Scouting controversy and conflict
Encyclopedia
Scouting
has sometimes become entangled in social controversies such as the civil rights
struggle in the American South and in nationalist resistance movements in India
. Scouting was introduced to Africa
by British
officials as an instrument of colonial
authority but became a subversive challenge to the legitimacy of the British Empire
as Scouting fostered solidarity
amongst African Scouts
. There are also controversies and challenges within the Scout Movement itself such as current efforts to turn Scouts Canada
into a democratic organization. This article discusses historical and contemporary Scouting controversies and difficulties, with examples from various countries.
, which is now served by the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
(WAGGGS) and the World Organization of the Scout Movement
(WOSM). This sometimes results from groups or individuals who believe that the large international organizations have fallen away from the original ideals and seek to regain them or, conversely, they may consist of groups that refuse to follow the original ideals of Scouting but still desire to participate in Scout-like activities. There is a Traditional Scouting
movement that rejects the worldwide trend to "modernize" Scouting and supports a back to basics effort to return to Baden-Powell
's model of Scouting.
which has been practiced differently and given different interpretations over the years.
In contrast to the Christian
-only Boys' Brigade
which was started two decades earlier, Baden-Powell founded the Scout movement
as a youth organization (with boys as 'Scouts' and girls as 'Guides') which was independent of any single faith
or religion
, yet still held that spirituality
and a belief in a higher power
were key to the development
of young people.
Scouting organizations are free to interpret the method as laid down by the founder. As the modern world has become more secular and as many societies have become more religiously diverse
, this has caused misunderstandings and controversies in some of the national member organizations. There are Scouting associations in some countries, such as France and Denmark, that are segregated on the basis of religious belief.
In 1933 some Scout groups broke away from the national Boy Scout organization De Nederlandse Padvinders (NPV, Netherlands Pathfinders) to form the Padvinders Vereniging Nederland (PVN, Pathfinder Association of the Netherlands), because difficulties concerning the Scout Promise
arose. The problem was that boys who did not recognize a god still had to promise "To do my duty to God" and the groups were concerned that this could turn those boys into hypocrites. A Roman Catholic organization was founded in 1938, the Katholieke Verkenners (KV, Catholic Scouts) because the Dutch Roman Catholic bishops decided that Catholic youth cannot be under the control of an association whose governing board was not all Catholic. The NPV and the PVN almost reunited in 1940. All Dutch Scout and Guide organizations merged in 1973 into Scouting Nederland (SN).
The Dutch Scout Promise
is one of the few in the world where the reference to God is optional as it has been granted an exception under WOSM
guidelines.
under the Taliban, Malawi
and Iran
. Banning has caused Scouting to go underground in countries such as Poland
, Franco's Spain
, and Yugoslavia
. The USSR banned Scouting in 1922, creating a separate Young Pioneer organization of the Soviet Union
, which gave birth to the Pioneer Movement
, still existing in some fashion in the People's Republic of China, Cuba
, North Korea
, Vietnam
, and Tajikistan
.
Prior to World War II
, Germany
, Italy
, Japan
, Hungary
, and Romania
disbanded Scouting. Instead, Germany created the Hitler-Jugend
(Hitler Youth) organization; Mussolini had a fascist youth organization, the Balilla
; and Romania under King Carol II of Romania
had the Străjeria.
Currently, there are no externally recognized Scouting organizations in Cuba
, North Korea
, Laos
, Myanmar
, and the People's Republic of China
(except for the special administrative regions
Hong Kong
and Macau
).
were founded. In the following years more local groups emerged, but they were not connected through a national association until 1927 when the Asociación de Scouts de Cuba (ASC) was founded. In the same year the association became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement
(WOSM). During its first years, Cuban Scouting followed mainly the model of the Boy Scouts of America
.
Scouting existed in Cuba itself until the 1960s, when Cuban Scouting ceased operations after the Cuban revolution
of 1959. Cuban Scouts rendered service during those times, directing traffic, collecting rations, helping in hospitals and establishing first aid stations. In 1961, the World Scout Conference terminated the WOSM membership of ASC claiming that they had ceased to exist. Communist leaders replaced the association with the José Martí Pioneer Organization
. There is a Cubans-in-exile Association.
Cuba is now one of only six of the world's independent countries that do not have Scouting
. Cuba was also a former member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
, with the Asociación de Guías de Cuba last mentioned in 1969.
, of which the Wandervogel
was a part. German Scouting flourished until 1934-35, when nearly all associations were closed and their members had to join the Hitler Youth
. In West Germany
and West Berlin
, Scouting was reestablished after 1945, but it was banned in East Germany until 1990 in favor of the Thälmann Pioneers
and the Free German Youth
(FDJ). Currently, Scouting is present in all parts of the unified Federal Republic of Germany
and consists of about 150 different associations and federations with about 260,000 Scouts and Girl Guides.
by the order of Tsar
Nicholas II
. In 1909, the first Russian Scout troop was organized and in 1914, a society
called Russian Scout, was established. Scouting spread rapidly across Russia and into Siberia
.
After the October Revolution
of 1917 and during the Russian Civil War
from 1917 to 1921, most of the Scoutmasters and many Scouts fought in the ranks of the White Army and interventionists against the Red Army
. Some Scout
s took the Bolsheviks' side, which would lead to the establishment of ideologically-altered Scoutlike organizations, such as ЮК (Юные Коммунисты, or young communists; pronounced as yuk) and others.
