Guides and Scouts: beyond belief

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/03/guides-scouts-pledge-religion-atheism

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Think discrimination, and a beaming Brown Owl is probably about the last thing that will pop into your head. In recent years, however, the Scouts and the Guides agitated for – and received – a bespoke exemption from civil rights laws to allow them to turn people away on grounds of faith, or more specifically because of its absence. Naturally, there is nothing as crass as a Baden-Powell get-out clause on the face of the 2006 and 2010 Equality Acts, but – aside from the Masons – it is hard to think who else could be served by a carve-out for organisations which, while not strictly religious, expect members to make a pious pledge.

It is an appalling position, although happily one which the movement itself now realises must change. The Scouts recently launched a debate about their own "fundamentals" with a view to accepting atheists without requiring a hypocritical oath to the almighty. Then – in a concurrent, but apparently coincidental move – Girlguiding UK signalled a consultation on a Godless Guide promise. Characteristically, the Guides are showing a bit more nerve by also reviewing their salute to the Queen, something the Scouts want to keep.

Change will be a victory for the British Humanist Association, which has campaigned for equal scouting rights, and says that complaints from atheist parents and would-be volunteers jostles with school worship as the single biggest issue in its postbag. In the end, however, change will also be of benefit to the scouting family itself. More than a century on from the foundation of both organisations, during the Edwardian twilight of empire, the popularity of guiding and scouting remains surprisingly buoyant – the undimmed appeal of shared adventurous activity outweighs the uniformed anachronisms. But the waiting lists that attach to many local troops would suggest enthusiasm among adult volunteers has not kept pace with the youngsters. With the census last month showing a near-doubling of nonbelievers in the decade to 2011, no sane organisation seeking volunteers should want to cut itself off from this fast-growing band.

Despite their fusty pledges, Scouts and Guides have not survived without adapting before. Pledges for non-Christian believers were introduced 40 years ago. Soon after came the first of the girl Scouts, who by last year were being recruited faster than boys. More recently, as economic recession triggered a slump in civic volunteering, both organisations strove to accommodate an insecure workforce; shift staff with unpredictable hours might be unable to make a weekly commitment, but through more flexible rotas their help can still be tapped. Ditching discrimination against nonbelievers is thus only the latest case of scouting meeting the modern world – with a resolve to be prepared.