The 105-year partnership between the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and the Mormon Church, is officially over. This morning, the church announced that it will pull out of a pact with the Boy Scouts to start their own youth programs entered around religion and traditional values.
“The Church has increasingly felt the need to create and implement a uniform youth leadership and development program that serves its members globally, “the Utah-based institution said in a statement.
The Mormon Church’s decision comes a week after BSA announced that they will drop the word “Boy” in the organization’s name to encourage more girls to join. Reuters said that the church did not confirm that this influenced their intent to dissolve the partnership.
According to The Washington Post, the Boy Scouts and the Mormon Church have recently divided over policies and values. One point of contention is the BSA’s decision in 2015 to allow openly gay men to serve as scout leaders.
The LDS Church is the biggest participant in American Scouting, with approximately 425,000 LDS youths in Cub and Boy Scout programshttps://t.co/jc2sd8tmto
— The Salt Lake Tribune (@sltrib) May 9, 2018
This parting of the ways will have serious implications for BSA membership in the future. NPR reports that the Mormon church has made it the official program for young boys; as such Mormon youths make up a large number of Boy Scouts. NPR quotes the Associated Press in saying “Mormon boys who will be leaving represent about 18.5 percent of the 2.3 million youth in the organization.” While they cannot register for troops through their church anymore, Mormon boys will still be able to become boy scouts on an individual basis. “For LDS families who want to continue the tradition of Scouting beyond 2019,” the BSA said in a statement. “[Boy Scouts] will ensure a smooth transition to community-sponsored units that will welcome youth previously served by LDS-sponsored units.”