Since the publication of Scouting for Boys in 1908, all Scouts and Guides around the world have taken a Scout (or Guide) promise or oath to live up to ideals of the movement, and subscribed to a Scout Law. The wording of the Scout Promise (or Oath) and Scout Law have varied slightly over time and from country to country. Some national organization promises are given below. Although most Scouting and Guiding organizations use the word 'promise', a few such as the Boy Scouts of America tend to use 'oath' instead. Typically, Scouts and Guides will make the three-fingered Scout Sign when reciting the promise.
In his original book on boy scouting, Baden-Powell introduced the Scout Promise, as follows:[1]
| “ | Before he becomes a scout, a boy must take the scout's oath, thus: On my honour I promise that---
While taking this oath the scout will stand, holding his right hand raised level with his shoulder, palm to the front, thumb resting on the nail of the digitus minimus (little finger) and the other three fingers upright, pointing upwards:--- This is the scout's salute and secret sign. |
” |
The form of the promise has varied slightly from country to country and over time, but must fulfill the requirements of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) to qualify a National Scout Organization for membership. Together with clarifying its Scout Law, the Constitution of WOSM states:[2]
| “ |
All members of the Scout Movement are required to adhere to a Scout Promise and Law reflecting, in language appropriate to the culture and civilization of each National Scout Organization and approved by the World Organization, the principles of Duty to God, Duty to others and Duty to self, and inspired by the Promise and Law conceived by the Founder of the Scout Movement in the following terms:
On my honour I promise that I will do my best— |
” |
In order to accommodate many different religions within Scouting, "God" may refer to a higher power, and is not specifically restricted to the God of the monotheistic religions. The WOSM Constitution explains "Duty to God" as "Adherence to spiritual principles, loyalty to the religion that expresses them and acceptance of the duties resulting therefrom."
The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), which is a sister organization to WOSM, has the very same wording in their constitution (Part I, Article 2: Original Promise),[3] and follows similar policies.
Although the Constitution of WOSM states that the Promise should include a reference to Duty to God,[2] six countries (Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Finland) were granted the right in the 1920s by Lord Baden-Powell to additionally use an alternative promise without a reference to God.[4] Three of these countries still offer this alternative promise (France, the Netherlands and Czech Republic), where others have abandoned it. WOSM stated in 1932 that no new exceptions would be made and expressed the hope that the few remaining countries would stop using any promise lacking a reference to Duty to God.[4]
The Israeli Scouts, though founded in 1919/1920, and joining WOSM in 1951 and WAGGGS in 1963, also have no 'duty to God' or apparent equivalent in their promise.[5]
In 1969, the Eclaireuses et Eclaireurs israélites de France decided to abandon the triple promise of Baden-Powell because the explicit reference to "God" is not satisfactory from a Jewish perspective. The word God (Dieu) poses also problems, because etymologically it comes from Zeus, which makes it inappropriate in Jewish texts of thought or education, where all pagan references must be banished.[6][7]
Scout sections that follow traditional Scouting, such as Baden-Powell Scouts within the World Federation of Independent Scouts, use several promises including the original Scout promise above that includes the reference to God.[8] Some, however, for example the 1st Tarrant Scout Group in Fort Worth, Texas use a blend of the original promise[9] and the "Outlander Promise" which, "according to tradition", B-P wrote for Scouts that had to omit the reference to God or a monarch for reasons of conscience.[10]
Many of these are translations from the native languages of a particular organization and translations of the same words by different people can vary.
I promise to do my best
To love my God
And be helpful
On my honour
I promise that I will do my best
To do my duty to my God, and
To (the Queen of) Australia
To help other people, and
To live by the Cub Scout Law
On my honour
I promise that I will do my best
To do my duty to my God, and
To (the Queen of) Australia
To help other people, and
To the live by the Scout Law
I promise that I will do my best:
to do my duty to God, to serve the Queen and my country;
to help other people; and
to keep the Guide Law.
|
I promise on my honour |
Ich verspreche bei meiner Ehre, |
|
On my honour I promise that, I will do my best to do my duty
To God and my country,
To help other people at all times and
To obey the Scout law.