Between 1918 and 1920, the second, third, and fourth All-Russian Congresses of the Russian Union of the Communist Youth decided to eradicate the Scout movement and create an organization of the communist type that would take youth under its umbrella. In 1922, the second All-Russian Komsomol Conference decided to create Pioneer
units all over the country; these units were united later that year as the Young Pioneer organization of the Soviet Union
.
The Soviet Union
(USSR), which included Russia, was established in 1922 and dissolved in 1991. In 1990, the Russian Congress of People's Deputies with Boris Yeltsin
as its chairman declared Russia's sovereignty over its territory.
The Young Pioneer organization was broken up in 1990 and the same year the Scout Movement began to reemerge when relaxation of government restrictions allowed youth organizations to be formed to fill the void left by the Pioneers, with various factions competing for recognition. Some former Pioneer leaders have formed Scout groups and there is some controversy as to their motivations in doing so (see Eurasian Scout Region controversies).
The Russian Association of Scouts/Navigators
is now a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement
(WOSM). It is co-educational and has 13,920 members as of 2004.
, founded in 1920. Scouting associations have been excluded or expelled from international Scouting organizations for various reasons.
was one of the first Arab
nations to embrace the Scouting
movement, launching its program in 1921, just two years after the League of Nations
had created the country out of the old Ottoman Empire
. Iraq was a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement
from 1922 to 1940, and again from 1956 to 1999.
After the Baath Party
took control in 1968 and especially after Saddam Hussein
seized power in 1979, youth groups were retooled to serve the state. One replacement program, Saddam Cubs, offered "summer camps" where 10 to 15 year-old boys had up to 14-hour days filled with hand-to-hand fighting drills. In 1990, during the period when the Iraq Boy Scouts and Girl Guides Council was recognized by WOSM, there were 12,000 Scouts, however by 1999, Iraq had been expelled from the WOSM.
An Iraqi Scouts Initiative committee was formed by Americans in 2004 to formally re-establish a legal, recognized, and fully functioning Scouting program in Iraq. Since then, the movement has been taken over by Iraqis and is now run exclusively by them.
The Scout program is open to boys and girls of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and allows for local nuances to shape various regional program options. Iraqi Scouts are involved in community service such as helping police with traffic control, giving first aid, cultivating cotton, planting trees and helping during natural disasters. A National Iraqi Scouting Headquarters is envisioned for Baghdad
and five national Scout camps are also planned.
(BSA) takes a strong position, excluding atheists and agnostics, while Girl Scouts of the USA
takes a more neutral position. The United Kingdom Scout Association
requires adult leaders to acknowledge a higher power, but does not necessarily exclude atheists from roles in Scouting, as long as the local Commissioner is satisfied that the applicant leader will support the values of Scouting and the investigation of faith by the young people in the movement. Scouts Canada
defines Duty to God broadly in terms of "adherence to spiritual principles" and does not require members to be part of an organized religion, but does require that they have some form of "personal spirituality" . In other countries, especially in Europe, some Scouting organizations may be secularist
or religiously neutral (such as Eclaireuses et Eclaireurs de France
and Corpo Nazionale Giovani Esploratori ed Esploratrici Italiani
).
, the country's only WOSM member, believes that Scouting should reflect traditional family values
. The Girl Scouts of the USA
, by contrast, maintain a more neutral "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Homosexual people are not restricted from membership or leadership positions in Scouts Canada
, Scouts Australia
, and most European associations, including The Scout Association
of the United Kingdom
, Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände
of Germany
(German Scout Federation), and the Swedish Guide and Scout Association
.
, the largest youth organization in the United States
, has policies which prohibit atheists, agnostics
, and known or avowed homosexuals
from membership in its Scouting program; both youths and adults have had their memberships revoked as a result. The BSA contends that these policies are essential in its mission to instill in young people the values of the Scout Oath and Law. The BSA also prohibits girls from participating in Cub Scouting and Boy Scouting. These policies are controversial and are considered by some to be discriminatory.
The organization's legal right to have these policies has been upheld repeatedly by both state and federal courts
. The Supreme Court of the United States
in its Boy Scouts of America v. Dale
decision, affirmed that as a private organization, the BSA can set its own membership standards. In recent years, the policy disputes have led to litigation over the terms under which the BSA can access governmental resources including public lands. In 1914, the BSA gave local councils the power to ban African Americans from Scouting. Until 1974, some southern councils of the Boy Scouts of America were still racially segregated.
WOSM requires member National Scout Organizations to reference "duty to God" in their Scout Promises (see WOSM Scout Promise requirements). This requirement causes difficulties for atheists and agnostics seeking Scouting membership.
n Scout Region's top hierarchy are former Pioneer
leaders. The primary goal of the Pioneers, whose membership was compulsory, was the indoctrination of youth into Communism
. To complicate matters, these organizations adopted many of the trappings of the Scout organizations they supplanted. Because of the negative experience with the Communist youth organizations, Scouting in the Eurasian Region is having a slow rebirth. Proponents see the inheritance of Pioneer work and properties in a positive light. Opponents have seen the Eurasian Region as a tool that would allow former Pioneers to keep their influence over postSoviet youth movements, and use their newfound connections outside the region for their own gain. Even the placement of the Regional headquarters at the historic Pioneer Camp Artek
at Yalta appears to many to point to this Pioneer dominance. Opponents also question the fact that authoritarian Belarus was a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, against WOSM's stated guidelines, while democratic neighbor Ukraine is not a WOSM member. In the years following its creation, the Eurasian Region was considered by some to have stagnated in its purpose: among other things, the official website was not updated between 2004 and February 2006.
