同一个国家 不同的信仰

 　　AT A time when Americans are worried about their crippling political divisions, it is pleasing to report that two social scientists, Robert Putnam of Harvard University and David Campbell of the University of Notre Dame¹, have just written a book that examines a powerful source of American unity². Perhaps unexpectedly, the unifying³ force they focus on is religion.

　　如今，美国人越来越担心国内日益严峻的政治分歧，而正在这个紧要关头，哈佛大学社会科学学家罗伯特 普特南和其圣母大学的同行大卫 坎贝尔联手出版了一本书，研究到底是什么维系了美国的团结统一。但是，也许没人能想到，他们笔下的“凝聚力”却归结于‘宗教’。

　　America's religiosity has been extensively documented and should surprise no one. It is, Sarah Palin said in her own new book this week, "a prayerful country". More than eight out of ten Americans say they belong to a religion. More Americans than Iranians (four out of ten) say they attend a religious service nearly once a week or more. What is a surprise―or should be, when you think about it in the way Messrs Putnam and Campbell have―is that religion in America is not more divisive. They argue in "American Grace" (Simon & Schuster) that religion gives Americans a sort of "civic⁴ glue, uniting rather than dividing".

　　对于美国人的宗教痴迷情结，人们也早已司空见惯了。莎拉 佩林在其于本周发行的新书中也如是说，‘美国是个宗教虔诚的国度’。10个美国人就有8个称自己信教。10个伊朗人里面有4个称自己一星期至少会做一次宗教服侍，但是他们跟美国人比起来就又稍逊一筹了。按照普特南和坎贝尔的逻辑往下推理，我们得出结论：相对政治来说，美国宗教要和谐的多―――这还真够耸人听闻的。在其新作中，普特南和坎贝尔说，上帝保佑美国，宗教将人民万众一心，使美国团结和谐而不会走向分崩离析。

　　The unifying impact of religion would not be so puzzling in a country where people were pious⁵ but where there was only one dominant⁶ religion―Catholic Poland, say. Americans, by contrast, hold intense religious beliefs but belong to many different faiths and denominations⁷. That should in theory produce an explosive combination. So why doesn't it?

　　若是国民都虔诚信教，国内主导宗教也莫非一种(比如说，波兰的天主教)的话，这个国家定能团结和谐。但是美国却正好相反，美国人宗教信仰情结热切，但是公民的宗教信仰，皈依的教派却又庞杂各异。这在理论上来说，会促使国内纷争频发，斗争不绝，但是美国为什么却又安然无恙，幸免于难了呢?

　　There are the protections of the constitution, of course. But the authors put much of it down to Aunt Susan. Such is America's churning diversity that most Americans are intimately acquainted with people of other faiths. Aunt Susan may be a Methodist, and you a Jew, but you know that Aunt Susan deserves a place in heaven anyway. In fact, Susan does not have to be your aunt, because in addition to the Aunt Susan principle the authors have invented the My Friend Al principle. In this case you befriend Al because, say, of a shared interest in beekeeping, and later learn that he is an evangelical Christian¹⁰. Having an evangelical Christian in your circle of friends makes you warmer than you were before to evangelical Christians¹¹. Not only that, befriending someone from another faith makes you warmer to other religions in general.

　　当然了，美国宪法在其中的护驾作用功不可没。但是普特南和坎贝尔认为，“苏珊姑姑”(与自己有不同信仰或皈依其他教派的亲朋好友)在维系美国和谐统一上发挥了不可泯灭的作用。美国人都有那么几个与自己信仰不同的熟人亲友。“苏珊姑姑”也许皈依了卫理公会教派，而你自己却信仰犹太教，但你丝毫不怀疑“天堂与永生”是她最终的归宿。其实，这也不光是对你的姑姑才成立，普特南和坎贝尔在书中不止提出了“苏珊姑姑原理”，同时也介绍了他们所谓的“某朋友原理”。由于都热爱养蜂，你和某人成了志气相投的好友，过了一段时间，你发现他是福音教会信徒，有了这么一个福音教会的朋友，自然而然，你对福音教派基督徒就比以往亲昵热情多了。另外，一旦与信仰不同的人交了朋友，你对其他宗教的看法都会随之友好包容起来。

　　This is not just a hunch¹². Mr Putnam and Mr Campbell administered a questionnaire to a representative sample of thousands of Americans in the summer of 2006, and in the spring and summer of 2007 they went back to question the same people. Sure enough, those whose circles had became more religiously diverse in between the surveys expressed measurably more positive feelings towards other religions.

