Mormon Church breaks all its ties with Boy Scouts of America

The two organizations ‘jointly determined’ that as of December 31, 2019, the Church will no longer be a chartered partner of the Scouts, it said in a joint statement with the Boy Scouts.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Tuesday it will sever all ties with the Boy Scouts of America, ending a century-old tradition deeply ingrained in the religious life of Mormon boys.

The Mormon Church, as it is more commonly known, said in its announcement that it has “increasingly felt the need to create and implement a uniform youth leadership and development program that serves its members globally.” The two organizations “jointly determined” that as of December 31, 2019, the Church will no longer be a chartered partner of the Scouts, it said in a joint statement with the Boy Scouts.

The change will affect hundreds of thousands of Mormon boys in 30,500 congregations worldwide.

For 105 years, the relationship between the Boy Scouts and the Mormon Church has been important to both groups. Any boy who is part of a Mormon congregation automatically becomes part of the Boy Scouts. The Mormon Church has been the largest participant of the Boy Scouts in the United States, making up nearly 20 percent of all of the Boy Scouts’ 2.3 million youth members.

Church officials did not cite specific Scouts policy changes that spurred the split, but the two groups have increasingly clashed over values in recent years, particularly following the Boy Scouts’ move to include openly gay troop leaders. The announcement also came less than a week after the Boy Scouts announced it would be changing its flagship name to Scouts BSA, promoting its decision last year to welcome girls into the program for the first time.

While about 70 percent of chartered Boy Scout troops are sponsored by faithbased organizations, Mormon boys will still be able to join Boy Scout troops independent of their churches. In a statement Tuesday, the Boy Scouts’ Great Salt Lake Council said it planned to continue working with community partners and organizations to provide options for any youth who still hope to be Scouts after the partnership ends.

RICK BOWMER / ASSOCIATED PRESS The Mormon church, the largest sponsor of Boy Scouts troops in the U.S., announced it is pulling older teenagers from the organization as the religion takes a step toward developing its own global scouting-like program.