Alternate solutions proposed at the time of the Soviet breakup
, and still considered viable options by the critics of the Eurasian Region, would be to divide the Region into the previously existing European, Asia-Pacific, or Arab Scout Regions, along cultural lines and national preference, to provide Scouts fresh perspective. As the Baltic states-Estonia
, Lithuania
and Latvia
-have joined the European Region, there is precedence for this solution. In addition, there is no corresponding Eurasian Region for the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
, the republics are divided geographically between WAGGGS' Europe Region
and Asia Pacific Region
. Besides their shared tsarist and Soviet past, the 12 members of the Eurasian Region have little in common. Some, like Armenia and Azerbaijan, have waged war on each other, some like Georgia and Ukraine, allow open opposition, while others, like Belarus and Turkmenistan, have turned to authoritarianism reminiscent of Soviet times. Further, as none of the republics have had their Scout movements returned for much more than a decade, it is viewed that they would benefit from the expertise of the neighboring Scout associations in those Regions.
, which are divided by language.
Some members of Scouts Canada are upset with Scouts Canada's restructuring, including a loss of voting rights at the local level. In response, SCOUT eh!
was founded in 2004, an organization consisting of "registered Scouts Canada members from across Canada dedicated to transforming Scouts Canada into a democratic association".
In 1998, the Baden-Powell Scouts of Canada
(B-PSAC) were established in Canada
, rejecting the modernization of the Scout method
by WOSM and Scouts Canada. Scouts Canada challenged the association and successfully argued that the word "Scout", in the context of a youth organization in Canada, is a trademark held by Scouts Canada. Part of the 1999 action also attempted, unsuccessfully, to deny the B-PSAC permission to use Baden-Powell's name.
Scouts Canada refuse to recognise B-PSAC members as Scouts, stating of Scout associations that "every country has only one that's how Baden Powell set up scouting", despite the fact that there are two WOSM recognised associations in Canada, and that Baden-Powell originally intended for Scouts Patrols to operate in a range of organisations.
The B-PSAC no longer use the title Scout, and have reformed as the Baden-Powell Service Association Federation of Canada. Scouts Canada continue to monitor the B-PSA, and will not allow their members to share resources, equipment or personnel with them.
The absence of real military aspects does not mean that Baden-Powell was anti-military. His efforts for peace became stronger in time, making him anti-war, but he disapproved of anti-militarism. He even did not see any harm in training in a military way. One reason for not using military items can been seen from his reaction on the Boys Brigade. It was the intention of Baden-Powell to make an attractive boys game and he thought that the military was not attractive enough. The second reason was that some parents would object military training, which would limit the reach of Scouting. There was probably another reason. The centre of his Scout method
was individuality (opposite to the group), making own decisions (opposite to following the commander), doing good turns, self-learning (opposite to instruction by drill) and a game based on theatre and "make believe". These would never survive in a military scheme. Baden-Powell did use some parts of his profession which he found useful, like the uniform and some names, but these are always externals, never the essential fighting intention of military nor specific military techniques.
Scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....
has sometimes become entangled in social controversies such as the civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
struggle in the American South and in nationalist resistance movements in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Scouting was introduced to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
by British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
officials as an instrument of colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
authority but became a subversive challenge to the legitimacy of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
as Scouting fostered solidarity
Solidarity (sociology)
Solidarity is the integration, and degree and type of integration, shown by a society or group with people and their neighbors. It refers to the ties in a society - social relations - that bind people to one another. The term is generally employed in sociology and the other social sciences.What...
amongst African Scouts
Boy Scout
A Scout is a boy or a girl, usually 11 to 18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split this age group into a junior and a senior section...
. There are also controversies and challenges within the Scout Movement itself such as current efforts to turn Scouts Canada
Scouts Canada
Scouts Canada is a Canadian Scouting association that, in affiliation with the French-language Association des Scouts du Canada, is a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement...
into a democratic organization. This article discusses historical and contemporary Scouting controversies and difficulties, with examples from various countries.
Breakaway Scouting organizations
Over the years, Scouting organizations have broken away from the mainstream Scout MovementScouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....
, which is now served by the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is a global association supporting the female-oriented and female-only Scouting organizations in 145 countries. It was established in 1928 and has its headquarters in London, England. It is the counterpart of the World Organization of the Scout...
(WAGGGS) and the World Organization of the Scout Movement
World Organization of the Scout Movement
The World Organization of the Scout Movement is the Non-governmental international organization which governs most national Scout Organizations, with 31 million members. WOSM was established in 1920, and has its headquarters at Geneva, Switzerland...
(WOSM). This sometimes results from groups or individuals who believe that the large international organizations have fallen away from the original ideals and seek to regain them or, conversely, they may consist of groups that refuse to follow the original ideals of Scouting but still desire to participate in Scout-like activities. There is a Traditional Scouting
Traditional Scouting
The Traditional Scouting movement refers to a back to basics effort that returns Scouting to a scheme intentionally based on Baden-Powell's own model of Scouting; rejecting the world-wide trend to "modernize" Scouting in order to appeal to more youths. This movement is very popular in Canada and...
movement that rejects the worldwide trend to "modernize" Scouting and supports a back to basics effort to return to Baden-Powell
Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell
Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, Bt, OM, GCMG, GCVO, KCB , also known as B-P or Lord Baden-Powell, was a lieutenant-general in the British Army, writer, and founder of the Scout Movement....
