygee]

18. "Spiritual principal" can mean a lot of things

You can replace God with humankind, the earth, etc. They just mean "something bigger than myself" but it doesn't have to be something supernatural.

[AlCzervik]

6. i was a troop leader and i'm an atheist. religion was never promoted and the girls

were free to omit the word "God" from the pledge.

[jody]

7. The Girl Scout Promise has an * beside the word "God" and the following interpretation.

"* The word 'God' can be interpreted in a number of ways, depending on one's spiritual beliefs. When reciting the Girl Scout Promise, it is okay to replace the word 'God' with whatever word your spiritual beliefs dictate."

See http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_central/promise_law/

[Arugula Latte]

8. I would like to replace the word 'God' with 'Sauvignon Blanc'

:9

[jody]

11. OK if you mean the product of the grape variety sauvignon blanc . My glass is always empty and

ready for a :toast:

[Smarmie Doofus]

9. They don't believe in it.! Agnosticism? They're not sure.

Sorry.

[gollygee]

10. They don't have a problem with it

My daughter is a girl scout. The official line is that the word "god" can be used figuratively or replaced with something else.

http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_central/promise_law/

The word "God" can be interpreted in a number of ways, depending on one's spiritual beliefs. When reciting the Girl Scout Promise, it is okay to replace the word "God" with whatever word your spiritual beliefs dictate.

[Zhade]

32. So atheists, having no religion, can simply omit it?

Seems fair.

[kestrel91316]

12. I was in Girl Scouts several years and never heard word one about

God or religion except for that bit in the oath. It was totally secular as far as I could tell.

[WolverineDG]

13. The position of GSA is to accept all girls

regardless of religious belief or sexual orientation. :patriot:

dg

[rucky]

16. That's more than the Boy Scouts can say.

I don't think they accept any girls.

[WolverineDG]

19. They're accepted in the Explorer Program

At one time, I was a card-carrying Girl Scout AND Boy Scout. :crazy:

dg

[Xithras]

24. Yep, my daughter is a BSA Explorer.

She just did a 4 day backcountry hike in the Emigrant Wilderness last month. Mucho fun, and she loves the fact that both genders are welcome (hanky panky is strictly forbidden between scouts though).

I was a BSA ASM & CSDL for many years, and IMO the religion thing is overblown. Unless you get in a fundie troop, it's never an issue. Hell, I'm bi an nobody cared about that either. BSA and CS groups are generally run by the parents, and will reflect whatever values those parents hold.

[Captiosus]

35. Thank you.

I've been saying this for years. The religion aspect is WAY overblown because of one national case.

In my time in the BSA: 6 years youth, 8 years ASM, only once did the troop I've been a member of have a Troop Chaplain. Once. And he only took it to fulfill his leadership responsibility for a rank.

We were never forced to go to services on any campout. In fact, if God was ever brought up at a campout, it usually involved someone doing something and saying "GOD DAMN IT!" as they tripped over a tree, cut themselves, stepped a little too close to the fire.

While I pressure the BSA as much as I can for their intolerant National policy, their National policy means little on a troop by troop scale. Religion in my troop is don't ask, don't tell. Sexual orientation in my troop is don't ask, don't tell. We never once had a leader who went around telling people that "homosexuality is an abomination" or quoting bible scripture. I don't doubt that such fundie troops exist and I'm willing to bet there are fundie Girl Scout troops as well.

[Fuzz]

14. Both my daughters are Girl Scouts, I'm an atheist.

Strange thing though, my oldest is the one who always comes up with ideas, with no prompting from my wife or I, for the troop to do charitable things. True story. The troop leader is caught off guard every time too.

[foxfeet]

17. The Girl Scouts are light years ahead of the Boy Scouts in their inclusiveness.

The boys could learn a thing or two from them.

[goddess40]

20. I don't think there as been a case of a girl being kick out

as with the evil boy scouts. I hate the boy scouts for their intolerance and their teaching of intolerance and hate.

[Captiosus]

36. "Evil Boy Scouts"?

You have a lot of room to talk about intolerance and hate when your post is full of intolerance and hate.

All I see is a lot of presumption. I see someone who hears the word "Boy Scouts" and thinks we're all a bunch of bible thumping, gay bashing, boys who are one step away from being some sort of New American Hitler Youth. This makes it apparently clear that you have never dealt with the Boy Scouts at all.

