As GSs, we vowed,"...to serve God, my country, to help people at all times, and to live by the Girl Scout Laws," (Girl Scout Promise, 1980s to present). Every week troop meetings began with a recitation of the Girl Scout Promise and the Girl Scout Laws.
I will do my best
to be honest
to be fair
to help where I am needed
to be cheerful
to be friendly and considerate
to be a sister to every Girl Scout
to respect authority
to use resources wisely
to protect and improve the world around me
and to show respect for myself and others
through my words and actions
The Girl Scout Laws, 1972 to 1997
The GS laws do not mention religion, but they do discuss respect, protection, honesty, and fairness. These qualities were, to me, necessary for interacting with others. They are overreaching qualities that cover things like religious intolerance, acceptance of sexual orientations, gender equality, and many of the other qualities that led me to feminism in the 1990s.
There were five of us left in the troop by high school. Our main interest was travel, and we held countless fundraisers to finance our trips. We earned badges in finance, auto mechanics, reading, music, and anything else that sparked our interest. We worked both together and independently on a variety of projects and charities. All five members of my troop earned the Girl Scout Gold Award. We received letters of commendation from local and state government officials, from community leaders, and even the President of the United States. We were in control of our lives and our destiny, and all of us thrived.
There were five of us left in the troop by high school. Our main interest was travel, and we held countless fundraisers to finance our trips. We earned badges in finance, auto mechanics, reading, music, and anything else that sparked our interest. We worked both together and independently on a variety of projects and charities. All five members of my troop earned the Girl Scout Gold Award. We received letters of commendation from local and state government officials, from community leaders, and even the President of the United States. We were in control of our lives and our destiny, and all of us thrived.
Girl Scout leaders are in a position to positively affect girl's lives. My troop leader taught us to take care of ourselves.
Meetings began with the GS Promise and Laws, and these rules seemed stupid. We already knew we could trust each other, so why take a vow to do something we already did? Some of us were founding members of a local environmental organization that helped start curbside recycling in our town; yet we had to vow to protect and use resources wisely. We were family, why keep reminding each other of that?
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| My first day of GSs (I look so bored!) |
A few years earlier, Boy Scouts of America had been taken to court for not admitting atheists, and the BS Council publicly stated that Christianity was an integral part of being a BS. When that occurred, I felt self righteous. I belonged to an organization that allowed each member to make her own decisions, and we would all respect her decisions. Learning that Nitzya had been kicked out shocked the shit out of me. Nitzya would not recite the GS Promise, "On my honor, I will try to serve God, my country, and to live by the GS laws," because she didn't serve God, and for that one thing they forced her out completely.
The delegates at the 1993 GS convention voted 1,560 to 375 to retain the word "God" in the GS Promise. However, no girl would be required to state that she would serve God unless she wanted to, and if she wished to include the religious clause, she could substitute a different word, such as Allah. (New York Times, October 25, 1993).
The delegates at the 1993 GS convention voted 1,560 to 375 to retain the word "God" in the GS Promise. However, no girl would be required to state that she would serve God unless she wanted to, and if she wished to include the religious clause, she could substitute a different word, such as Allah. (New York Times, October 25, 1993).
In reality, it's not that simple. The decision to continue to "serve God" in the GS Promise has been taken quite literally. Many troops combine Christianity with being a GS - my troop did, and other churches still do. For example, the Episcopalian Church in St. Columbia, Georgia, states that, "These words are reminders that we as Christians are responsible for spreading the Good News through words and actions. Fundamentals of Girl Scouting are the principle of spiritual belief and the need to give back and serve the community."
(http://www.girlscouts.org/program/basics/promise_law/).
It's been twenty years, God still has not been removed form the GS Promise. Troop members continue to have the right to choose to skip that part of the Promise or adapt it to their beliefs. That's a stupid cop-out. It singles out individuals who are not Christian or who do not wish to vow to serve a God.