's model of Scouting.
Religious conflict
Religion in Scouting and Guiding is an aspect of the Scout methodScout method
The Scout method is the informal educational system used by Scouting. The aim of Scouting is character training with the goal of helping participants become independent and helpful,and thereby become "healthy, happy, helpful citizens"....
which has been practiced differently and given different interpretations over the years.
In contrast to the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
-only Boys' Brigade
Boys' Brigade
For the 80s New Wave band from Canada, see Boys Brigade .The Boys' Brigade is an interdenominational Christian youth organisation, conceived by William Alexander Smith to combine drill and fun activities with Christian values...
which was started two decades earlier, Baden-Powell founded the Scout movement
Scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....
as a youth organization (with boys as 'Scouts' and girls as 'Guides') which was independent of any single faith
Faith
Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...
or religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, yet still held that spirituality
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
and a belief in a higher power
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
were key to the development
Personal development
Personal development includes activities that improve awareness and identity, develop talents and potential, build human capital and facilitates employability, enhance quality of life and contribute to the realization of dreams and aspirations...
of young people.
Scouting organizations are free to interpret the method as laid down by the founder. As the modern world has become more secular and as many societies have become more religiously diverse
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
, this has caused misunderstandings and controversies in some of the national member organizations. There are Scouting associations in some countries, such as France and Denmark, that are segregated on the basis of religious belief.
The Netherlands
In 1933 some Scout groups broke away from the national Boy Scout organization De Nederlandse Padvinders (NPV, Netherlands Pathfinders) to form the Padvinders Vereniging Nederland (PVN, Pathfinder Association of the Netherlands), because difficulties concerning the Scout Promise
Scout Promise
Since the publication of Scouting for Boys in 1908, all Scouts and Guides around the world have taken a Scout promise or oath to live up to ideals of the movement, and subscribed to a Scout Law. The wording of the Scout Promise and Scout Law have varied slightly over time and from country to...
arose. The problem was that boys who did not recognize a god still had to promise "To do my duty to God" and the groups were concerned that this could turn those boys into hypocrites. A Roman Catholic organization was founded in 1938, the Katholieke Verkenners (KV, Catholic Scouts) because the Dutch Roman Catholic bishops decided that Catholic youth cannot be under the control of an association whose governing board was not all Catholic. The NPV and the PVN almost reunited in 1940. All Dutch Scout and Guide organizations merged in 1973 into Scouting Nederland (SN).
The Dutch Scout Promise
Scout Promise
Since the publication of Scouting for Boys in 1908, all Scouts and Guides around the world have taken a Scout promise or oath to live up to ideals of the movement, and subscribed to a Scout Law. The wording of the Scout Promise and Scout Law have varied slightly over time and from country to...
is one of the few in the world where the reference to God is optional as it has been granted an exception under WOSM
World Organization of the Scout Movement
The World Organization of the Scout Movement is the Non-governmental international organization which governs most national Scout Organizations, with 31 million members. WOSM was established in 1920, and has its headquarters at Geneva, Switzerland...
guidelines.
Governmental banning of Scouting
Scouting has been banned in certain nations and remains banned in some of them. Scouting was banned in nearly all Communist countries, most Fascist countries, and some countries with totalitarian regimes such as AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
under the Taliban, Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. Banning has caused Scouting to go underground in countries such as Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Franco's Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. The USSR banned Scouting in 1922, creating a separate Young Pioneer organization of the Soviet Union
Young Pioneer organization of the Soviet Union
The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer...
, which gave birth to the Pioneer Movement
Pioneer movement
A pioneer movement is an organization for children operated by a communist party. Typically children enter into the organization in elementary school and continue until adolescence. The adolescents then typically joined the Young Communist League...
, still existing in some fashion in the People's Republic of China, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, and Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
.
Prior to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, and Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
disbanded Scouting. Instead, Germany created the Hitler-Jugend
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...
(Hitler Youth) organization; Mussolini had a fascist youth organization, the Balilla
Opera Nazionale Balilla
thumb|240px|A young balilla in [[Piazza Venezia]].Opera Nazionale Balilla was an Italian Fascist youth organization functioning, as an addition to school education, between 1926 and 1937 .It was named after Balilla, the moniker of Giovan Battista Perasso,...
; and Romania under King Carol II of Romania
Carol II of Romania
Carol II reigned as King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until 6 September 1940. Eldest son of Ferdinand, King of Romania, and his wife, Queen Marie, a daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second eldest son of Queen Victoria...
had the Străjeria.
Currently, there are no externally recognized Scouting organizations in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
, Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, and the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
(except for the special administrative regions
Special administrative region (People's Republic of China)
A special administrative region is a provincial-level administrative division of the People's Republic of China, for which creation is provided by Article 31 of the 1982 Constitution of the People's Republic of China Article 31 reads "The state may establish special administrative regions when...
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
).
Cuba
In 1914, the first Scout groups in CubaCuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
were founded. In the following years more local groups emerged, but they were not connected through a national association until 1927 when the Asociación de Scouts de Cuba (ASC) was founded. In the same year the association became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement
World Organization of the Scout Movement
The World Organization of the Scout Movement is the Non-governmental international organization which governs most national Scout Organizations, with 31 million members. WOSM was established in 1920, and has its headquarters at Geneva, Switzerland...
