One of the oldest and largest charter organizations of the Boy Scouts of America, the Church of the Latter-Day Saints, will drop its scouting program for boys ages 14-17 at the beginning of 2018. About 1 out of every 6 boy scouts is Mormon, so this decision will remove around 180,000  boys from higher level boy scouts programs.

The church will still sponsor Cub Scouts, from ages 8-10, and Boy Scouts, from ages 11-13 in the United States and Canada. Statements from the church however, indicate that they may drop those programs soon as well. The Church of Latter-Day Saints’ Office of the First Presidency released a letter stating the reason for the drops. They said it was, “the church’s ongoing effort to evaluate and improve its service to families and young people worldwide.”

As well as the release of the letter, Mormonnewsroom.org released a more detailed statement saying, “In most congregations in the United States and Canada, young men ages 14-18 are not being served well by the Varsity or Venturing programs, which have historically been difficult to implement within the church,” the statement said. “This change will allow youth and leaders to implement a simplified program that meets local needs while providing activities that balance spiritual, social, physical and intellectual development goals for young men.”