I promise, on my honour, to try:
To be loyal to a higher ideal, our group and democracy
To obey the guides/Scouts law
To help where possible
I promise, on my word of honour,
With Gods mercy and to best capacity,
To serve God, Church, King, country and Europe,
To help my fellow man in all circumstances,
To obey the Scouts law.
I am a Scout/Guide, among Scouts and Guides in the world
So I hope for something more than what I see.
I hope that what I do is not for nothing,
I believe that what we do has meaning,
I promise that it is not momentarily.
|
Prometo pela minha honra |
I promise on my honour |
|
I promise, under my word of honour, to do my best to:
Be loyal to God and my country,
Help other at any occasion and
Obey the Guiding Law.
On my honour
I promise that I will do my best
To do my duty to God and the Queen
To help other people at all times,
And to carry out the spirit of the Scout Law.
I promise to do my best,
To be true to myself, my beliefs and Canada.
I will take action for a better world
And respect the Guiding Law
The promise as made by all members of B-PSA Federation of Canada over the age of 11 years is as follows:
On my honor I promise that I will do my best -
To do my duty to God and my country
To help other people at all times,
To obey the Scout Law[12]
|
Por mi honor prometo |
I promise on my honour |
|
|
Yo ______ por mi honor y con la Gracia de Dios, |
I ______, by my honour and with God's Grace, |
|
|
Con las gracias de Dios, yo ______ prometo, |
With God's graces, I ______ promise, |
|
|
Por mi honor y con la ayuda de Dios, |
By my honour and with God's help, |
|
|
Slibuji na svou čest, jak dovedu nejlépe: |
On my honor I promise that I will do my best: |
|
On my honor I promise to do my best
To be faithful to my country,
Be helpful at all times
And to keep the Scout Law.
I wish to love my God and my neighbour,
my fatherland and mankind
by fulfilling the Guide and Scout ideals in my life.
Due to the huge number of different Scout associations in France, there is no common Scout Promise in France.
|
Je promets sur mon honneur (les croyants ajoutent : et devant Dieu) de faire tous mes efforts pour servir mon pays et l'amitié entre les hommes, servir en toutes occasions, vivre notre loi et notre régle d'or. |
On my honor (the believers add : and before God), I promise to do my best to serve my country and friendship between men, to serve in any circumstance, to live our law and our golden rule. |
|
With the assistance of the Lord and all the troop, I am ready to live according to the law of Scouts of the whole world.
I engage with living the law of the EEIF
On my honor, with the grace of God, I engage:
To serve my better God, the Church, my fatherland and Europe
To help my next in all circumstances
To observe the Scout law
On my honor, with the grace of God, I engage:
To serve my better God, the Church and the fatherland
To help my next in all circumstances
To observe the Scout law
Due to the huge number of different Scout associations in Germany, there is no common Scout Promise in Germany. For details on the individual promises, see Scouting and Guiding in Germany.
On my honour, I promise
To do my duty to God and the country,
To help every person in every circumstance,
And, to obey the Scout Law.
|
Por mi honor prometo |
By my honour I promise |
|
|
我願以信譽為誓，竭盡所能； |
On my honour, I promise that I will do my best |
|
|
我願盡所能； |
I promise to do my best |
|
|
Én, ... fogadom, hogy híven teljesítem kötelességeimet, |
I, ... promise that I'll do my duties |
|
|
Ég lofa að gera það sem í mínu valdi stendur |
I promise to do all in my power: |
|
On my honour, I promise that I will do my best
To do my duty to God* and my country,
To help other people and
To obey the Scout/Guide Law
On My Honour, I promise to
Fulfill my obligation to the God, to the Republic of Indonesia, and to obey Pancasila
Help other people and get involved in build the community
Obey the Scout Law.
(The promise can be taken through English, the Irish version is not a direct translation, for reasons of flow.)
|
Ar m’fhocal agus m’fhírnne, geallaim go ndéanfaidh mé mo dhícheall, |
On my honour I promise that I will do my best, |
|
I promise to do my best;
To be a good Beaver Scout,
To love God, and to love one another.