(WOSM). During its first years, Cuban Scouting followed mainly the model of the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
.
Scouting existed in Cuba itself until the 1960s, when Cuban Scouting ceased operations after the Cuban revolution
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
of 1959. Cuban Scouts rendered service during those times, directing traffic, collecting rations, helping in hospitals and establishing first aid stations. In 1961, the World Scout Conference terminated the WOSM membership of ASC claiming that they had ceased to exist. Communist leaders replaced the association with the José Martí Pioneer Organization
José Martí Pioneer Organization
Cuba's José Martí Pioneer Organization was established in 1961, created as a replacement for the banned Asociación de Scouts de Cuba.The organization gets its name from Cuban writer and nationalist hero José Martí....
. There is a Cubans-in-exile Association.
Cuba is now one of only six of the world's independent countries that do not have Scouting
Scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....
. Cuba was also a former member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is a global association supporting the female-oriented and female-only Scouting organizations in 145 countries. It was established in 1928 and has its headquarters in London, England. It is the counterpart of the World Organization of the Scout...
, with the Asociación de Guías de Cuba last mentioned in 1969.
Germany
German Scouting started in 1909. German Scouting later became involved with the German Youth MovementGerman Youth Movement
The German Youth Movement is a collective term for a cultural and educational movement that started in 1896. It consists of numerous associations of young people that focus on outdoor activities. The movement included German Scouting and the Wandervogel...
, of which the Wandervogel
Wandervogel
Wandervogel is the name adopted by a popular movement of German youth groups from 1896 onward. The name can be translated as rambling, hiking or wandering bird and the ethos is to shake off the restrictions of society and get back to nature and freedom...
was a part. German Scouting flourished until 1934-35, when nearly all associations were closed and their members had to join the Hitler Youth
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...
. In West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
and West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
, Scouting was reestablished after 1945, but it was banned in East Germany until 1990 in favor of the Thälmann Pioneers
Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation
The Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation, consisting of the Young Pioneers and the Thälmann Pioneers, was a youth organisation of schoolchildren aged 6 to 14, in East Germany...
and the Free German Youth
Free German Youth
The Free German Youth, also known as the FDJ , was the official socialist youth movement of the German Democratic Republic and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany....
(FDJ). Currently, Scouting is present in all parts of the unified Federal Republic of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and consists of about 150 different associations and federations with about 260,000 Scouts and Girl Guides.
Russia
In 1908, Baden-Powell's book Scouting for Boys came out in RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
by the order of Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Nicholas II
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
. In 1909, the first Russian Scout troop was organized and in 1914, a society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
called Russian Scout, was established. Scouting spread rapidly across Russia and into Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
.
After the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
of 1917 and during the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
from 1917 to 1921, most of the Scoutmasters and many Scouts fought in the ranks of the White Army and interventionists against the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
. Some Scout
Russian Association of Scouts/Navigators
The Russian Association of Scouts/Navigators , or RAS/N , is the national Scouting federation of Russia, which became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 2004...
s took the Bolsheviks' side, which would lead to the establishment of ideologically-altered Scoutlike organizations, such as ЮК (Юные Коммунисты, or young communists; pronounced as yuk) and others.
Between 1918 and 1920, the second, third, and fourth All-Russian Congresses of the Russian Union of the Communist Youth decided to eradicate the Scout movement and create an organization of the communist type that would take youth under its umbrella. In 1922, the second All-Russian Komsomol Conference decided to create Pioneer
Pioneer movement
A pioneer movement is an organization for children operated by a communist party. Typically children enter into the organization in elementary school and continue until adolescence. The adolescents then typically joined the Young Communist League...
units all over the country; these units were united later that year as the Young Pioneer organization of the Soviet Union
Young Pioneer organization of the Soviet Union
The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer...
.
The Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
(USSR), which included Russia, was established in 1922 and dissolved in 1991. In 1990, the Russian Congress of People's Deputies with Boris Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
as its chairman declared Russia's sovereignty over its territory.
The Young Pioneer organization was broken up in 1990 and the same year the Scout Movement began to reemerge when relaxation of government restrictions allowed youth organizations to be formed to fill the void left by the Pioneers, with various factions competing for recognition. Some former Pioneer leaders have formed Scout groups and there is some controversy as to their motivations in doing so (see Eurasian Scout Region controversies).
The Russian Association of Scouts/Navigators
Russian Association of Scouts/Navigators
The Russian Association of Scouts/Navigators , or RAS/N , is the national Scouting federation of Russia, which became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 2004...
is now a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement
World Organization of the Scout Movement
The World Organization of the Scout Movement is the Non-governmental international organization which governs most national Scout Organizations, with 31 million members. WOSM was established in 1920, and has its headquarters at Geneva, Switzerland...
(WOSM). It is co-educational and has 13,920 members as of 2004.
Exclusion of Scouting associations from international organizations
Most national Scouting associations have created international Scouting organizations to set standards for and to coordinate activities amongst member associations. There are at least six international organizations that serve several hundred national associations around the world. The largest international Scouting organization is the World Organization of the Scout MovementWorld Organization of the Scout Movement
The World Organization of the Scout Movement is the Non-governmental international organization which governs most national Scout Organizations, with 31 million members. WOSM was established in 1920, and has its headquarters at Geneva, Switzerland...
, founded in 1920. Scouting associations have been excluded or expelled from international Scouting organizations for various reasons.
