Girl Guides membership - our daughter cannot join?

apples1

Our daughter has been to Brownies since age 7 & just moved up to Guides. It's run by different people in a different venue. She loved her first week. This week the leader was talking though the Girl Guides book with her and discussing The Promise she has to say. She asked our daughter which God she believed in and our daughter said she didn't believe in God.

We have now been told by the leader this is a problem if she wants to join guides as she doesn't have to believe in the Christian God but must believe in a God. The Girl Guide website says Guides is open to all girls from all backgrounds.

She would have been happy to recite the promise as she did at Brownies but now the leader has actively asked her and she has told the truth it makes it very hard to now have to pick some obscure God and pretend to have developed a faith. Seems she either has to do that or she cannot join. Subs are paid, uniform bought and she really wants to go!

Sambucus_Nigra

Have you called the 'leader' and asked her what the heck she thinks she is doing?

http://guidingmanual.guk.org.uk/policies/equality_and_diversity.aspx

Says

Spirituality

Girlguiding UK does not subscribe to any particular faith or religion and believes that every member should be encouraged to take an active part in the religion or faith of her family and community.
Leaders and Commissioners should take account of the special requirements of the faiths of unit members – such as dress, diet or holiday days – when planning unit programmes and other events.
Attendance at any act of worship must always be voluntary and be seen as part of the spiritual development of the individual member. Attendance at church parade or any religious gathering is not part of the guiding programme.
No young member under 16 may attend a service of a faith or denomination other than her own, as a guiding event, without the consent of an adult with parental responsibility for her.

So perhaps they are implying that any religion counts, apart from no religion.

Interesting to see how this plays out...

Tiglath

If you're a non-religious family, then it seems she is by choice involved in the 'faith/spiritual direction' of your family. Don't see how they can argue with that. I'd arrange to meet with the leader to discuss, and take it higher up in the organization if necessary. Tough situation for your little one.

lolavix

It was a good 15 or so years when I was at Brownies/guides and my group was very religious - church every week etc. I've never been religious and they didn't force me to go, but did try and push me into believing the same. I know another local group with no religion whatsoever, maybe it depends on the group?

mikey72

The promise is

"I Promise that I will do my best;
To love my God,
To serve my Queen and my Country,
To help other people
And
To keep the Guide Law."

So I can see why the leader has asked, and why your daughter can't recite the promise, but she can't be the first.

I think talking to the leader is the only answer.

Money_maker

The press would have a field day with this resulting in the Guides not looking very good.

mountainofdebt

mikey72 wrote: »

The promise is

"I Promise that I will do my best;
To love my God,
To serve my Queen and my Country,
To help other people
And
To keep the Guide Law."

So I can see why the leader has asked, and why your daughter can't recite the promise, but she can't be the first.

I think talking to the leader is the only answer.

Haven't the Australian Guides just recently altered their promise so that serving God (as Dave Allen would say what ever you call your God) and the Queen have been ditched?

Whilst I can see that talking to the leader is a good step, I would also (beforehand) be asking for clarification from HQ - forewarned is to be forarmed as they say!

Edit - yes they have ....here it is

I promise that I will do my best
To be true to myself and develop my beliefs
To serve my community and Australia
And live by the Guide Law

Seems a far better one that ours!

Tupperware_Queen

I am a cub scout leader, and although the scouting organisation is open to all faiths, it is a Christian organisation at heart, and the guide leader is right, you have to have a belief in a higher entity, whatever that is. No reason why that cant be the power of nature or whatever. I'd say good on her for making sure the kids know what the promise means, not just saying the words.

http://scouts.org.uk/supportresources/search/?cat=25,285

http://guidingmanual.guk.org.uk/default.aspx?page=19

Edited to add link

apples1

I had seen that about Australia when I looked online last night after this happened. In this country it seems from what I found out online that because Girl Guides is a registered charity they are allowed to be discriminatory as charities are exempt.

Mojisola

Money_maker wrote: »

The press would have a field day with this resulting in the Guides not looking very good.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8902478/Girl-Guides-considers-dropping-God-from-members-promise.html

emslovesmickey

I wonder what the uproar would be if they excluded someone because they were muslim, jew, hindu, or any other religion? The same should be applied if they are excluding somebody who has belief in no higher power.