On my honour and with the help of God I (name),
Promise to do my best,
Be true to Jesus and his Church,
And to live the Cub Scout law.
On my honour I promise that I will do my best,
To do my duty to God*,
To develop my talents,
To serve my community**,
To help other people and to live by the Scout Law.
On my honour I promise that I will do my best,
To do my duty to God*,
To serve my community**,
To help other people and to live by the Scout Law,
And by thought, word and deed, to be a positive influence to young people in Scouting.
|
chun mo thuiscint agus mo ghlacadh den Réaltacht Spioradálta a chur chun cinn |
To further my understanding and acceptance of a Spiritual Reality, |
|
**The term "community" refers to Gasóga na hÉireann as an all-Ireland body existing in two jurisdictions.
I promise to do my best to fulfill my duties to my people, my country
and my land, to help others at all times and to obey the Scout
Law.
|
Con l’aiuto di Dio, prometto sul mio onore di fare del mio meglio: |
With God's help, I promise on my honour to do my best |
|
|
Prometto sul mio onore di fare del mio meglio per: |
I promise on my honour to do my best |
|
I swear on my honor to uphold the following three practices:
To act in good faith towards God and my country, and uphold the [Scout] law.
To always help other people.
To strengthen my body, to make sound my mind, and to cultivate virtue.
I promise to:
Do my duty to God,
Be responsible for my community,
My country and the world;
Try to be helpful to other people;
and
Live by the Girl Scout Law.
On my honour
I promise that I will do my best
To do my duty to God, and
To my country (Kenya),
To help other people at all times, and
To obey the Scout Law.
|
Bahawa dengan sesungguhnya saya berjanji dan bersetia, yang saya dengan seberapa daya upaya, saya akan: |
On my honour I promise that I will do my best, |
|
On my honour I promise that I will do my best
to God, King, and my Country Malaysia
to help people at all times
and to obey the guide laws.
Fuq l-unur tieghi, inwieghed li naghmel hilti
Biex naqdi dmiri lejn Alla u Art Twelidi
Biex nghin lil haddiehor kull hin
Li nobdi l-ligi tal-iScouts.
|
Yo, prometo por mi honor |
By my honor I promise |
|
I promise to do my best
(with the help of God)
to be a good Scout
to search for and encourage the good consciously,
to help everyone where I can
and to live by the Scouts law.
You can count on me.
On my honour,
I promise to do my best,
To do my duty to my God,
To the Queen and my Country,
To help other people,
And to live by the Scout Law.
I promise, with the help of my God,
to be true to myself,
to do my best to help my country,
and to live by the Guide Law
On my honour,
I promise to do my best,
To do my duty,
To God and my Country,
To help other people at all times,
And to obey the Scout Law.
On my honour,
I promise to do my best,
To do my duty,
To God and my Country,
To help other people at all times,
And to obey the Guide Law.
|
Jeg lover etter beste evne å være åpen for Gud, |
I promise to do my best to be open for God, |
|
Alternatively:
|
Jeg lover etter beste evne å tjene Gud, |
I promise to do my best to serve God, |
|
|
I tro på Guds hjelp lover jeg: |
In faith of God's help i promise to: |
|
Boy and Senior Scouts
On my honor, I will do my best
to do my duty to God and my country,
the Republic of the Philippines
and to obey the Scout law.
To help other people at all times,
To keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake and morally straight
KAB Scouts
On my honor, I will do my best
to love God and my country,
the Republic of the Philippines,
to do a good turn daily
and to obey the Scout law
On my honor i will do my duty
To God & my country
To help other people at all times
& to live by the Girl Scout Law
|
Prometo por minha Honra fazer o meu melhor por:
|
On my honor I promise to do my best to:
|
|
Prometo pela minha honra e com a graça de deus fazer todos os possiveis por:
Cumprir os meus deveres para com deus a igreja e a pátria.
Auxiliar o meu semelhante em todas as circunstancias.
