Editing Scouting (section)

===Influences===
[[File:Calvin Coolidge receiving statue of Boy Scout outside the White House 1927.jpg|thumb|left|U.S. President [[Calvin Coolidge]] greeting 1500 Boy Scouts making an annual trip to the Capitol, 1927]]

Important elements of Scout training have their origins in Baden-Powell's experiences in education and military training. He was a 50-year-old retired army general when he wrote ''Scouting for boys'' and his writing inspired thousands of young people from all parts of society to get involved in activities that most had never contemplated. Comparable organizations in the English-speaking world are the Boys' Brigade and the non-militaristic [[Woodcraft Folk]]; however, they never matched the development and growth of the Scout Movement.<ref name="woodfolk">{{cite web |year=2006 |url=http://www.troop97.net/scout_like.htm| title=Scout-like Organizations |publisher=Troop 97 |access-date=December 5, 2006}}</ref>

At [[Charterhouse School|Charterhouse]], one of England's most famous [[Public school (United Kingdom)|public schools]], Baden-Powell had an interest in the outdoors.<ref name="west_bp1932">{{cite book |last1=West |first1=James E. |author-link=James E. West (Scouting) |last2=Lamb |first2=Peter O. |others=illustrated by Lord Baden-Powell |title=He-who-sees-in-the-dark; the Boys' Story of Frederick Burnham, the American Scout
 |publisher=Brewer, Warren and Putnam; Boy Scouts of America |location=New York |date=1932 |page=138}}</ref> Later, as a military officer, Baden-Powell was stationed in [[British India]] in the 1880s where he took an interest in [[reconnaissance|military scouting]] and 

In 1896, Baden-Powell was assigned to the [[Matabeleland]] region in [[Southern Rhodesia]] (now Zimbabwe) as Chief of Staff to Gen. [[Frederick Carrington]] during the [[Second Matabele War]]. In June 1896 he met here and began a lifelong friendship with [[Frederick Russell Burnham]], the American-born Chief of Scouts for the British Army in Africa.<ref name="scouting">{{cite book |last=Burnham |first=Frederick Russell |author-link=Frederick Russell Burnham |title=Scouting on Two Continents |publisher=Doubleday, Page & company |year=1926 |oclc=407686}}</ref><ref name="lott1981">{{cite book |last=Lott |first=Jack |editor-first=Craig |editor-last=Boddington |title=America&nbsp;– The Men and Their Guns That Made Her Great |publisher=Petersen Publishing Co. |year=1981 |page=90 |chapter=Chapter 8. The Making of a Hero: Burnham in the Tonto Basin |isbn=978-0-8227-3022-4}}</ref> This was a formative experience for Baden-Powell not only because he had the time of his life commanding reconnaissance missions into enemy territory, but because many of his later Boy Scout ideas originated here.<ref name="proctor">{{cite journal |first=Tammy M. |last=Proctor |date=July 2000 |title=A Separate Path: Scouting and Guiding in Interwar South Africa |journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=605–631 |oclc= 1564563| issn=0010-4175|jstor=2696647 |doi=10.1017/S0010417500002954 |s2cid=146706169 }}</ref> During their joint scouting patrols into the [[Matobo Hills]], Burnham augmented Baden-Powell's [[woodcraft]] skills, inspiring him and sowing seeds for both the programme and for the code of honour later published in ''Scouting for Boys''.<ref name="1944jul_boyslife">{{cite journal |last=DeGroot |first=E.B. |journal=[[Boys' Life]] |title=Veteran Scout |publisher=[[Boy Scouts of America]] |date=July 1944 |pages=6–7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FDDyrmwdQKIC }}</ref><ref name="scoutingforboys">{{cite book |last=Baden-Powell |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell |title=Scouting for Boys: A Handbook for Instruction in Good Citizenship |publisher=H. Cox |year=1908 |location=London |isbn=978-0-486-45719-2 |no-pp=true |page=xxiv}}</ref> Practised by [[frontiersmen]] of the [[American Old West]] and [[indigenous peoples of the Americas]], woodcraft was generally little known to the British Army but well known to the American scout Burnham.<ref name="scouting"/> These skills eventually formed the basis of what is now called ''[[scoutcraft]]'', the fundamentals of Scout training. Both men recognised that wars in Africa were changing markedly and the British Army needed to adapt; so during their joint scouting missions, Baden-Powell and Burnham discussed the concept of a broad training programme in woodcraft for young men, rich in exploration, [[tracking (hunting)|tracking]], [[fieldcraft]], and self-reliance.<ref name="vanwyk">{{cite book |last=van Wyk |first=Peter |year=2003 |url=http://www.burnhamkingofscouts.com/ |title=Burnham: King of Scouts |publisher=Trafford Publishing |isbn=978-1-4122-0028-8 |access-date=July 29, 2010 |archive-date=August 2, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100802055520/http://www.burnhamkingofscouts.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> During this time in the Matobo Hills Baden-Powell first started to wear his signature [[campaign hat]]<ref>By a happy co-incidence, these hats were already called "[[Boss of the Plains]]" hats—or "B-P hats" for short</ref> like the one worn by Burnham, and acquired his [[kudu]] horn, the [[Northern Ndebele people|Ndebele]] war instrument he later used every morning at Brownsea Island to wake the first Boy Scouts and to call them together in training courses.<ref name="jeal">{{cite book |first=Tim |last=Jeal |author-link=Tim Jeal |title=Baden-Powell |publisher=Hutchinson |location=London |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-09-170670-8}}</ref><ref name="orans">{{cite web |last=Orans |first=Lewis P. |url=http://pinetreeweb.com/kudu.htm |title=The Kudu Horn and Scouting |publisher=PineTree Web |access-date=July 28, 2010}}</ref><ref name="forster">{{cite web | last =Forster | first = Reverend Dr. Michael | url = http://www.netpages.free-online.co.uk/sha/scouthistory.doc | title =The Origins of the Scout Movement| publisher =Netpages | access-date=October 2, 2007|format=DOC}}</ref>