　　这绝不仅仅只是个猜测而已。2006年夏天，普特南和坎贝尔曾选取了上千名美国人做了一项问卷调查，转而来年春天，他们二人又做了回访。结果证实，那些交际圈广泛，拥有不少信仰迥异朋友的受访者，对待其他宗教的态度明显温和友好些。

　　Is this web of interlocking personal relationships among people of many different faiths the secret transmission mechanism¹³ of religious tolerance¹⁴ in America? One happy feature of modern America is indeed that soaring interfaith marriages over the past century mean that the average person has a good many Aunt Susans. Roughly half of all married Americans today are married to someone who grew up in a different religion from their own. So it is little wonder that when the authors asked their subjects whether a person of a different faith from theirs could find salvation¹⁵ and go to heaven, almost nine out of ten said yes.

　　‘信仰各异的亲朋’是否就是维系美国信仰包容的那条纽带呢?一个世纪以来，跨宗教婚姻盛行于美国，因此每个人都有很多亲友信奉着他教。已婚美国人中，一半人都选择了异教婚姻。这也就不难理解当被问及，‘他教教徒是否能皈依天国’之时，为何九成受访者的答案都是肯定的了。

　　Three blemishes¹⁷ in paradise天堂的三位不速之客Yet Mr Putnam and Mr Campbell are also careful not to claim too much. About a tenth of Americans are what they call "true believers" holding strong and inflexible¹⁸ views about morality and their own creed's exclusive pathway to heaven; Aunt Susan is not welcome in their company. Also worrying is the continuing "God gap" in politics: Americans who are more religious have become Republicans and the more secular¹⁹ have become Democrats²⁰. A final blemish¹⁶ on the picture of tolerance is that the circle of those who are tolerated is tightly drawn²¹.

　　其实，普特南和坎贝尔也是尽量有所保留。在他们看来，美国大概只有10%的人信仰够纯洁，他们坚守自己的道德底线，坚信自己的信仰才是唯一的“天国阶梯”。‘苏珊姑姑’不能跟他们一道得到永生，皈依天堂。而政治界的宗教分歧也颇令人担忧:信仰笃定之人大多皈依共和党，而“世俗”之人大多加入民主党。

　　For example, even though nine out of ten Americans think that people of a different faith can get into heaven, a much smaller proportion think that a Mormon should get into the White House, as Mitt²² Romney discovered in his 2008 campaign to win the Republican presidential nomination⁸. When the authors asked respondents to rank their feelings about other religions, the resulting scores were highly uneven²³. Almost everyone said they liked "mainline" Protestants, Jews and Catholics. Evangelical Protestants liked almost everyone else more than they were liked in return. Mormons liked everyone else, while almost everyone else (except Jews) disliked Mormons. And almost everyone disliked Muslims and Buddhists²⁵ more than any other group.

　　2008年，米特?罗姆尼竞选共和党总统候选人恰恰映证了这样一个实事：尽管10个美国人里就有9个都相信其他教派信仰的人最终都能获得永生，上得天堂，但是没几个人支持魔门教徒入主白宫，掌管政务。普特南和坎贝尔让受访者根据自己的喜好，给各大宗教排个名，结果虽是萝卜白菜各有所爱，但是几乎所有人都对主流新教，犹太教以及天主教抱有好感。福音派新教徒虽相当博爱，但并不是所有人都爱他们，魔门教徒也是爱众人，但是除了犹太教徒之外，没人对他们有什么好感。而穆斯林和佛教徒几乎是众矢之的，没人待见。

　　Part of the problem for Muslims and Buddhists in America could be their small number: few Americans have a Muslim relation or a Buddhist²⁴ friend. But since being few in number has not prevented Jews from eventually becoming the most popular religious group in the nation, this is not a good enough explanation on its own. Osama bin⁹ Laden²⁶ did not help American Muslims by attacking America in Islam’s name, but Mr Putnam and Mr Campbell坎贝尔 believe another factor is at work: the fact that Muslims, Buddhists and Mormons do not have a place in what people have come to call America's Judeo-Christian framework. Tolerance of Jews and Christians only? That is not quite so impressive.

