Boy Scouts faring well a year after easing ban on gay adults


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NEW YORK (AP) — The Boy Scouts appear to be faring well a year after alarming some churches by easing the ban on gay adults.

When leaders of the Boy Scouts of America voted to end the blanket ban on participation by openly gay adults, several of the biggest sponsors of Scout troops, including the Roman Catholic, Mormon and Southern Baptist churches, were openly dismayed, raising the prospect of mass defections.

But a year later, youth membership is on the verge of stabilizing after a long decline, corporations that halted donations because of the ban have resumed their support, and the vast majority of units affiliated with conservative religious denominations have remained in the fold — still free to exclude gay adults if that's in accordance with their religious doctrine.

About 73 percent of Scout units are sponsored by churches, some of which are open to participation by gay adults.

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%@AP Links

193-v-37-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor)--The Boy Scouts appear to be faring well a year after alarming some churches by easing the ban on gay adults. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (24 Jul 2016)

<<CUT *193 (07/24/16)££ 00:37

194-c-23-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor)-"their scout troops"-AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports that almost three-fourths of Boy Scout troops are sponsored by churches, which can still bar participation by gay adults. (24 Jul 2016)

<<CUT *194 (07/24/16)££ 00:23 "their scout troops"

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