Three years later, in [[South African Republic|South Africa]] during the [[Second Boer War]], Baden-Powell was [[Siege of Mafeking|besieged in the small town of Mafikeng (Mafeking)]] by a much larger Boer army.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishbattles.com/great-boer-war/mafeking.htm |title=The Siege of Mafeking |publisher=British Battles.com |access-date=July 11, 2006}}</ref> The [[Mafeking Cadet Corps]] was a group of youths that supported the troops by carrying messages, which freed the men for military duties and kept the boys occupied during the long siege. The Cadet Corps performed well, helping in the defence of the town (1899–1900) and were one of the many factors that inspired Baden-Powell to write ''Scouting for boys''.<ref name="cadet1">{{cite web |url=http://scoutguidehistoricalsociety.com/|title=The Mafeking Cadets |work=Scouting Milestones |publisher=btinternet.co.uk |access-date=February 4, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614022041/http://scoutguidehistoricalsociety.com//cadets.htm|archive-date=June 14, 2011}}</ref><ref name="cadet2">{{cite web |url=http://www.scouting.org.za/seeds/cadets.html |title=The Mafeking Cadets |work=The African Seeds of Scouting |publisher=Scout Web South Africa |access-date=February 4, 2007 |archive-date=January 2, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070102185503/http://www.scouting.org.za/seeds/cadets.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Webster|first=Linden Bradfield|title=Linden Bradfield Webster's Reminiscences of the Siege of Mafeking|journal= Military History Journal |volume=1|issue=7}}</ref> Each member received a badge that illustrated a combined [[compass]] point and [[spear]]head. The badge's logo was similar to the [[fleur-de-lis]] shaped arrowhead that later adopted by Scout.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://scoutguidehistoricalsociety.com//fleur.htm |title=Scouting Milestones&nbsp;– The Evolution of The World Scout Badge|access-date=January 17, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614023925/http://scoutguidehistoricalsociety.com/|archive-date=June 14, 2011}}</ref> The siege of Mafeking was the first time since his own childhood that Baden-Powell, a regular serving soldier, had come into the same orbit as "civilians"—women and children—and discovered for himself the usefulness of well-trained boys.

In the United Kingdom, the public, through newspapers, followed Baden-Powell's struggle to hold Mafeking, and when the siege was broken he had become a [[Folk hero|national hero]]. This rise to fame fuelled the sales of the small instruction book he had written in 1899 about military scout training and survival, ''Aids to scouting,''<ref name="bp1899">{{cite book |last=Baden-Powell |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell |title=Aids to scouting for N.-C.Os. & men |publisher=Gale & Polden |date=1899 |location=London |oclc=316520848}}</ref> that owed much to what he had learned from discussions with Burnham.<ref name="arrow"/>

On his return to England, Baden-Powell noticed that boys showed considerable interest in ''Aids to scouting'', which was unexpectedly used by teachers and youth organizations.<ref name="arrow"/> He was urged to rewrite this book for boys, especially during an inspection of the [[Boys' Brigade]] (of which he was vice president at the time), a large [[youth movement]] drilled with military precision. Baden-Powell thought this would not be attractive and suggested that the Boys' Brigade could grow much larger if scouting was included.<ref name="BPJeal">{{cite book |last=Jeal |first=Tim |author-link=Tim Jeal |publisher=Yale University Press|year=1989 |title=Baden-Powell |pages=360–362, 371}}</ref> He studied other schemes, parts of which he used in ''Scouting for boys''.

