There are more than 31 million Scouts, youth and adults, boys and girls, in countries and territories. There are countries with internationally recognised National Scout Organisations.
There are 26 main territories where Scouting exists, often as overseas branches of member Scout organisations:. There are 33 countries where Scouting exists be it embryonic or widespread but where there is no National Scout Organization which is yet a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.
There are 5 countries where Scouting, to WOSM's knowledge, does not exist; in some it would not be allowed. These are:. World Scouting. Attending international Scouting events Attending an event organised by the World Organization of the Scout Movement WOSM , either at world or European levels, is an enjoyable and very worthwhile experience.
Purpose, Principles and Method Scouting is an educational Movement of and for young people. The conference meets every three years. The World Scout Committee The Committee consists of 12 people from 12 different countries, elected to represent the diversity of World Scouting, not their own national interest, in the period between the triennial conferences.
There are currently Member Organizations in the world. In addition to the Member Organizations, local Scouting activities exist in at least another 52 countries and territories worldwide. Below you can find the membership census as of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. Virgin Islands, Wallis and Futuna. There are 14 countries where Scouting exists be it embryonic or widespread but where there is no National Scout Organization which is yet a member of WOSM.
Yet, Scouting is the antithesis of a sedentary life, introducing day-long hikes, cooking over an open fire, and survival skills. The argument can be made that these skills aren't necessarily important on a daily basis, but because they are immensely valuable in a crisis or dangerous situations - and because they really aren't taught anywhere else - the fact that Scouting still teaches them makes the program more relevant than ever.
Scouting emphasizes a strong bond between boys and their families. In many cases, this is exemplified by the relationship between boys and their fathers, who are most often volunteers for the program. This traditional arrangement provides an ideal opportunity for boys to step away from their daily routine and not only learn core Scouting skills like orienteering, cooking or first aid, but also skills outside the Scouting curriculum, like negotiating the pitfalls of adolescence and growing to become men.
Yes, these are things that boys can learn elsewhere, but Scouting provides a conduit - whether a weekend-long campout, a two-week backpacking trek or just a weekly meeting - where interaction with teenagers and their fathers is mandatory — an occurrence that's sometimes difficult for many families at home.
Then, there are Scouting's values, those twelve points that both brand and identify a Boy Scout as, that squeaky-clean, do-gooder kid: trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. For the most part, these are ideals that most of us want to see in our family, friends and neighbors. Scouting has consistently forwarded these values over their year history.
Peter Applebome , an editor of The New York Times , once wrote that, as an adult volunteer involved with his son's scouting, he observed that "Scouting's core values Scouting's genuinely egalitarian goals and instincts are more important now than they've ever been. It's one of the only things that kids do that's genuinely cooperative, not competitive. Any discussion of the Scouts' relevance wouldn't be complete without looking at the main criticisms people have against the program.
The bulk of the criticism is centered on discrimination against atheists and agnostics and against homosexuals. Although these aren't the only criticisms, they are the ones that make the most headlines. The final point of the Scout Law is the dedication to be reverent. Allegiance to, and agreement with, the oaths are checked often along the path of the program, with specific requirements to make sure that boys "live the Scout Oath Meetings, campouts and other occasions - depending on the local governing body - can include an element of prayer, typically in traditional Judeo-Christian fashion.
While the Scouting organization doesn't define who God is and defers explanation of the relationship between boys and their deity to their families and religious leaders, it doesn't allow much wiggle room for those who do not believe in one of the major religions or minor offshoots.
So if you are a believer in Ja, Ra, Zeus, Quetzalcoatal, the flying spaghetti monster or a firm believer in using your Sunday morning for doing nothing more than sleeping in, the Boy Scouts do not have a place for you.
To be fair, Scouting recognizes a significant number of religions and they are inclusive of some non-traditional beliefs, including Wiccans. The Girl Scouts, an organization with similar membership declines, has found an interesting method for approaching the situationally sticky problem of pledging an oath to God, with a far more nebulous approach, encouraging its participants to replace the word "God" with a term consistent with their personal spiritual beliefs.
Like any case of discrimination, there have been challenges to Scouting's demand for reverence to their prescribed religions and some boys have been expelled from the program for maintaining their atheist or agnostic views.
In several instances, the ACLU has taken the case for these boys and - seemingly more often than not - the BSA has allowed these non-believers to rejoin quietly. Although it's true that the values and stances on both religion and sexuality are based on bedrock principles that has been around since the beginning of the Scouting program, it's thought that much of the current philosophy is based on how heavily the scouting organization relies on the nation's churches for support and structure.
From coast to coast, Scout meetings can be found in fellowship halls and recreation rooms of churches and synagogues. Catholics, Jews, Methodists and other faiths all support scouting, but nowhere is Scouting more prevalent than in the Mormon church.
Although there isn't any definitive proof that this is true, Mormons participate in Boy Scouts at a very high rate. The Mormons even have their own specialized division of scouting, LDS Scouting and, until recently, a student could major in Scouting leadership.
It seems the Mormons aren't afraid of throwing their weight around on issues they are concerned with and are on record as saying if the Boy Scouts of America is forced to accept gays as scoutmasters, the LDS Church will withdraw from the organization and take more than , Scouts with it.
Which brings mention of the larger complaint of discrimination, that exclusion against both scouts and adult leaders who are homosexual. There has been significant debate in court challenges on this issue, which, for the Scouts, hinges on the phrase of the Scout Oath that obligates a Scout to be "morally straight". While the Supreme Court has sided with the Boy Scouts, allowing that a private organization can include and exclude who it chooses, many feel that - as with marriage and other relationship privileges, the time has come for homosexuals to be accepted in scouting.
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