Duty to God/my Dharma/Allah/Waheguru: diverse youthful religiosities and the politics and performance of informal worship

Abstract

This paper draws on a case study of the Scout Movement in the UK to explore the everyday, informal expressions of ‘worship’ by young people that occur outside of ‘designated’ religious spaces and the politics of these performances over time. In analysing the explicit geographies of how young people in UK scouting perform their ‘duty to God’ (or Dharma and so forth), it is argued that a more expanded concept of everyday and embodied worship is needed. This paper also attends to recent calls for more critical historical geographies of religion, drawing on archival data to examine the organisation's relationship with religion over time and in doing so contributes new insights into the production of youthful religiosities and re-thinking their designated domains.

Cet article utilise une étude de case du mouvement scout dans le RU pour examiner les expressions quotidiennes et informelles de la pratique religieuse par des jeunes qui prennent lieu en dehors des espaces religieux désignés comme tels ainsi que la politique de cette pratique avec le temps. La pratique des scouts britanniques de leur « devoir envers Dieu » (ou Dharma, etc.) forme des géographies explicites que nous examinons pour maintenir qu'il nous faut un concept plus élargi de la pratique religieuse incarnée et quotidienne. L'article prête attention aussi aux appels récemment lancés pour des géographies historiques plus critiques de la religion en tirant des données d'archives pour examiner la relation du mouvement avec la religion avec le temps. En faisant ainsi l'article contribue de nouveaux aperçus sur la production des religiosités jeunes et une nouvelle perspective sur leurs domaines désignés.

Este articulo se lleva de un caso práctico del Movimiento Explorador en el Reino Unido para explorar las expresiones cotidianas y informales de ‘adoración’ por jóvenes que ocurren afuera de espacios religiosos ‘designados’ y la política de estas representaciones con el tiempo. Al analizar las geografías explicitas de cómo jóvenes en el Reino Unido actúan su ‘obligación a Dios’ (o Dharma y demás), está discutido que un concepto más amplio de adoración encarnado es necesario. Este articulo también se atiende a llamados recientes para más geografías históricas criticas de la religión, llevando de archivos de datos para examinar la relación de la organización con religión con el paso del tiempo y al hacer eso, se contribuye nuevas perspicacias a la producción de religiosidades juveniles y re-pensar sus dominios designados.

Keywords:

• religion
• youth
• Britain
• Scout Movement
• worship
• archival research

Keywords:

• religion
• jeunesse
• [Grande] Bretagne, mouvement scout
• pratique religieuse
• recherche d'archives

Keywords:

• religión
• juventud
• Inglaterra
• Movimiento Explorador
• adoración
• investigación de archivos

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by an Economic and Social Research Council doctoral award (ES/F00737X/1—open competition) and written up as part of their Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme (ES/I031189/1). I would like to thank the archival staff at the Scout Association, Gilwell Park. Thanks are also extended to Rhys Dafydd Jones and Peter Kraftl for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of the paper, as well as the three anonymous reviewers and Michael Brown for their suggestions.

Notes

 1. Scout Association Archive [hereafter SAA]/TC/24, Letter, B.H.P Smith to R. Baden-Powell, 31 August 1923.

 2. SAA/TC/24, Letter, Rev. H. R. Harvey to R. Baden-Powell, 28 October 1923.

 3. SAA/TC/43/Camping 1916–1922, Nature Study, typed notes by R. Baden-Powell.

 4. SAA/TC/33, Letter, Baden-Powell to Mr Martin, 1929.

 5. This was replaced in 1951 by the Religious Advisory Board, in 1990 by the National Chaplaincy Team, and is now the National Team for Religious Development.

 6. SAA/TC/Pamphlets/R/The Religious Obligations of Scouts, London: BSA, March 1951: 7.

 7. SAA/Scouting and Religion Conference Notes, London: Boy Scouts Association: 25.

 8. SAA/TC/25, Letter, R. Baden-Powell to Rev. H. R. Harvey, 17 November 1921, cited in Proctor 2002: 141.

 9. Scout Association (2002) The Hindu Community in Scouting FS185023 Dec/02 2^nd Edition.

10. Scout Association (2008) The Sikh Community in Scouting FS185025 June/08 3^rd Edition, my emphasis.

11. SAA/TC/24, Letter, Rev. H. R. Harvey to R. Baden-Powell, 28 October 1923.

12. SAA/TC/119/Memo, Outlander Promise, 1942.

13. SAA/TC/119/Changes in the Scout Law, Comparative Study by World Scout Bureau, Geneva, 1969, VI.

14. SAA/TC/119/The Outlander Promise, typed notes, 1980.

15. SAA/TC/119/Internal Memorandum, Outlander Promise, 25 September 1986.

16. Kirpan is a ceremonial short sword or dagger worn by some followers of the Sikh religion that has a unique spiritual status.

17. Scout Association (2002) The Hindu Community in Scouting FS185023 Dec/02 2^nd Edition, my emphasis.