I'm just dropping by to add a more recent experience of The International Order of the Rainbow for Girls, since it seems a lot of the testimonies here are from before the 90s. My experience was very positive, I thoroughly enjoyed my time as a Rainbow Girl. For reference, I joined in 1999 and reached Majority (Aged Out at 20) in 2008. Full disclosure, I am not Christian, I am actually Buddhist! :) So much has been updated in the last two decades with Rainbow Girls. A lot of complaints I see here were that is was "secretive" and the teaching were "Not christian". You all are partially right. For one, Rainbow girls is a NON denominational group, meaning we do not require members to subscribe to any particular religion. Our members are Baptists, Mormon, Catholics, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and some fall somewhere in between. We don't turn away anyone because of their faith, we only require that they believe in a supreme being. As for the "Secrets", they don't exist. Sorry! Not sorry! We no longer use the word Secret in any of our ceremonies. All members of a girls family are welcome to come to our meetings, period. The book of ceremonies we use is readily available online for your perusal, as well as being available to check out at most state libraries, including the library of congress! WE ARE AN OPEN BOOK! :) Our core teaching are based off of Christian Scripture, but we don't tell the girls they must accept Jesus into their heart, simply that they should exemplify his teachings, that of LOVE and KINDNESS. We also don't tell them that doing good and service in life is a guarantee into heaven. Rainbow does this because Christianity is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL religion and has amazing lessons that should be shared with all people. Jesus was an amazing teacher. All of these lessons were written be a Reverend, and the majority of them speak of Jesus, his teachings, or use scripture from the Holy Bible. As a buddhist, I found these teachings to be absolutely beautiful, and they are cardinal truths (Golden Rules) that I try to exemplify in my life as an adult. So is Rainbow a Cult? As someone who was in Rainbow, I honestly do not believe so. Cults have a pretty specific way of breaking down peoples beliefs and replacing them with their own, and Rainbow simply doesn't do that. It builds confidence in the girls so that they can use the lessons they learned in rainbow to be a better Christian, Jew, Catholic, or whatever their creed is. The core lessons are this: Red, Love - When you Love you are like God. Orange, Religion - Be religious, be apart of a faith that makes you a better person, and teaches Love and Service to others. Yellow Nature - There are many places that you can worship, and nature is one of them. Green, Immortality - This core lesson teaches that girls should be aware of their mortality as well as their soul's immortality. Blue, Fidelity - Be true to your word, be true to your parents, show your fidelity in action, word and deeds. Indigo, Patriotism - This lesson emphasizes that Pride and patriotism to your country and its flag, and the willingness to lay down your life in its defense, are important to life as an American, as well as respecting those who serve or who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. and finally, Violet, Service - Be of some Service each day. But Rainbow doesn't just teach these lessons. The motto for Rainbow is "Rainbow gets Girls ready for Life!" and as an adult who was active in Rainbow Girls from 11-20, I can tell you that I learned so many skills, not just theological teachings! Some of the highlights of Rainbow are: 1. It's a girl-run organization! The GIRLS elect their own leaders. Those leaders go up a chain of leadership (Faith, Hope, Charity, Worthy Associate Advisor [VP], and Worthy Advisor [President]). 2. The President (Worthy Advisor) creates a term plan, learns to delegate responsibility, and runs the business meetings. 3. The business meetings are run using "Roberts Rules of Order", and the girls learn this method without thinking about it! Its come in handy for me as an adult. 4. Girls gain confidence by learning memorization parts, and then reciting those parts. 5. Girls learn how to create a budget. 6. Girl are expected to follow dress codes that teach them how to dress for various situations, like fun/casual events, business attire events, and formal events, so that when they become and adult and enter the work force, they already have experience in dressing to impress. 7. Unlike other groups, Rainbow does not separate the "little girls" from the "big girls". The members are mixed in together, which allows the little girls to have mentors and roll models, and for the big girls to gain leadership skills. 8. Girls learn about self-care, self esteem, recognizing bullying and abuse, leadership skills, public speaking, social media precautions and respect. 9. Girls also learn appropriate conversation topics. Oversharing is an issue in the world now a days thanks to social media, I'm sure we've all seen that 15 year old who takes selfies with their parents empty beer bottles. We have a saying, "Boyfriends come last" which is a reminder to girls to keep their focus while at Rainbow events. It also really cuts down on drama! 10. THE DRESSES ARE FUN AND I DONT CARE WHAT ANYONE SAYS. There is nothing quite as exhilarating as floating across the floor in a gorgeous hoop dress! 11. Girls are encouraged to do service that is important to them! We have 2 six-month terms a year, and the Worthy Advisor gets to pick their service project. National Childrens Cancer Society, Food banks, Diabetes Dogs, Guide Dogs for the Blind, Hospitals, Toys for Tots, specific research groups for illnesses... it all depends on what is important to the girls. 12. We tell our girls to ask their parents questions if they don't understand the meaning of the work they are memorizing. It was written almost 100 years ago by an old man, so there are some great SAT words in the memorization work that we just don't use any more! Like Solemnity, Exemplify, Manifestation, and Benediction. The work has also been updated in the last 20 years to reflect the times, like the fact that WOMEN and Men serve our country in the armed forces. As for the Adults: 1. Adults who volunteer are usually parents or legal guardians, grandparents, aunts/uncles, past Rainbow Girls, or affiliated with some other Masonic group. 2. All adult volunteers are REQUIRED to go through a Background Check, be finger printed by the Police, pay a fee towards an insurance policy to protect girls and adults, and attend a mandatory Adult Worker training to learn about being a mandated reporter, recognizing the signs of abuse, drugs and other issues. 3. There are strict adult to girl ratios to make sure that members are properly chaperoned. 4. There are strict rules about how adults and girls can interact, including that no adults go into the girls designated dressing room, that men can not chaperone one-on-one with any girl who is not in their immediate family, and so on. 5. All family members are ALWAYS WELCOME to every rainbow meeting and function. There are no secrets in Rainbow. We will gladly hand you our book of ceremony so you can read through and ask questions about the memorization work and its meanings. 6. In fact, YOU as a non-parent who are interested in learning more are ALWAYS welcome to all meetings and events! I really don't understand where people are getting these ideas that these teachings don't align with Christianity or offends their relationship with God. I was raised Christian, I understand the teachings. The lessons are beautifully written and are easy to digest for young adults, teaching complex ideas simplistically. Love thy neighbor, Have Faith, Respect Nature, Cherish your Soul and Life on earth, Be true to your word, Respect the Flag and your country, and Be of Service. These are all teachings I want my children to learn and project to the world when they grow up. The fact that they also will learn a plethora of other skills that will help them as adults, as well as make lasting friendships like I did, is an added bonus! Rainbow also gave me the confidence I needed to be a leader in the work force, I already had so many leadership skills from my time as a Worthy Advisor, that I felt comfortable taking the lead at work. It was definitely a confidence boost to be the youngest manager at my grocery store job, and be really good at what I did! All I can say is I hope any parents who are considering Rainbow for their daughters actually MEET with Assembly they are interested in, talk to its members, go to some of the events, and get a feel for what Rainbow is IN PERSON! Trust your own gut! Is Rainbow for everyone? No. Some people don't like the amount of effort needed to be in rainbow. The memorization work. The leadership responsibilities, etc. Some people just want to get badges for learning how to tie a knot, and thats okay. But for girls who want to gain more, do more, experience more, Rainbow is wonderful!