　　穆斯林和佛教徒在美国地位不高也许是由于人数有限，毕竟也没几个美国人跟穆斯林抑或是佛教徒有什么瓜葛。但是话又说回来了，尽管信徒不多，犹太教还是成了美国最具影响力的宗教，所以说，这症结并不在人数上。本拉登打着伊斯兰的旗号恐怖袭击美国，这对于在美的穆斯林来说，实在不是什么“锦上添花”的事，但是普特南和坎贝尔却坚信他们之所以处于劣势地位还是另有原因的，那就是：穆斯林，佛教徒还有魔门教徒都游离于美国渐渐兴起的‘犹太基督教框架’之外。难道美国只能接纳犹太教和基督教么?这可不怎么好啊。

　　Worse, anti-Muslim feeling may be growing. In a recent survey the Public Religion Research Institute found that 45% of all Americans, and 67% of Republicans, agreed that the values of Islam were "at odds²⁷" with America's way of life. Two scholars from the Brookings Institution, E.J. Dionne and William Galston, worried aloud this month that divisions over Islam inside America may now be deeper than they were ten years ago. George Bush tamped²⁸ down anti-Muslim feeling, but some of today's Republicans―Newt Gingrich, with his wild crusade against sharia, is a spectacular example―seem intent on stirring it up. What chance does Aunt Susan stand against the demagoguery of fear?

　　美国上下仇视穆斯林的情绪徒增，这无异于雪上加霜。公共宗教研究所近期的一份调查显示：45%的美国人以及67%的共和党人都认定伊斯兰价值观与美国生活方式格格不入。本月，布鲁金斯研究所的学者迪纳和威廉高尔斯顿公开了他们的担忧顾虑，‘美国伊斯兰教内部的分崩离析比十年前有过之而无不及。’乔治布什虽稍稍平息了国人对伊斯兰的仇视情绪，但是如今一些共和党人非要推波助澜，把一摊清水搅浑了(典型的代表人物为众议院领袖纽特 金里奇，他近乎疯狂的仇视讨伐伊斯兰教)。‘苏珊姑姑’能抗的住群情激奋么?

1 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

2 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

3 unifying   

使联合( unify的现在分词 )； 使相同； 使一致； 统一

参考例句：

• In addition, there were certain religious bonds of a unifying kind. 此外，他们还有某种具有一种统一性质的宗教上的结合。
• There is a unifying theme, and that is the theme of information flow within biological systems. 我们可以用一个总的命题，把生物学系统内的信息流来作为这一研究主题。

4 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

5 pious   

adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。
• Her mother was a pious Christian.她母亲是一个虔诚的基督教徒。

6 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

7 denominations   

n.宗派( denomination的名词复数 )；教派；面额；名称

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• The service was attended by Christians of all denominations. 这次礼拜仪式各教派的基督徒都参加了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

9 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

10 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

11 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

12 hunch   

n.预感，直觉

参考例句：

• I have a hunch that he didn't really want to go.我有这么一种感觉，他并不真正想去。
• I had a hunch that Susan and I would work well together.我有预感和苏珊共事会很融洽。

13 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

14 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

15 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

16 blemish   

v.损害；玷污；瑕疵，缺点

参考例句：

• The slightest blemish can reduce market value.只要有一点最小的损害都会降低市场价值。
• He wasn't about to blemish that pristine record.他本不想去玷污那清白的过去。

17 blemishes   

n.（身体的）瘢点( blemish的名词复数 )；伤疤；瑕疵；污点

参考例句：

• make-up to cover blemishes 遮盖霜
• The blemishes of ancestors appear. 祖先的各种瑕疵都渐渐显露出来。 来自辞典例句

18 inflexible   

adj.不可改变的，不受影响的，不屈服的

参考例句：

• Charles was a man of settled habits and inflexible routine.查尔斯是一个恪守习惯、生活规律不容打乱的人。
• The new plastic is completely inflexible.这种新塑料是完全不可弯曲的。

19 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

20 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

22 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

23 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

24 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

25 Buddhists   

n.佛教徒( Buddhist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Jesuits in a phase of ascendancy, persecuted and insulted the Buddhists with great acrimony. 处于地位上升阶段的耶稣会修士迫害佛教徒，用尖刻的语言辱骂他们。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The return of Saivite rule to central Java had brought no antagonism between Buddhists and Hindus. 湿婆教在中爪哇恢复统治后，并没有导致佛教徒与印度教徒之间的对立。 来自辞典例句

26 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

27 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

28 tamped   

v.捣固( tamp的过去式和过去分词 )；填充；（用炮泥）封炮眼口；夯实

参考例句：

• The poets, once so praised, are tamped unceremoniously together in our textbooks, in one curt chapter. 那些名噪一时的诗人，在今天的教科书里，已被毫不客气地挤在一起，列为短短的一章。 来自辞典例句
• They tamped down the earth around the apple tree. 他们把苹果树周围的泥土夯实。 来自互联网