The number of activities which I have been involved number in the hundreds. Of them, the number of where we were subject to forced religion: zero. The number where any adult leader or committee member talked about homosexuality: zero. The number of meetings my troop has dedicated in the last 14 years for discussing religion: zero. The number of meetings my troop has dedicated in the last 14 years for discussing sexual orientation: zero. We have Muslim scouts in this troop, Buddhist scouts (and a leader) in this troop, Christian and Jewish scouts and leaders in this troop, and, yes, we even have a couple of scouts who proclaim to be atheists and no one's thrown them under the bus.

There are no gay bashing, bible thumping exhibits at the National Jamboree.
Nor are there any in the Order of the Arrow.
During the adult conference after a meeting back in the early 2000s, when Virginia was going further to ban gay marriage, the Troop Scoutmaster, the three other Assistants and myself had an at length discussion about it - and we were all uniformly opposed to it. Five adult scouters in full "Class A" Uniforms discussing Equal Rights for homosexual couples... *gasp*!

No, I am NOT happy with the National Council's stance on atheism and sexual orientation. It makes me sick and I'm certainly not on the National Council or Colonial Virginia Council's christmas card list for some of the letters I've sent them. Regardless, local Troops often steer clear of talking of sensitive topics like religion and sexuality. They're certainly not out there selling that crap ass Trail's End Popcorn to buy a new case of Bibles for all the scouts.

However, don't you dare demean the work I, and hundreds of other adults and scouts, have done for the community and for the environment. The adults and scouts in the troop I am in have made significant differences in the lives of people in this community for over 90 years. In the last 14 years, I have personally been involved with, or organized: monthly recycling drives, environmental service projects, food drives beyond the annual National one, working in homeless shelters, working in food banks, volunteering time and materials to public parks for their maintenance and upkeep.. just to name a few.

While this will make me sound like an egotistical ass, the fact remains: I, and the scouts of my troop, have done more for the environment over the course of the last 14 years than most people do in their lifetime.

If that makes me "evil", so be it.
I close with one of my original sigs.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

21. The Girl Scouts are much cooler than the Boy Scouts. I didn't allow my sons join the Boy Scouts.

[Sabriel]

22. Here's why we're not in Girl Scouts

One of the activities they had planned for the winter was a Christmas-card-making session, after which they would distribute them at a local nursing home, along with singing Christmas carols there.

So I asked the troop leader, "Isn't Girl Scouts non-denominational?" Her answer, "Of course! We have girls who are Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian...."

I think she missed my point. The Christmas activities stayed, so we left.

[gollygee]

23. Your particular troop might not have been non-denominationl

And, for instance, there are patches for troops that are predominately Islamic or Jewish if they do an event about their religion. I can't find the religious Islamic patch I saw on some girls' vests at an event last year - I see the patch this year is more secular:



But Girl Scouts overall is supposed to be able to work for the particular group. So if everyone in a group IS Christian, they can have events for that, but it should only happen if everyone really is Christian. My daughter's troop has Christian, Jewish, Islamic, and atheist girls, so the troop's events are all very inclusive.

[Fuzz]

25. One of my daughter's troop leaders is Jewish

[undeterred]

26. They aren't parallel organizations.

I was in it through high school and there was no religious emphasis. No freaking out about homosexuality. My girl scout leader's daughter somehow got pregnant while we were at camp (there must have been a hole in the fence!) So we used to say "Scouting rounds a girl out." :hi:

[Forkboy]

27. With cookies like those mint chocolate ones they could be Satanists for all I care.

Actually, come to mention it, I would prefer that they were Satanists. :P

[Zhade]

33. mmmmm, thin mints

:drool:

[sofa king]

28. Because in the 1950s, if you didn't mention God, you were a Communist.

That's when our Pledge of Allegiance became a pledge to God, and that's also when (1956) "In God We Trust" became our motto.

There is, however, an interesting footnote to the Girl Scouts pledge:

"* The word "God" can be interpreted in a number of ways, depending on one's spiritual beliefs. When reciting the Girl Scout Promise, it is okay to replace the word "God" with whatever word your spiritual beliefs dictate."

I do believe I'm going to start lobbying my niece to insert "Flying Spaghetti Monster" in her version of the pledge. She's really only a fair-weather Pastafarian, leaving off her support whenever there are tomatoes involved, but the Flying Spaghetti Monster understands.

[KitchenWitch]

34. RAmen!

[rug]

29. God created Thin Mints.

Now don't go ruin it for us.

[riverdale]

30. Best argument for gods I've seen yet

I gave in and signed my daughter up. I am a hard core atheist, but I have to reign it back when it's preventing my kids from doing something that is fun.

[RainDog]

31. amen.

you deserve a duzy for that understated beauty.