{"id":2241842,"date":"2024-05-10T13:45:01","date_gmt":"2024-05-10T17:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/boy-scouts-want-to-include-everyone-but-now-no-one-wants-to-join\/"},"modified":"2024-05-10T13:48:16","modified_gmt":"2024-05-10T17:48:16","slug":"boy-scouts-want-to-include-everyone-but-now-no-one-wants-to-join","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/boy-scouts-want-to-include-everyone-but-now-no-one-wants-to-join\/","title":{"rendered":"Boy Scouts Strive for Inclusivity, Yet Membership Numbers Decline"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fboy-scouts-want-to-include-everyone-but-now-no-one-wants-to-join%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2241842&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Boy \u2062Scouts \u200bof\u2064 America, now known as \u200cScouting America, underwent significant changes to attract\u2063 a more diverse membership, including the inclusion of girls and\u200d transgender youth. These changes, aimed at inclusivity, have stirred controversy and questioned the organization&#8217;s core\u200c values and its ability to satisfy all members while\u200b still staying true to its \u2062original mission. The Boy\u2064 Scouts\u2062 of America, rebranded as Scouting\u200c America, implemented major changes to enhance diversity, welcoming girls and\u2064 transgender \u200cyouth. These modifications, \u2062promoting inclusivity, \u2063sparked debates on the organization&#8217;s fundamental\u2064 principles and its capacity to meet\u200b the \u2062needs of all while upholding its initial purpose.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">What\u2019s in a name? When you\u2019re a boy scout, the answer is, not very much.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The once respected club for boys has been in decline for years and as of this week\u2019s rebranding announcement, it could be the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-a-culture-full-of-sam-smiths-christianity-is-the-real-subversion\/\" title=\"In A Culture Full Of Sam Smiths, Christianity Is The Real Subversion\">final death knell<\/a> for the more than century old organization. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Boy Scouts is no longer called Boy Scouts. The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/boy-scouts-of-america-rebranding-to-scouting-america-so-everyone-feels-welcomed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">rebrand<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  is meant to attract more girls to join, but in reality, the change may inspire neither to have any interest. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The national scouting organization underwent a major change in 2018 when it started allowing girls to join the Cub Scouts, which is for children aged 7 to 10. The following year, the Boy Scouts program for older kids ages 11 to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/boy-scouts-of-america-rebranding-to-scouting-america-so-everyone-feels-welcomed\/\" title=\"Boy Scouts of America rebrands to 'Scouting America' for a more inclusive atmosphere\">17 began admitting young women<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The new name will reflect these changes as the group, which formerly switched to \u201cScouts BSA\u201d will now rebrand as \u201cScouting America,\u201d effective February 8, 2025, the 115th anniversary of the organization.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">BSA President and CEO Roger A. Krone said the name change was made in part to encourage girls to join the program since it will no longer have the name \u201cboy\u201d in it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWhile this may be a surprise to some of you, for us this is a straightforward evolution and the next natural step in ensuring all American youth feel welcomed and recognized in an organization that is meant to serve all Americans,\u201d Krone said in a press release about the name change, per <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/05\/07\/us\/boy-scouts-rebrands-scouting-america-reaj\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">CNN<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The CEO added that the change will not alter the organization\u2019s mission of preparing \u201cyoung people over their lives to make ethical and moral choices by instilling the scout oath, and the scout law. America\u2019s values are scouting values.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This change is meant to be inclusive, but the more BSA waters down the rules and regulations to welcome everyone, the less anyone will want to be part of it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Drama in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) organization has been going on for years. In 1991, the parents of Margot Goldstein (nee Mankes) sued the club for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/school-retroactively-suspended-student-over-sexual-assault-allegations-after-he-graduated-the-school-just-settled\/\" title=\"School Retroactively Suspended Student Over Sexual Assault Allegations AFTER He Graduated. The School Just Settled.\">sex-based discrimination<\/a> when their daughter wasn\u2019t allowed to attend an all-boys sleep-away camp. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">No one noticed Goldstein had joined until it was time for camp, and afterwards, she was kicked out of her cub scout pack for being female, which went against scout bylaws. \u201cI didn\u2019t understand at 8 years old why it was such a big deal that I was a girl,\u201d told <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/4978338\/boy-scouts-girls-lawsuit-history\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Time<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  in 2017, the same year the organization started allowing girls to join. \u201cHow is a parent supposed to say, \u2018Because you\u2019re a girl they don\u2019t think you\u2019re capable of this thing?\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The young girl had apparently joined her local Girl Scout troop but was \u201cbored\u201d there.