Iraq
IraqIraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
was one of the first Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
nations to embrace the Scouting
Scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....
movement, launching its program in 1921, just two years after the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
had created the country out of the old Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. Iraq was a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement
World Organization of the Scout Movement
The World Organization of the Scout Movement is the Non-governmental international organization which governs most national Scout Organizations, with 31 million members. WOSM was established in 1920, and has its headquarters at Geneva, Switzerland...
from 1922 to 1940, and again from 1956 to 1999.
After the Baath Party
Baath Party
The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was a political party mixing Arab nationalist and Arab socialist interests, opposed to Western imperialism, and calling for the renaissance or resurrection and unification of the Arab world into a single state. Ba'ath is also spelled Ba'th or Baath and means...
took control in 1968 and especially after Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
seized power in 1979, youth groups were retooled to serve the state. One replacement program, Saddam Cubs, offered "summer camps" where 10 to 15 year-old boys had up to 14-hour days filled with hand-to-hand fighting drills. In 1990, during the period when the Iraq Boy Scouts and Girl Guides Council was recognized by WOSM, there were 12,000 Scouts, however by 1999, Iraq had been expelled from the WOSM.
An Iraqi Scouts Initiative committee was formed by Americans in 2004 to formally re-establish a legal, recognized, and fully functioning Scouting program in Iraq. Since then, the movement has been taken over by Iraqis and is now run exclusively by them.
The Scout program is open to boys and girls of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and allows for local nuances to shape various regional program options. Iraqi Scouts are involved in community service such as helping police with traffic control, giving first aid, cultivating cotton, planting trees and helping during natural disasters. A National Iraqi Scouting Headquarters is envisioned for Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
and five national Scout camps are also planned.
Exclusion of individuals from Scouting membership
Controversies have arisen from the exclusion of certain people, including atheists, agnostics, and/or LGBT people, from membership of some Scouting organisations; these are detailed below:Atheists and agnostics
"Duty to God" is a principle of Scouting worldwide, though it is applied differently among countries. The Boy Scouts of AmericaBoy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
(BSA) takes a strong position, excluding atheists and agnostics, while Girl Scouts of the USA
Girl Scouts of the USA
The Girl Scouts of the United States of America is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. It describes itself as "the world's preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls". It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912 and was organized after Low...
takes a more neutral position. The United Kingdom Scout Association
The Scout Association
The Scout Association is the World Organization of the Scout Movement recognised Scouting association in the United Kingdom. Scouting began in 1907 through the efforts of Robert Baden-Powell. The Scout Association was formed under its previous name, The Boy Scout Association, in 1910 by the grant...
requires adult leaders to acknowledge a higher power, but does not necessarily exclude atheists from roles in Scouting, as long as the local Commissioner is satisfied that the applicant leader will support the values of Scouting and the investigation of faith by the young people in the movement. Scouts Canada
Scouts Canada
Scouts Canada is a Canadian Scouting association that, in affiliation with the French-language Association des Scouts du Canada, is a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement...
defines Duty to God broadly in terms of "adherence to spiritual principles" and does not require members to be part of an organized religion, but does require that they have some form of "personal spirituality" . In other countries, especially in Europe, some Scouting organizations may be secularist
Secularism
Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
or religiously neutral (such as Eclaireuses et Eclaireurs de France
Eclaireuses et Eclaireurs de France
Eclaireuses et Eclaireurs de France is an interreligious and coeducational Scouting and Guiding association in France. The first interreligious Scouting groups in France were founded in 1911, and interreligious Guiding started in 1914; both movements merged in 1964 forming the EEdF...
and Corpo Nazionale Giovani Esploratori ed Esploratrici Italiani
Corpo Nazionale Giovani Esploratori ed Esploratrici Italiani
The Corpo Nazionale Giovani Esploratori ed Esploratrici Italiani is an Italian Scout and Guiding association that started its activities in 1913 with the support of Carlo Colombo following Baden Powell's method. CNGEI is the oldest of the Italian Scout associations and the third by membership...
).
Co-education
Scouting was traditionally broken into separate boys and girls programs but worldwide there are now different approaches. There is a trend towards mixed programs in most WOSM member organizations. Most WAGGGS member organizations remain girls-only. See Co-educational Scouting for more information.Homosexual people
In countries where homosexuality is legal, there is usually at least one Scouting association that does not restrict homosexual people from membership or leadership positions. An exception is the United States where "avowed homosexuals" are not allowed to be adult leaders or youth members; the national administration of the Boy Scouts of AmericaBoy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
, the country's only WOSM member, believes that Scouting should reflect traditional family values
Family values
Family values are political and social beliefs that hold the nuclear family to be the essential ethical and moral unit of society. Familialism is the ideology that promotes the family and its values as an institution....
. The Girl Scouts of the USA
Girl Scouts of the USA
The Girl Scouts of the United States of America is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. It describes itself as "the world's preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls". It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912 and was organized after Low...
, by contrast, maintain a more neutral "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Homosexual people are not restricted from membership or leadership positions in Scouts Canada
Scouts Canada
Scouts Canada is a Canadian Scouting association that, in affiliation with the French-language Association des Scouts du Canada, is a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement...
, Scouts Australia
Scouts Australia
Scouts Australia is an organisation for children and young adults from 6 to 26 years of age. Scouts Australia is part of the global Scouting movement and has been a national member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement since 1953...
