Boy Scouts' membership falls 7.4 percent

[TexasTowelie]

Source: Dallas Morning News

The Boy Scouts of America’s youth membership fell 7.4 percent last year, continuing a decade-long decline for one of the nation’s oldest youth organizations, a spokesman said Friday.

More than 2.4 million youth participated in its programs in 2014, along with just fewer than 1 million adults, spokesman Deron Smith said. Enrollment fell 6 percent the year before, and in previous years declined slightly or seen little to no change over the last decade.

Still one of America’s most influential groups serving youth, The Boy Scouts has tried to boost participation with new technology-based programs and a “high adventure” base featuring mountain climbing, kayaking and skateboarding.

Last year was also the first full year the Irving-based organization was open to openly gay youth, a compromise approved by its national leadership in 2013. But the organization still excludes openly gay adult volunteers.

Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20150116-boy-scouts-membership-falls-7.4-percent.ece

[Fearless]

1. If you don't change policies, you lose people

Shouldn't be surprised fewer are interested in an exclusionary, pseudo-religious backed, male only organization.

[d_r]

26. they lost people

Because they did change policy.

You can think "well those were horrible people anyway" but it doesn't change it.

[JI7]

2. I hope part of it is boycott but I wonder

If it's just a change in times.

[jmowreader]

3. I think the change in times is a BIG part of it

The Boy Scouts of America is a "fraternal service organization." It's similar to the Elks, Eagles, Moose, Lions...all of which are experiencing declines in membership.

[JI7]

12. how about the girl scouts ?

for some reason the girl scouts seem more modern or fit for modern times . maybe it's just that i see them out more . but things like the cookie sales seem to keep them in the public eye and more connected to people.

[jmowreader]

13. They're also declining in size

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/girl-scouts-face-financial-troubles-declining-membership-article-1.1381945

http://www.npr.org/blogs/theprotojournalist/2014/10/23/358049232/girl-scouts-look-for-a-way-out-of-the-woods

[underpants]

28. Well they do slice them very thin to make the cookies

[d_r]

27. the girl Scouts

Experienced the same thing.
The boy scouts knew it was coming and plenty of people told them they would leave if they allowed gay members. But they went ahead and did it anyway. Conservative ppl complain they went too far too fast and pull out. Progressive people complain not far enough not fast enough.

[genwah]

4. I find this hopeful, because it may indicate a lessening of Mormon Church

influence on the Boy Scouts and/or society in general. Mormon "churches" don't have youth group organizations like synagogues, temples and other churches, they have Boy/Girl scout troops. Something like 15-20% of Boy Scout troops (militarized much? Check out the Boy Scout history) are sponsored by LDS churches.

That "compromise" for gay kids was only okay-ed after the LDS President signed off on it, because BSA needs that LDS green to stay in business.

[Brother Buzz]

5. In our town Scouting has become a Mormon sponsored institution

I have been told they don't proselytize during the meetings at their hall, but....I've heard some of the non-Mormon scouts have become weirded out by their 'non-proselytizing' proselytizing and drop out.

[RKP5637]

6. They boy scouts are too churchy. For some troops it's just an extension of the sponsoring church. nt

[Throckmorton]

35. More like an extention of school at many troops.

The relentless focus on Advancement in order to pop out eagles before the kids turn 18. Sit here and work on this advancement so you can get this Merit Badge.

As a former adult volunteer in the BSA, it just isn't that relevant anymore.

[RKP5637]

36. I was in scouts for years all the way, and also an Eagle. We were lucky, we had an exceptional

scoutmaster and an old lodge by a river, it was really nice. And the sponsoring church was never in the way, in fact, you never even heard anything from them. It just seems BSA has changed so much and as you say, really isn't relevant anymore. And then, at least for us, there was no real emphasis on Merit Badges. One did what they wanted. Some of us did them because they were fun, but we never felt forced at all. It was just far different way back then, at least for us in our little town.

