WIBU to make a promise to " To do my duty to God & Queen" if I don't believe in them

[Himalaya]

... Obviously I do recognise that the Queen exists

[EndoplasmicReticulum]

This is why I only went to Brownies once.

[StaceymReadyForNumber3]

Awww I only came on to point out you were denying the existence of the queen! Lol

[Cahoots]

Meh, I don't believe in God and I am not a Royalist (at all) but whatever! I wouldn't care enough to make a point and not say it. IYSWIM

[wewereherefirst]

The queen doesn't exist, its a conspiracy!

[Unacceptable]

I do it all the time. A lot of people do. Kids say it without realising what they are saying. YANBU

[BartletForTeamGB]

Is this a Girlguiding question?

If it is, then a lot of people see "loving my God" as loving a specific God, or a faith system, or a moral code.

I would explain "to serve the Queen and my country" as following the laws of the land etc. She is (if only nominally) in charge and is the figurehead so it doesn't mean that you need to be a Royalist to keep that promise.

[WileyRoadRunner]

Depends how much you don't believe. If you like to harp on about it I think it would be hypocritical.

If you are just meh about it all then I would still say it if required for something I wanted to do.

[honeytea]

If you think you have no duty to god or the queen then you are just promising to do nothing. I don't see a problem with it :)

[Felicitywascold]

Doing your duty to the queen means following the laws of the land, so not to difficult to achieve even if you aren't a royalist.

Loving your God. Well you don't have to believe in a religious God if you don't want to. Can you think of anything you are prepared to elevate to 'god like' status in your life? Is your 'god' family, friendship, music, work, children, art, science? Anything counts as it is your God you're promising to love.

[maybenow]

I do. Doesn't matter much to me, i'm an atheist but not against believe per se. I am also not a royalist but neither am I a card-carrying campaigning republican so as things stand in the country for now i'm happy to use 'queen' as shorthand for 'head of state'.

[Felicitywascold]

Also, you know the word 'Duty' hasn't been in the promise for about 20 years? Right....

I promise that I will do my best, to love my god, to serve the queen and my country, help other people and to keep the guide law.

[Rosa]

I promise that I will do my best, to do my duty to God, to serve the queen and help other people and keep the brownie guide law..... Was what I said probably about xxxxxxx years ago ..How I dug that out of the grey matter I have no idea whatsoever!

[EcoLady]

That's why it changed .... no longer 'Duty to God' but 'to love my god' ... and my god may well be different to your god.

[redexpat]

If it's GGUK it's love my god. So no biggy if you dont have one.

[Himalaya]

Sorry, cubs/scouts, not guides - it definitely says duty.

I've rationalised it exactly as honeytea says. Just wondering I'd that's unreasonable, and how much of a hipocrit I will feel if I have to stand up and say it in front of a load of kids.

[x2boys]

but scouting and guiding have a fundamentally religious background so if you dont beleive in god or any god fine, but dont expect them to change there laws and promises just for you i,m not a big fan of the royals but i went all the way through brownies guides and rangers and my son has just started beavers. Just because you have to say something doesnt meanyou have to beleive what you say

[MrsTerryPratchett]

I have to swear allegiance to the Queen to become a citizen of Canada. One of the reasons I have been putting it off.

[Himalaya]

"If the Queen and "God" pop by looking for a bit of light housework to be done, I'll deal with them appropriately."

[FlibberdeGibbet]

Rationalise it as other posters have suggested - duty to Queenie = respecting the laws and unwritten constitution of the land. Duty to God - respecting yourself and others.

Get over that bit, and enjoy scouting / guiding

[DalekInAFestiveJumper]

kim147: I like your take on the duty to the Queen. Walking the corgis sounds fun. Heck, I'm so dutiful I'd even play a few rounds of fetch with them -- well, until the ball got too slobbery.