I wonder if the troop members and their parents are even aware that the phrase can be skipped. I know about the clause, and I searched www.girlscouts.org specifically for this information and couldn't find it. If you weren't searching for it, would you stumble across it? With the lack of readily available information on the website, I wonder if GSs are even being educated about religious diversity and options outside of Christianity.
To the best of my knowledge, the GS Council hasn't considered the religious statement since the 1990s (but I have been out of touch for a while and could be mistaken). I have always assumed that the GS Council refuses to remove the "serve God" clause from the GS Promise because they are not a public group and can make their own decisions (which is why BSs can openly ban non-Christians and homosexuals). After all, girls aren't "forced" to become GSs like they are "forced" to become students.
I wonder if the troop members and their parents are even aware that the phrase can be skipped. I know about the clause, and I searched www.girlscouts.org specifically for this information and couldn't find it. If you weren't searching for it, would you stumble across it? With the lack of readily available information on the website, I wonder if GSs are even being educated about religious diversity and options outside of Christianity.
To the best of my knowledge, the GS Council hasn't considered the religious statement since the 1990s (but I have been out of touch for a while and could be mistaken). I have always assumed that the GS Council refuses to remove the "serve God" clause from the GS Promise because they are not a public group and can make their own decisions (which is why BSs can openly ban non-Christians and homosexuals). After all, girls aren't "forced" to become GSs like they are "forced" to become students.
Is it really a choice, though? I became a Girl Scout when I was five years old, and there are levels now for girls who are even younger. My mom put me in GSs, and nobody thought about my future religious or sexual decisions. They were thinking about camping and singing and learning. They just assumed everything else was a part of it.
In my school, most of the girls joined Brownies (that level of GS). One day a week, we all wore our uniforms and chattered about what we'd be doing while the few non-GSs played in their ordinary clothes. I don't remember us purposely ignoring them. We were all just reveling in our own membership. I don't have any friends with girls from that class, so I have no idea if the peer pressure to become a GS is as strong as it once was.
But gosh, we could have chosen to quit when we were older, right? Most girls did quit by high school, but I was heavily invested in my life as a GS. I was best friends with the members of my troop, a family member was my troop leader, and I could never have organized all that travel financed by our hard work at age 14 if I hadn't been a GS. I could have quit, but it would have meant leaving behind a whole community that I'd grown up with.
I used to think that the 1993 GS Council ruling was enough, but it's not. Girl Scouts still agree to serve God. Troop members aren't kicked out for having different beliefs, in some places they are "shunned" out. And the GSs aren't forthcoming about choices that young girls can make for themselves. And to me, that's what GSs was really about. We were taught quite a bit in the younger levels, but by fifth and sixth grade, we made our own decisions and then were assisted in attaining our goals. By high school, we ran with everything we'd learned, and we thrived. We belonged to community organizations that only adults bothered with. I learned to conduct myself with adults to plan my own activities within the town. I was leaps and bounds ahead of many other young women my age when I took my first "grown up, full-time, permanent" job at 22. Many of my coworkers had children who couldn't support themselves, who weren't comfortable in positions of authority, etc. I was in position of authority at 22 (HR and QC manager, to be precise).
I have grown and changed over the last 20 years. I've expanded upon everything I learned as a Girl Scout. I've continued to learn about diversity and make decisions about my life. Those events I organized led to future employment; the badges I earned led to lifelong hobbies; my troop leader is still one of the most important people in my life. She is hardworking, loves me, and is one of my biggest cheerleaders.
I don't come from money. I don't have the connections that rich kids and Harvard grads have made, but I did have GSs, and that meant something. It opened doors for me when I needed work, friends, and college application essay topics.
I don't come from money. I don't have the connections that rich kids and Harvard grads have made, but I did have GSs, and that meant something. It opened doors for me when I needed work, friends, and college application essay topics.
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Girl Scouts has grown and changed into a more accepting organization during these last twenty years. It's a shame that an organization that influences so many girls' lives isn't willing to openly recognize the inherent worth of all girls.
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