, and most European associations, including The Scout Association
The Scout Association
The Scout Association is the World Organization of the Scout Movement recognised Scouting association in the United Kingdom. Scouting began in 1907 through the efforts of Robert Baden-Powell. The Scout Association was formed under its previous name, The Boy Scout Association, in 1910 by the grant...
of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände
Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände
The Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände is the German national Scouting organization within the World Organization of the Scout Movement...
of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(German Scout Federation), and the Swedish Guide and Scout Association
Svenska Scoutrådet
Svenska Scoutrådet is the national Scouting and Guiding federation of Sweden.Scouting in Sweden was founded in 1908, Guiding followed in 1910...
.
United States
The Boy Scouts of AmericaBoy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
, the largest youth organization in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, has policies which prohibit atheists, agnostics
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
, and known or avowed homosexuals
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
from membership in its Scouting program; both youths and adults have had their memberships revoked as a result. The BSA contends that these policies are essential in its mission to instill in young people the values of the Scout Oath and Law. The BSA also prohibits girls from participating in Cub Scouting and Boy Scouting. These policies are controversial and are considered by some to be discriminatory.
The organization's legal right to have these policies has been upheld repeatedly by both state and federal courts
United States federal courts
The United States federal courts make up the judiciary branch of federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government.-Categories:...
. The Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
in its Boy Scouts of America v. Dale
Boy Scouts of America v. Dale
Boy Scouts of America et al. v. Dale, , was a case of the Supreme Court of the United States overturning the New Jersey Supreme Court's application of the New Jersey public accommodations law, which had forced the Boy Scouts of America to readmit assistant Scoutmaster James Dale...
decision, affirmed that as a private organization, the BSA can set its own membership standards. In recent years, the policy disputes have led to litigation over the terms under which the BSA can access governmental resources including public lands. In 1914, the BSA gave local councils the power to ban African Americans from Scouting. Until 1974, some southern councils of the Boy Scouts of America were still racially segregated.
World Organization of the Scout Movement
The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) has a membership of 155 National Scout Organizations with more than 28 million individuals. http://www.scout.org/en/around_the_world/countries/national_scout_organisations http://www.scout.org/en/about_scouting/facts_figures Only one national Scouting organization per country is recognized by WOSM. In some countries the National Scout Organization is a federation composed of more than one Scout association. The groups represented by a federation are sometimes divided on the basis of religion (e.g., Denmark and France), ethnicity (e.g., Bosnia and Israel), or native language (e.g., Belgium).WOSM requires member National Scout Organizations to reference "duty to God" in their Scout Promises (see WOSM Scout Promise requirements). This requirement causes difficulties for atheists and agnostics seeking Scouting membership.
Eurasian Scout Region
There is some controversy because several members of the EurasiaEurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
n Scout Region's top hierarchy are former Pioneer
Young Pioneer organization of the Soviet Union
The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer...
leaders. The primary goal of the Pioneers, whose membership was compulsory, was the indoctrination of youth into Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
. To complicate matters, these organizations adopted many of the trappings of the Scout organizations they supplanted. Because of the negative experience with the Communist youth organizations, Scouting in the Eurasian Region is having a slow rebirth. Proponents see the inheritance of Pioneer work and properties in a positive light. Opponents have seen the Eurasian Region as a tool that would allow former Pioneers to keep their influence over postSoviet youth movements, and use their newfound connections outside the region for their own gain. Even the placement of the Regional headquarters at the historic Pioneer Camp Artek
Artek (camp)
Artek is a Young Pioneer camp near Gurzuf, Ukraine. It was established on June 16 1925 on the Black Sea in the town of Gurzuf located on the Crimean peninsula, near Medved Mountain, Ukraine. The camp first hosted only 80 children but then grew rapidly. In 1969 it had an area of 3.2 km²...
at Yalta appears to many to point to this Pioneer dominance. Opponents also question the fact that authoritarian Belarus was a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, against WOSM's stated guidelines, while democratic neighbor Ukraine is not a WOSM member. In the years following its creation, the Eurasian Region was considered by some to have stagnated in its purpose: among other things, the official website was not updated between 2004 and February 2006.
Alternate solutions proposed at the time of the Soviet breakup
History of the Soviet Union (1985-1991)
The history of the Soviet Union from 1982 through 1991, spans the period from Leonid Brezhnev's death and funeral until the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Due to the years of Soviet military buildup at the expense of domestic development, economic growth stagnated...
, and still considered viable options by the critics of the Eurasian Region, would be to divide the Region into the previously existing European, Asia-Pacific, or Arab Scout Regions, along cultural lines and national preference, to provide Scouts fresh perspective. As the Baltic states-Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
and Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
-have joined the European Region, there is precedence for this solution. In addition, there is no corresponding Eurasian Region for the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is a global association supporting the female-oriented and female-only Scouting organizations in 145 countries. It was established in 1928 and has its headquarters in London, England. It is the counterpart of the World Organization of the Scout...
, the republics are divided geographically between WAGGGS' Europe Region
WAGGGS-Europe Region
The WAGGGS Europe Region is the regional office of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, which supports Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting in Europe, including the former Soviet Republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine, but inclusive of Cyprus,...
and Asia Pacific Region
WAGGGS-Asia Pacific Region
The WAGGGS-Asia Pacific Region is the divisional office of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, headquartered in Makati City, Philippines; Australia; and Japan...
