Boy Scouts rebrands as Scouting America, dropping gendered name

After 114 years of being known as the Boy Scouts of America, the nation’s largest scouting organization is changing its name to the more inclusive Scouting America.

The major rebrand, announced Tuesday, comes after years of turmoil for the organization, as well as major changes meant to stem the tide of declining membership. The new Scouting America name is also a reflection of the organization’s biggest change: the decision five years ago to welcome girls into its ranks at all levels.

Visitors to the Boy Scouts of America website Tuesday were greeted by a pop-up message explaining that the forthcoming name change was made to be more welcoming of the entire scouting community and would take effect Feb. 8, 2025.

“Though our name will be new, our mission remains unchanged: we are committed to teaching young people to be Prepared. For Life,” Roger A. Krone, president and chief executive of Scouting America, said in a statement Tuesday. “This will be a simple but very important evolution as we seek to ensure that everyone feels welcome in Scouting.”

For years, the Boy Scouts have faced pressure from progressive members and outside groups to be more accepting, not just of girls but of LGBTQ scouts and troop leaders. The Boy Scouts ended its longtime ban on openly gay Scouts in 2013 and its prohibition on gay troop leaders in 2015. Two years later, the organization announced that it would allow transgender boys in its ranks.

The organization is officially nonsectarian but asks members to affirm a belief in God. The changes to allow gay Scouts and troop leaders caused rifts with some religious groups. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one of the Scouts’ biggest partners, cut ties with the organization when it began to accept gay Scouts and leaders. At the time, roughly 20 percent of Scouts were Mormon.

While the Scouts spent years trying to keep gay and trans boys out, the organization in recent years has tried to get girls in. The move to allow girls sparked a bitter feud with the Girl Scouts of the United States of America, which accused the Boy Scouts of trying to prop up its membership by encroaching on the Girl Scouts’ turf as both groups faced declining membership, which has only accelerated since the pandemic.

In a letter to then-Boy Scouts President Randall Stephenson, then-Girl Scouts President Kathy Hopinkah Hannan said it was “inherently dishonest to claim to be a single gender organization while simultaneously endeavoring upon a co-ed model.”

In 2020, the Boy Scouts were rocked by public revelations that more than 84,000 people alleged that they were sexually abused while in the Scouts, with some claims dating as far back as the 1960s. The Scouts reached a historic $850 million settlement with victims after declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the face of mounting legal claims.

According to the Scouts 2023 annual report, the organization had more than 1 million children and young adults ages 5 to 20 enrolled in its membership programs.