The faith-based alternative to Girl Scouts that's reaching Gen Z

In 1995, Patti Garibay sat at a kitchen table with a handful of concerned parents and girls. Society’s role models for girls were not ideal, to say the least. And Patti had just seen an agenda from Girl Scouts of the United States of America — and she was shocked. She knew she had to challenge the status quo of the Girl Scouts and create a faith-based scouting program for girls ages 5-18. The American Heritage Girls (AHG) has been operating now for 27 years, now reaching the “least religious” generation — Gen Z.

“It is America’s premiere, faith-based scout-type character development program for girls. And it’s dedicated to the mission of building women of integrity through service to God, family, community and country,” Patti told The Stream. “[T]he activities that the girls do across the nation include badge programs, service projects, leadership opportunities, outdoor experience, all with the emphasis on Christian values and family involvement.” …

In 2016, about 39% of Gen Z were nones. Today, it’s up to 44.4%, with 7% identifying as atheists, 6% as agnostics, and another 31% saying that they are “nothing in particular.” In 2020, 35% of this generation identified as Catholic or Protestant, down from 41% in 2016, which means it is empirically accurate to say that there are more nones in Gen Z than Christians.

While this trend is disturbing overall, Patti is seeing a unprecedented growth of Gen Zers becoming involved in AHG. “You know why? Because we all have that ‘God-sized hole.’ Wasn’t it Pascal that spoke about the God-sized hole in everyone’s heart?” Even though many of the Gen Zers were not raised in a religious family or in a family of faith, they want and desire it. Their heroes are often religious leaders. “[N]ow they’re looking at this and you know why? Because they feel like they can be part of the solution of societal ills. And so, faith-based leaders that are feeding the poor, that are dealing with those that are being sexually trafficked, these are the issues that are very important to Gen Z, particularly girls. And so, if you’re helping to find solution and be part of that, they want to be alongside you.”