CANTERBURY, England — For more than 100 years, Britain’s Girl Guides took an oath to “love God and serve the King/Queen.”
But on June 19 the movement announced it would scrap its oath to God in an attempt to broaden its appeal and attract children from secular, nonbelieving families.
The controversial shake-up is seen by some as the biggest in the Girl Guides’ history.
Beginning in September, all new members who make the promise to be good and useful citizens will pledge an oath to “be true to myself and develop my beliefs” and “to serve my Queen (Elizabeth II) and my country.”
Andrea Minichiello Williams, CEO of Christian Concern, said the decision to remove God from the oath of loyalty was wrong.
“These values have their roots in a Christian outlook,” she said. “Taking ‘God’ out of the promise denies the history and foundations of the movement without offering anything in its place, with the result (of an) organization (that) will lose its distinctive ethos and end up meaning nothing.”
But Chief Guide Gill Slocombe said the new promise was decided after a consultation involving nearly 44,000 people.
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