[Bjorn Against]

7. Good, We don't need them teaching any more kids to be anti-gay bigots

Given their blatantly anti-gay policies I think it is fair to call them a hate group and they are a hate group that explicitly targets and recruits children. It is time for them to become a relic of history.

[RKP5637]

15. K&R! They are obsolete, and also who really wants to be part of a hate group. n/t

[ozone_man]

8. It's a paramilitary organization.

Anti gay, it's just as well that it atrophies.

[angrychair]

9. The Boy Scouts are not all bad

I've been involved in Scouting for 12 years. Got a list of things that I wish I could change but there are many things that are good about it. Despise its stance on LGBT youth and leaders. It must become inclusive. Despise the religious component to Scouts. Your religion and your politics have no place in Scouting. I Despise the nationalistic/militarism aspect of it. It about kids enjoying the outdoors and being better people...its not the ROTC. Remove the religious components to the Scout Oath and Law and tone down the nationalistic rhetoric and I can live with it.
Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts offers many children and parents and caring adults an outlet to do things together and have fun and interact with other kids in a way that our society does not otherwise encourage. It can be a conduit, an opportunity, to do things together and get outside. The items listed above aside, there are many positive character traits to be learned and encouraged and peer role models in Scouting. Like many things, our country as an example, its not all bad or all good. I would very much love to see the changes I've mentioned and I advocate for those changes to anyone that is willing to listen. I believe it is the only real way to save Scouting.

[mahannah]

11. Nicely stated.

[BDavinciNY]

18. Well Said!

Well Said AngryChair! I was a Boy Scout for 5 years from 1993-1998. I loved the troop that I was in. We had kids from the neighborhood that was all races and nationalities. I wasn't aware that any Scout that was gay but we would accepted him too. I agree if Scouting is to survive they must be very inclusive. It's in the Scout Law (A Scout is Friendly, Courteous and Kind!!!) We had to work with all people of all backgrounds to achieve our goals and help each other out no matter what! I only wish that some of the adults who spew homophobia in Scouts truly understood all aspects of the Scout Law.

[Capt.Rocky300]

19. I agree with you completely........

and I was lucky enough to be a member of a scout troop with very little overtones of religious, military or overly patriotic clap trap. We were all about a monthly weekend camping trip, summer camp, working on ranks (yeah, I know it sounds military like) and merit badges that taught us many practical life lessons. We also did community projects such as plant trees and take care of yards of elderly residents. I reached Eagle when I was 15 and I'm proud of my accomplishment. But, I am sadly aware that scouting has changed much in the last 50 years. That's why I quit as an adult leader and merit badge counselor 25 years ago.

[happyslug]

10. This is happening among MOST if not ALL volunteer groups.

Last edited Sat Jan 17, 2015, 01:55 AM - Edit history (1)

The reason is simple, people do not have the TIME or the MONEY to participate. This goes for things as diverse as Volunteer fire people, bowling leagues, churches etc. If you do not have money you do not join. If you do NOT have spare time for you are working PART TIME on ODD HOURS, so you and the kids almost never have time together, and what time you have are irregular that you can NOT plan to do things together as member of anything.

Another sign the economy is in bad shape.

[Skittles]

14. too busy with their handhelds now

[adirondacker]

16. They're selling off camps to land developers up here...

http://www.wktv.com/news/local/Scouts_to_sell_Camp_Russell_Cedarland_properties.html

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2011/06/boy_scout_camp_sold_for_487500.html

[Politicalboi]

29. Almost giving it away

One house with 7 acres will cost a lot more than $487,500. What a shame. Why not have the developers support ALL the troops throughout the US to preserve camps.

[adirondacker]

33. Exactly, Both camps contain lakefront property. It's ABSOLUTE Corruption

between the Boy Scout Execs and the developers.

They did the same thing over a decade ago to the city youth camp nearby, where my relatives and I worked during the summers in high school. Beautiful picturesque landscape with a small lake and river frontage that city youth could spend the summers enjoying was turned into a wealthy christian fundie right winger's homestead.

It's pathetic.

[tabasco]

17. Incorporate a hateful agenda and lose members???

Whoooda thunk it???

[Adrahil]

20. I won't support the Boy Scouts.

Since I am not fit to be a leader or member as an atheist, I don;t see any reason to support them. And I was in scouts from age 8-18.

[RKP5637]

37. Neither do I. Same thing, I was in scouts 8-18. I just find them too right wing and churchy. n/t

[goldent]

21. I think the vast majority of the decline is due to competition from other activities

It wasn't so long ago that we had

- No internet
- No video games
- Three or four TV channels
- Fewer sports choices

Kids spent more time outside and boy scouts was a natural extension of that. Today camping overnight and learning about cooking, canoeing and first aid is not so exciting (even though the Boy Scouts have over the years broadened the activities).

[Blue_Adept]

22. Not really

It's easy to throw that at it, but it really doesn't fall into the why.

A lot of it is just time, as parents don't have it to take kids to activities. I've seen a lot of local troops run stuff during work hours. It's not all stay at home mothers that can get kids everywhere these days.

A lot of these troops are just poorly run because the adults that can do barely have the time to do it right. So things fall apart from the organizational side there.

A lot of older members who ran things for years have a power grip on it and that's kept others away.

Recruitment drives are done in an awful way and there's very little visibility for troops in most towns.

It's just atrophying with age in general.

It's way too easy to just blame things like videogames and the internet.

[goldent]

24. Those are valid points and the way a troop

is run makes all the difference. But I think that has always been the case. Another thing is that troops sometimes become clique-ish (at both the child and parent level).

But when I look at the amount of time kids spend on things that didn't exist when I was growing up - well, there are only so many hours in a day. I'm not blaming anything, it's just the way it is. Perhaps for similar reasons, my personal experience is that kids watch less TV than I did.

[underpants]

30. I agree with both you and the post you replied to. Several factors

As the parent of a 9 yr old girl I see the drive to college constantly. You have very good points as does the poster above.

I know several parents who are taking kids around to multiple activities all focused on the resume for college or scholarships. A friend of ours and I were shocked to hear another Dad say that he told his son this year that he needed to focus either on soccer or basketball AND chose his career path now.

The other Dad was an Eagle Scout. I think the 'build the resume' parents are missing the forest for the trees. Eagle Scout is a hell of a thing to have in your bio for the rest of your life but it requires a lot of time by the family. As you stated the fiefdom control in the Scouts could be a huge problem. It's a matter of putting in the time. 3 hours doing 3 things or 3 hours doing 1?

I have known two Eagle Scouts closely and they are both rock steady individuals. If I saw that on a resume I would be impressed.

[dembotoz]

23. hard to do youth sports and scouts

oldest kid soccer beat scouts
in youngest it was hockey

too bad
scouts much less money than hockey

[tularetom]

31. 60 years ago I was in scouts & little league

Our baseball coach told us he would try to accommodate us if we wanted to do both. The scoutmaster told us we'd have to choose that we couldn't do both. Six of us quit the scouts and never went back.

Besides I think our scoutmaster may have been a perv .

[JI7]

32. martial arts also

[Kennah]

25. I have good memories from the Boy Scouts

I remember us Scouts goofing on the prohibitions against homosexuality and masturbation, in front of our adult leaders. One kid did dramatic readings which had us in stitches. Some of the adults just smiled and smirked, apparently approving, but not trying to actively encourage. However, I do remember the Scoutmaster chiding the policies--even openly calling them stupid. Of course, this was all down at our local troop level, and I have no idea what conversations occurred higher up in the organization.

Boy Scouts are going to have to evolve in order to survive.

[Arugula Latte]

34. Good.

I recently went to an Eagle Scout ceremony. It was CREEPY. The marriage of rightwing ideology, jingoism, and religion is alive and well in the Boy Scouts.

We didn't let our son join Cub Scouts. We made our own atheist & gay friendly group. I would NEVER support that institution.

[Liberal_in_LA]

38. huge drop for one year