Disappointed: Matthew McVeigh
By Auslan Cramb
An eight-year-old boy has been told he cannot become a Cub Scout after refusing to swear allegiance to the Queen.
Matthew McVeigh objected to part of the Cub Scout Promise which includes the line, “I promise to do my duty to God and the Queen”.
His mother Tracy wanted the pledge changed on religious grounds to: “I promise to do my duty to God and my country”.
But Matthew was told by the 1st Neilston Scout Group in Renfrewshire that unless he took the official oath he could not become a fully-fledged Cub.
Mrs McVeigh, a Roman Catholic, complained the 1701 Act of Settlement specifically discriminated against her faith because it only allowed Protestants to take the throne in Britain.
She added: “Why should we make an oath to the monarchy? The monarchy actively discriminates against Catholics.
“It’s an absolute disgrace in this day and age. We are supposed to live in a multi-cultural age, but this just flies in the face of that.”
The Scout Association allows young people of different religions to replace the word “God” with other deities, and also allows people of other nationalities in the UK to swear to do their duty to “the country in which I am now living”.
But Chris Foster, spokesman for the association, said the rules stated that British nationals must pledge allegiance to the Queen.
He added: “It is simply UK Scout Association policy that all British subjects must promise that.”
Its rules state that scouting is available to all faiths and takes account of the different religions of its members.
In the case of the Scout Promise, which adds the words “On my honour,” at the start of the Cub Scout pledge, Muslims may choose to substitute the phrase with, “In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful”.
Mrs McVeigh, 29, a mother-of-three, said her son was an intelligent boy and did not want to make the promise “just for the sake of saying it”.
She added: “I was gobsmacked that the Cub Scout commissioner said that if Matthew didn’t say the promise he would effectively be out the door. He said he could still go along to trips, but he would not be insured.
“The Cub Scout Promise was worded way back in 1907 and, let’s face it, times have moved on. Matthew aboslutely adores the Cub Scouts.
“I am not asking for special treatment, I would just like him to be a Cub Scout without compromising what he believes in.”
Matthew said the decision was “not fair”, adding: “I really enjoy the Cubs and don’t want to feel left out or different to everybody else.”
Fr Jim Byers, Scouting chaplain of the local Catholic diocese, said he had never heard of a case of religious objection to the promise in 20 years, but urged the Scouting authorities to look into the case.
Cubs have to recite the full promise, which states: “I promise that I will do my best, To do my duty to God and to the Queen, To help other people, And to keep the Scout Law.”
After reciting the verse they receive a badge, woggle and neckerchief and become a fully-fledged Cub Scout.
4 responses so far ↓
wil // June 13, 2008 at 3:36 pm
He’s going to miss out on the memorable summer camp “initiations” I was privileged with. Cough.
pjwalker911 // June 13, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Like getting “pants”, getting “tapped”, or maybe getting raped as there have been a number of those kinds of things going on at camps. Scouts was started by masons and is controlled by masons of course.
wil // June 13, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Well when I was suffering through, the leaders were more concerned I be the big man and always be forgiving everyone, than making the others stop.
Lets see–summer camp–blindfolded, led into woods, tied to tree–I could go on… My “peers” were pissed at me when I began doing uncool things like resisting and yelling, but when the other campers showed up–they just gathered around to watch.
And people tell me to just forgive…
Ring of Power - with instructions for the return of power to the people! // July 11, 2008 at 2:59 pm
[...] You have to swear an oath to the Queen to be a national representative. Isn’t that a bit dated? Boy Scouts have to pledge allegiance to the Queen in Crown colonies as well. An 8 year old making a life long, binding decision? Great… [...]