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Compare the statements made by a BSA spokesperson in 1991 to those made today. When the Goldstein\u2019s case was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/oregon-governor-encourages-people-to-call-police-on-neighbors-violating-covid-orders\/\" title=\"Oregon Governor Encourages People To Call Police On Neighbors Violating COVID Orders\">making national headlines<\/a>, Blake Lewis said, \u201cOur feeling is that the Cub Scouts and the Boy Scouts were specifically designed to meet the needs for young boys. And the needs for young boys are very different from young girls.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">What was obvious to most people in the late 90s has since fallen out of fashion. Now girls can be Boy Scouts, which aren\u2019t even Boy Scouts. The distinction between the needs of boys and girls has been removed, making the program attractive to fewer would-be scouts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The organization was founded by Robert Baden-Powell in England in 1907. The Boy Scouts of America was then established in 1910 across the pond.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_735649\" style=\"width: 762px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-735649\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">George Rinhart\/Corbis via Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  A 1917 pamphlet described Boy Scouts as \u201cnothing less than applied Christianity.\u201d As the pamphlet states:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWe aim for the practice of Christianity in their everyday life and dealings, and not merely the profession of its theology on Sundays. \u2026 There is a vast reserve of loyal patriotism and Christian spirit lying dormant in our nation to-day, mainly because it sees no direct opportunity for expressing itself. \u2026 In this joyous brotherhood there is vast opportunity open to all. \u2026 It gives every man his chance of service for his fellow-men and for God.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Patriotism, responsibility, duty to God \u2014 these concepts have all been shoved to the side in favor of inclusion. And in trying to please everyone, BSA is really pleasing no one.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even budging on gender requirements wasn\u2019t enough for the critics. As of 2017, the organization started allowing transgender-identifying youth to join scout ranks. This change came as the result of another lawsuit, this one from another New Jersey scout who was allegedly kicked out of a troop for identifying as trans.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWe\u2019ve taken the opportunity to evaluate and update our approach,\u201d Chief Scout Executive Michael Surbaugh <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2017\/01\/30\/us\/boy-scouts-transgender-membership\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">said<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  of the rules update. \u201cI hope you\u2019ll join with me in embracing the opportunity to bring scouting to more families and children who can benefit from what our organization has to offer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">He added, \u201cThis is an area that we will continue to thoughtfully evaluate to bring the benefits of scouting to the greatest number of youth possible all while remaining true to our core beliefs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The organization began allowing gay youth in 2013 and also lifted a ban on gay adult leaders in 2015. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, everyone is invited \u2014 girls, boys, boys who believe they are girls, and girls who believe they are boys. Anyone who is gay. So why has membership been on the decline?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Like so many other large organizations, BSA was plagued with a sexual abuse scandal which eventually resulted in their filing for bankruptcy protection in 2020. The group has since sold or mortgaged almost all their assets in an effort to pay a $2.5 billion settlement over the sex abuse claims.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">With that came a steep decline in boys (and girls) signing up to join.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Between 2019 and 2021, the Boy Scouts lost close to half its membership. BSA\u2019s Cub Scouts and Scouts BSA programs went from 1.97 million in 2019 to 1.12 million in 2020, representing a 43% decline, per AP. That number dropped even lower to 762,000 in 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For comparison\u2019s sake, in the 1970s, scout membership was as high as 5 million.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some of this will likely be blamed on the pandemic, which certainly contributed. But that\u2019s not the whole story. Boy Scouts have become a pale imitation of what they once were. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As BSA allows everyone in, and continues establishing itself as an inclusion-focused club that anyone can join, they shouldn\u2019t be surprised when no one does.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It can best be summed up by a tweet from Georgia-based representative Andrew Clyde. He <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Rep_Clyde\/status\/1787889811895771413\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">wrote<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  of the rebrand, \u201cWokeness destroys everything it touches.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What&#8217;s in a name? For Boy Scouts, not much. The iconic boys club, facing years of decline, may have sealed its fate with a recent rebranding. The century-old institution, now shedding its &#8220;Boy&#8221; moniker, marks a significant shift in its identity and history<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":345,"featured_media":2241843,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2024\/05\/GettyImages-523099752.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2241842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2024\/05\/GettyImages-523099752.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2241842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/345"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2241842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2241842\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2241843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2241842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2241842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2241842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}