. Besides their shared tsarist and Soviet past, the 12 members of the Eurasian Region have little in common. Some, like Armenia and Azerbaijan, have waged war on each other, some like Georgia and Ukraine, allow open opposition, while others, like Belarus and Turkmenistan, have turned to authoritarianism reminiscent of Soviet times. Further, as none of the republics have had their Scout movements returned for much more than a decade, it is viewed that they would benefit from the expertise of the neighboring Scout associations in those Regions.
Other Scouting organization conflict
Scouting organizations have been involved in other types of conflict and controversy both internally and externally.Canada
Canada is the only country with more than one Scouting organization separately recognized by WOSM, Scouts Canada and Association des Scouts du CanadaAssociation des Scouts du Canada
L'Association des Scouts du Canada is a World Organization of the Scout Movement "affiliated organization" through affiliation with Scouts Canada in Canada. The biggest difference between the two associations is the language spoken and the religion behind it...
, which are divided by language.
Some members of Scouts Canada are upset with Scouts Canada's restructuring, including a loss of voting rights at the local level. In response, SCOUT eh!
SCOUT eh!
SCOUT eh! is an organization of "registered Scouts Canada members dedicated to transforming Scouts Canada into a democratic association". The name is an acronym for "Scouts Canada Ordinary-member Unity Taskforce Association"....
was founded in 2004, an organization consisting of "registered Scouts Canada members from across Canada dedicated to transforming Scouts Canada into a democratic association".
In 1998, the Baden-Powell Scouts of Canada
B-PSA Federation of Canada
The B-PSA Federation of Canada was established in Victoria, British Columbia in February 1996, originally as the Baden-Powell Scouts' Association of Canada , rejecting the perceived modernization of the Scout method by Scouts Canada and sharing its aims with the other branches of the...
(B-PSAC) were established in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, rejecting the modernization of the Scout method
Scout method
The Scout method is the informal educational system used by Scouting. The aim of Scouting is character training with the goal of helping participants become independent and helpful,and thereby become "healthy, happy, helpful citizens"....
by WOSM and Scouts Canada. Scouts Canada challenged the association and successfully argued that the word "Scout", in the context of a youth organization in Canada, is a trademark held by Scouts Canada. Part of the 1999 action also attempted, unsuccessfully, to deny the B-PSAC permission to use Baden-Powell's name.
Scouts Canada refuse to recognise B-PSAC members as Scouts, stating of Scout associations that "every country has only one that's how Baden Powell set up scouting", despite the fact that there are two WOSM recognised associations in Canada, and that Baden-Powell originally intended for Scouts Patrols to operate in a range of organisations.
The B-PSAC no longer use the title Scout, and have reformed as the Baden-Powell Service Association Federation of Canada. Scouts Canada continue to monitor the B-PSA, and will not allow their members to share resources, equipment or personnel with them.
Militarism in early Scouting movement
Already before the start of Scouting there was criticism about a possible military goal of Scouting. It culminated in a schism of Sir Francis Vane from 1909 till 1912, partly by a suspicion of a too closely involvement with military organizations. Baden-Powell always strongly opposed this.- The base of Scouting, the book "Scouting for boys ", was not a rewrite of the popular "Aids to Scouting", a small instruction book Baden-Powell wrote about military Scouting. Baden-Powell transferred only the techniques to non-military heroes: backwoodsman, explorers, sailors and airmen. "Scouting for Boys" has no military content.
- Some refer to a military hierarchy, but in contrary Scouting has an anti-authoritarian streak. The Patrol leader is a leader, but should originally be elected by members of the patrol. About the Scoutmaster Baden-Powell "stipulated that the position of Scoutmaster was to be neither that of a schoolmaster nor of a commander Officer, but rather that of an elder brother among his boys, not detached or above them individually".. These are no military hierarchy.
- Baden-Powell did support to learn shooting with a rifle, which even resulted in a few pages of instruction in "Scouting for Boys". This had however no military aim, but would be useful if boys really became frontiersmen by settling in the colonies, which Baden-Powell advertised.
- The uniform was and still is the strongest suggestion of a military Scouting. Baden-Powell gave three reasons for the uniform: the boys like it, it gives a group feeling and it covers differences in wealth. The first reason he explains as giving the boys a direct connection to their heroes, so as part of the theatrical side of the Scouting game. However in reality, most of those heroes did not wear uniforms.
The absence of real military aspects does not mean that Baden-Powell was anti-military. His efforts for peace became stronger in time, making him anti-war, but he disapproved of anti-militarism. He even did not see any harm in training in a military way. One reason for not using military items can been seen from his reaction on the Boys Brigade. It was the intention of Baden-Powell to make an attractive boys game and he thought that the military was not attractive enough. The second reason was that some parents would object military training, which would limit the reach of Scouting. There was probably another reason. The centre of his Scout method
Scout method
The Scout method is the informal educational system used by Scouting. The aim of Scouting is character training with the goal of helping participants become independent and helpful,and thereby become "healthy, happy, helpful citizens"....
was individuality (opposite to the group), making own decisions (opposite to following the commander), doing good turns, self-learning (opposite to instruction by drill) and a game based on theatre and "make believe". These would never survive in a military scheme. Baden-Powell did use some parts of his profession which he found useful, like the uniform and some names, but these are always externals, never the essential fighting intention of military nor specific military techniques.
See also
- List of World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts members
- List of World Organization of the Scout Movement members
- Scouting sex abuse casesScouting sex abuse casesScouting sex abuse cases are situations where youth involved in Scouting programs have been sexually abused by someone who is also involved in the scouting program...