After 114 years, the Boy Scouts of America will be changing its name to Scouting America in an effort to become more inclusive.
The organization announced the decision on Tuesday, making it clear that the name change is in an effort to make sure that everyone feels welcome.
“In the next 100 years we want any youth in America to feel very, very welcome to come into our programs,” president and chief executive officer Roger Krone said during an interview before the announcement, according to the Associated Press.
This decision comes after the organization had made gradual steps to promote inclusivity over the past several years.
The organization began allowing gay youth in 2013 and also began allowing gay adult leaders for the first time in the organization’s history back in 2015. In 2017, made a massive change as it announced that girls would be allowed to join the organization as Cub Scouts beginning in 2018 and then into the Boy Scout program — which was then renamed Scouts BSA — beginning in 2019.
Scouting America hopes that these changes will lead to an increase in membership across the country as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims. We’ll have to see how it impacts the organization.
