AP-Religion Roundup
     
Update on the latest in religion news:

MILITARY-GAYS-CHAPLAINS
     
Senator: Pentagon will prepare chaplains for gay troops

     
WASHINGTON (AP) - Senator Debbie Stabenow says she's confident
the Pentagon will prepare chaplains for any religious conflicts
they would have if the military repeals its "don't ask, don't
tell" policy.
     
The Michigan Democrat told reporters that she believes gays
should be allowed to serve openly.
     
Some chaplains have expressed concern that Pentagon acceptance
of homosexuality would hinder their ability to counsel or preach
that gay sex is sinful.
     
Stabenow said the goal should be to respect "everyone's beliefs
and wishes," and she's sure the Defense Department will work
through any conflicts "in a respectful way with members of the
clergy."
     
A Pentagon review on welcoming gay troops is due in December.

INSTRUCTOR FIRED
     
U of Ill. says fired religion instructor can return

     
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - The University of Illinois says an
instructor who was fired over a complaint about his presentation of
Roman Catholic doctrine on homosexuality can have his job back.
     
However, the university says it will now pay the salaries of
Kenneth Howell and others teaching Catholic-related courses rather
than have them paid by a church group.
     
Howell taught Introduction to Catholicism and Modern Catholic
Thought. He says he was fired at the end of the spring semester
after sending students an e-mail explaining Catholic teachings on
homosexuality.
     
A student complained that Howell's e-mail amounted to hate
speech.
     
Attorney David Hacker of the Alliance Defense Fund, which
represented Howell, says the school admits no wrongdoing, but its
committee on academic freedom will consider whether Howell's rights
were violated.

BOOKS-ANNE RICE
     
Novelist Anne Rice says she's leaving Christianity

     
NEW YORK (AP) - Novelist Anne Rice says she's no longer a
Christian.
     
The 68-year-old author wrote Wednesday on her Facebook page that
she refuses to be "anti-gay ... anti-feminist," and
"anti-artificial birth control."
     
She adds that "In the name of ... Christ, I quit Christianity
and being Christian. Amen."
     
Rice is best known for "Interview With a Vampire" and other
gothic novels.
     
Raised as a Catholic, she rejected the church early in her life,
but renewed her faith in recent years and in 2008 released the
memoir "Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession."
     
In a telephone interview Thursday, Rice said she's been having
doubts for the past several years.

FORTUNE TELLER
     
Va. woman sues over 'fortune teller' label

     
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A self-described spiritual counselor says
officials in Chesterfield County, Va., violated her religious
rights by subjecting her to licensing requirements imposed on
fortune tellers.
     
But a federal judge says Patricia Moore-King is "the author of
her own misfortune."
     
King's lawyer says she applied for a business license as a
counselor, but was told she would have to apply for a license as a
fortune teller, which requires a criminal background check.
     
King, who does business under the name "Psychic Sophie," says
her spiritual counseling methods include Tarot card readings,
energy healing, astrology, clairvoyance and psychic abilities.
     
Judge Robert Payne said Thursday that King sued the county
before exhausting her other options.

AUSTRALIA-RELIGION
     
Australian PM says her atheism no threat to church

     
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - New Prime Minister Julia Gillard is
assuring Australia's Christian majority that her atheism won't
affect government funding to church-run schools if she's
re-elected.
     
Gillard, who was sworn in last month and promptly called
elections, was the first prime minister in Australia's history to
take an affirmation of office instead of swearing on a Bible.
     
While most Australians are Christian by birth, they are
generally not devout and prefer to keep politics and religion
separate.
     
Still, Gillard sought to reassure voters that her atheism won't
affect government policies such as funding for church-run schools
or churches' tax-free status after a Catholic bishop raised
concerns.

ISRAEL-GAY PARADE
     
Thousands march in Jerusalem gay pride parade

     
JERUSALEM (AP) - Thousands of members of Israel's gay community
and their supporters have held a gay pride parade through
Jerusalem.
     
The marchers set off from the city's centre and marched past
religious protesters to a park near Israel's parliament for a
rally.
     
There was a heavy police presence along the parade route, but
religious youths confronted some of the marchers and were arrested
when scuffles broke out.
     
Gays and lesbians live openly in much of Israel, and Tel Aviv
holds an annual gay parade. But in conservative Jerusalem there
have been clashes between religious and gay activists.

ISRAEL-KOSHER DELIGHTS
     
Jerusalem dinner expands kosher menu

     
JERUSALEM (AP) - The organizers of a unique six-hour eating
marathon in Jerusalem want diners to know two things about locusts:
First, they taste great stir-fried, and second, they're kosher.
     
When 240 observant Jews sat down to the 18-course dinner last
week, they were served creatures that seemed unlikely candidates to
be eaten under the Bible's Jewish dietary laws.
     
Dishes included sparrows, doves, pheasants, deer, roasted elk
and grilled cow udders.
    
A cadre of rabbis and academics explained each course to the
diners. They also discussed long-running debates over the kosher
status of some creatures, such as swordfish, which was also served.
     
Organizers of the dinner say it was meant to show that the list
of permissible foods for Jews throughout history is longer and
stranger than most people think.

MARIAN DAYS
     
Vietnamese Catholics to convene in SW Missouri

     
CARTHAGE, Mo. (AP) - Thousands of Vietnamese Catholics from
around the United States will gather in southwest Missouri next
week for an annual celebration.
     
The Marian Days festival is held each summer in Carthage at the
Congregation of the Mother Co-Redemptrix, which is a Catholic order
founded in Vietnam.
     
This year's gathering is scheduled for Aug. 5-8 and will include
a drive to recruit more Vietnamese to register for a bone marrow
donation network.
     
Last year, Be The Match Registry signed up about 2,000 potential
donors at Marian Days.
     
In recent years, Marian Days has been drawing more than 50,000
people, with many camping in tents on the parish campus.

REMAINS REBURIED
     
Interfaith reburial held for 130-year-old remains

     
DEADWOOD, S.D. (AP) - A Roman Catholic priest, a Taoist master
and a Lakota holy man have helped rebury 130-year-old remains that
were uncovered in the South Dakota town of Deadwood.
     
The remains were discovered in 2006 by workers dismantling a
retaining wall. They were identified as being either an American
Indian or Chinese man.
     
The Chinese worked in Deadwood's gold-mining industry years ago.
     
The remains were reburied Wednesday in Deadwood's Mount Moriah
Cemetery. The ceremony began with a traditional Catholic prayer and
scripture reading, followed by Chinese and Native American rituals.

     
     
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)
     
AP-NY-07-30-10 0330EDT