Obedecer à lei do escuta.
|
Mam szczera wolę całym życiem |
It is my sincere wish |
|
Mam szczerą wolę, całym życiem,
pełnić służbę Bogu i Polsce,
nieść chętna pomoc bliźnim
i być posłusznym Prawu Harcerskiemu.
|
Promit, pe onoarea mea, sa fac tot posibilul |
i promise to do my duty to do my best to god and my country to help other people and to obey the law of the pack |
|
On My honour, I promise that I will do my best;
To do my duty to God, and to the Republic of Singapore,
To help other people;
And to keep the Scout Law.
I promise to do my best,
To do my duty to God,
To serve my country
and help other people,
and to keep the Guide Law
On my honour, I promise that I will do my best -
To do my duty to God, and my Country;
To help other people at all times;
To obey the Scout Law.
I promise to do my best
To do my duty to my God
And to my country
To help other people
And to keep the Guide Law
|
나는 나의 명예를 걸고 다음의 조목을 굳게 지키겠습니다 |
On my honour, I will keep the following: |
|
On my honour, I promise to do my best,
to do my duty to religion and country,
to help other people at all times
and to obey the Scout Laws .
|
Jag lovar att efter bästa förmåga följa scoutlagen. |
I promise to do my best to keep the Scout law. |
|
With your help and happily I Promise to do my best:
or
With the help of God, with your help and happily I promise to do my best:
To study in detail the values of our Scout Law
To search for the meaning of my life
To be involved in the community where I live
I wish to join Boy Scouts of China, and on my honor,
I promise that I will obey the Scout Law,
and all my life I will do my best.
To do my duty to God, be friendly to the people and
become a righteous Chinese citizen.
To help others and serve the public at all times.
To strive to make myself rich in knowledge, perfect
in character, and healthy in physical constitution.
On my honour I promise
that I will be loyal to the Nation,
the Religion and the King;
help other people at all times;
and obey the Scout Law.
On my honour, I will promise,
To do duties to God and my country,
To help others at all time
To obey the Scouting laws,
To be physically strong, mentally awake and morally strong.
On My honour, I promise that I will do my best;
To do my duty to God, and my Country,
To help other people at all times;
To obey the Scout Law.
I swear with my loyalty that I will do everything in my powers, to:
Be loyal to God and Ukraine;
Help others;
Live accordingly to the Plast law and obey Plast leadership.
The promise as made by all members of The Scout Association over the age of 10 years is as follows:
On my honour, I promise that I will do my best,
To do my duty to God and to the Queen,
To help other people,
And to keep the Scout Law.
I promise to do my best,
To be kind and helpful,
and to love God.
I promise that I will do my best,
to do my duty to God and to the Queen,
to help other people
and to keep the Cub Scout Law.
Ar fy llw,
Addawf i wneud fy ngorau
i wneud fy nyletswydd i Dduw ac i'r Frenhines
i helpu pobl eraill
ac i gadw Cyfraith y Sgowtiaid.
I promise that I will do my best:
To love my God,
To serve the Queen and my country,
To help other people
and
To keep the Guide Law
Extra for Senior Section
To be of service to the community
The promise as made by all members of Baden-Powell Scouts' Association over the age of 11 years is as follows:
On My Honour, I promise that I will do my best,
To do my Duty to God and to the Queen,
To help other people at all times,
And obey the Scout Law.
I promise to do my best,
To obey my Leaders and parents
And to be a good Beaver.
I promise to DO MY BEST.
To do my duty to God, and to the Queen,
To keep the Law of the Wolf Cub Pack,
and to do a good turn to somebody every day.
I ________ promise to do my best
To do my duty to God and my country,
To help other people, and
To obey the Law of the Pack.
On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake, and morally straight.
As a Venturer, I promise to do my duty to God and help strengthen America, to help others, and to seek truth, fairness, and adventure in our world.
On my honor, I will try:
To serve God* and my country,
To help people at all times,
And to live by the Girl Scout Law.
The promise as made by all members of Baden-Powell Service Association over the age of 11 years is as follows:
On my honor I promise that I will do my best -
To do my duty to God and my country
To help other people at all times,
To obey the Scout Law[14]
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||