[[File:Members of Scouts Australia from several groups attending "Scouts Own" in camp.jpg|thumb|right|Australian Scouts attend [[Scouts' Own]], an informal, spiritual Scout ceremony]]
A wide variety of cultures have adopted Scout training. Scouts in the United States use images drawn from the U.S. [[frontier]] experience and [[Native Americans in the United States|American native peoples]] for their connection with nature and wilderness survival skills which can be used as part of the training program. By contrast, British Scouting makes use of imagery drawn from its wider colonial frontiers including Canada, the Indian subcontinent, Australia and Africa and writings such as [[Rudyard Kipling]]'s.<ref name="Kipling">{{cite web|url=http://www.authorama.com/jungle-book-1.html|title=The Jungle Book|last=Kipling|first=Rudyard|work=Mowgli's Brothers|publisher=Authorama|access-date=January 17, 2009}}</ref>

Frontier and military scouts inspired interest in playing and training as Scouts. Baden-Powell wrote his military training book, ''Aids to scouting'' because he saw the need for the improved training of British soldiers and army scouts, particularly in initiative, self-reliance, and observational skills. The book's popularity with young boys surprised him. He adapted the book as ''Scouting for boys''.''<ref name="surprise">{{cite web |last=Walker |first=Johnny |year=2006 |url=http://www.scouting.milestones.btinternet.co.uk/sfb.htm |title=''Scouting for Boys'' – the Influences, the Means, the Process and its Success |publisher=Scouting Milestones |access-date=December 5, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614024123/http://www.scouting.milestones.btinternet.co.uk/sfb.htm|archive-date=June 14, 2011}}</ref>

"Duty to God" is a principle of the Scout Movement, though it is applied differently in various countries.<ref name="faqs">{{cite web |year=1998 |url=http://www.faqs.org/faqs/scouting/rec.scouting.issues/section-11.html |title=What was Baden-Powell's position on God and Religion in Scouting? |publisher=Faqs |access-date=December 3, 2006}}</ref><ref name="inquiry">{{cite web|last=Baden-Powell |first=Robert |year=1912 |url=http://www.inquiry.net/ideals/b-p/religion.htm |title=Baden-Powell on Religion |publisher=Inquiry.net |access-date=December 3, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061115192441/http://www.inquiry.net/ideals/b-p/religion.htm |archive-date=November 15, 2006 }}</ref> [[Scouting America]] takes a strong position, excluding [[atheism|atheists]].<ref name="duty">{{cite web|url=http://www.bsalegal.org/duty-to-god-cases-224.asp |work=BSA Legal Issues |title=Duty to God |publisher=Boy Scouts of America |access-date=December 3, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509074048/http://www.bsalegal.org/duty-to-god-cases-224.asp |archive-date=May 9, 2008 }}</ref> [[The Scout Association]] in the United Kingdom permits variations to its Promise, in order to accommodate different religious obligations.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/library/hqdocs/por/2005/1_5.htm#rule_1.1|title= Rule 1.1: Variations to the wording of the Promises|access-date= December 23, 2009|publisher= The Scout Association|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081202131520/http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/library/hqdocs/por/2005/1_5.htm#rule_1.1|archive-date= December 2, 2008|df= mdy-all}}</ref> While for example in the predominantly atheist Czech Republic the Scout oath does not mention God altogether with the organization being strictly irreligious,<ref>Štogr, Josef, ed. Význam slibu: sborník. Praha: Libri prohibiti, 2011. 50 s. {{ISBN|978-80-904778-5-8}}</ref> in 2014, United Kingdom Scouts were given the choice of being able to make a variation of the Promise that replaced "duty to God" with "uphold our Scout values",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/10/09/uk_scouting_opens_the_doors_to_unbelievers/|title= Be prepared... to give heathens a badge: UK Scouts open doors to unbelievers|access-date=October 10, 2013 |first=Bill |last=Ray |website= The Register}}</ref> [[Scouts Canada]] defines Duty to God broadly in terms of "adherence to [[spirituality|spiritual]] principles" and leaves it to the individual member or leader whether they can follow a Scout Promise that includes Duty to God.<ref name="canadareligion">{{cite web |year=2005 |url=http://sunshine.scouts.ca/bpp/Section%205000.pdf |title=Standard Operating Procedures, Section 5000 – Scouts Canada's Programs |publisher=Scouts Canada |access-date=May 31, 2007 |archive-date=January 4, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060104012402/http://sunshine.scouts.ca/bpp/Section%205000.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Worldwide, roughly one in three Scouts are Muslim.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9173946/New-uniforms-help-Muslim-girl-Scouts-to-be-better-prepared.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9173946/New-uniforms-help-Muslim-girl-Scouts-to-be-better-prepared.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=New uniforms help Muslim girl Scouts to be better prepared |author=Hough, Andrew |date=March 30, 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref>