Britain’s largest Scout girls’ organisation told to stop singing to God in new ‘inclusive’ campfire songs
As reported by The Telegraph and the Christian Institute, Girlguiding, the UK's national guiding organisation for girls, has come under pressure and criticism after it published a blog post in which the organization argued that in order to make some of its traditional songs "inclusive for everyone," they need be changed to remove "references that have been hurtful to people." Using as an example a song in which references to God were removed.
In the example promoted by Girlguiding about one Brownie group (Brownie Guides or Brownies are aged seven to ten years old.), the removed Brownie Bells’ lyrics stated:
“Oh Lord, our God;
Thy children call;
Grant us thy peace;
And bless us all;
Goodnight.”
The rewritten lyrics read:
“Time for the end;
our meeting’s past;
Brownies is great;
time flies so fast;
Goodnight.”
This decision comes in contradiction to the group's history, because as The Christian Institute’s Deputy Director Ciarán Kelly said: “The Girl Guides and Scouts should remember that their founders, Robert Baden-Powell and his sister Agnes, were motivated by their faith. Erasing their past and our traditions does not promote greater inclusion, or diversity. Quite the opposite.”
Already in 2017, in order to avoid offending Muslims or atheists, Girlguiding organizations were advised not to say grace (pray) before meals.
Instead of saying grace, the advice advised ladies to use the following sentence: "Let's all take a moment to show thanks for this food and to recall how fortunate we are to have this dinner."
Source: The Telegraph; The Christian Institute
Photo: girlguiding.org.uk