CINCINNATI (ABP) — American Heritage Girls, a relatively new Christian scouting program, has seen enrollment increase dramatically after recent media attention portraying the Girl Scouts of the USA as less committed to the Christian tradition.
American Heritage Girls was started by former Girl Scouts in 1995 after changes were made in the Girl Scout program they say conflicted with their Christian beliefs. Recent news reports about a controversial Girl Scout sex-education program brought the conflict to the fore again.
But the break first surfaced in 1993, when Girl Scouts of the USA adopted a new policy allowing girls to substitute for the word “God” in the Girl Scout promise that all members recite. While the change was intended to provide flexibility for non-Christian Girl Scouts, it upset some Christian parents.
Girl Scout officials said while they “believe the motivating force in Girl Scouting is a spiritual one, we do not attempt to dictate the form or style of a member's worship.”
But Patti Garibay, executive director of American Heritage Girls, said the change was one of the catalysts for the split.
“We spent over a year trying to make changes at the local and national levels,” Garibay said, “but we felt the Lord was leading us to start something new.”
“All of the founding members were Girl Scout leaders,” Garibay said. When the women began to look into the Girl Scout program, they found other elements they said conflicted with their Christian beliefs.
Among them, Garibay said, was the Girl Scouts' sexuality education, which she said promotes the homosexual lifestyle. Such information is not appropriate for girls at the scouting age, she said.
Girl Scout officials say sexual orientation is a private matter for girls and their families to address. “The Girl Scouts value diversity and inclusiveness and, therefore, do not discriminate on any basis,” GSUSA officials said in a statement.
American Heritage Girls is non-denominational but requires charter members and troop leaders to adhere to a statement of faith, which professes the belief in the Trinity and belief that the Bible is the word of God. Garibay said AHG is strongly pro-life, and the organization encourages prayer in the individual troops.
Since American Heritage Girls formed in 1995 in West Chester, Ohio, with 10 troops and about 100 members, the group has grown to include 2,800 girls.
“In the last three weeks, 21 new troops have been chartered,” Garibay told ABP. “We are anticipating 6,000 members by the fall.”
The group's membership has benefited from media attention directed at the Girl Scouts recently, Garibay said.
In March, USA Today printed an article about a conflict in Waco, Texas, concerning the Bluebonnet Council of Girl Scouts sponsoring a Planned Parenthood sex education seminar. Anti-abortion group Pro-life Waco criticized the council's affiliation with the program and began a campaign to boycott Girl Scout cookies.
The Bluebonnet Council eventually pulled its sponsorship, but many parents removed their daughters from Girl Scouts anyway, according to the USA Today article.
Girl Scout officials said local councils that choose to sponsor sexual education “have the discretion to make such information available only with the express written consent of a parent or guardian.”
Teressa Boling, chairperson of an American Heritage chapter at Southeastern Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., said the Louisville group has had an increase in interest since news surfaced about the Girl Scout connection with Planned Parenthood. Many church members chose not to support Girl Scouts because of the organization's partnerships, she said.
Boling said her church identifies more with AHG than with Girl Scouts. “The group fit with our mission statement at the church telling us to evangelize,” she said. “It was a way for us to reach out to people who may not go to church and show them that we are here and that we care.”
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