Press Release

Scouts’ honour?

31 January 2008

If you must discriminate against the non-religious, be honest about it!

Following a meeting at the Scout Association, the British Humanist Association and National Secular Society have written a joint letter to Derek Twine, the Association’s chief executive, demanding that if they are unwilling to change their policy of excluding people with non-religious beliefs from Scouting, they should at least be honest about it on their website and in their publications and communications.

The meeting was arranged to discuss a joint submission from the BHA and NSS to the Scout Association which called on the Association to open its doors to the growing number of young people with non-religious beliefs (some 65% of 12-19 year olds) who are currently excluded by the requirement to make the Scout promise to God, and to adults who are currently prevented from obtaining a warranted appointment.

“We were disappointed by the Scout Association’s response to our arguments”, said BHA chief executive, Hanne Stinson. “It was quite clear that there was no prospect of any change on the mandatory religious promise soon or in the foreseeable future, and they did not seem in the least concerned about the impact of their discriminatory policy on young people, or on society.”

“The way they described the Scout Association was as a religious organisation (Mike Goodison, the Chair of Association, said that one of its purposes was for Scouts to grow in a ‘full expression of their faith’), but if that is the case, it is quite unacceptable for the Scouts to present themselves as ‘inclusive’ and ‘open to all’ as they do on their website and in other material.  At local level, the Scouts obtain considerable amounts of statutory funding, and last year the Scout Association received a grant of £1.5 million from the Government for its international jamboree, on the basis of their inclusivity. And that is quite simply dishonest.”

The joint letter to the Scout Association concluded: “We invite you in the interests of transparency, and indeed of honesty, to make unambiguously clear in your communications that the organisation is a religious one and to proscribe the Association and local groups from claiming to be open to all, inclusive, or committed to equal opportunities. We ask you to include an accurate description of the Association on websites and in promotional materials and, even more importantly, in communications with potential donors and public bodies making grants or making facilities available free or at a subsidy.”