USAID Supports Religious Tolerance

 

Why would a U.S. Government agency specializing in administering civilian¹ foreign aid and development assistance, concern itself with religious freedom in the countries where it works?

“At USAID, we see freedom of worship as an essential element in our pursuit of government that is citizen-centered and citizen-responsive,” said USAID Administrator² Mark Greene. “It is inseparable from freedoms of expression, assembly, association, and freedom from discrimination.”

But a more practical reason is that faith-based organizations frequently work with USAID to deliver development assistance or humanitarian³ relief to marginalized people. “Faith-based partners are often uniquely trusted in those forgotten communities,” said Administrator Green. “Religious liberty matters because it enables faith-based groups to work with USAID and others without surrendering their essential faith character.”

Religious intolerance, on the other hand, frequently drives violence and oppression, marginalization, and persecution⁵ of entire populations. To see what unchecked intolerance looks like, we need look no further than ISIS and the atrocities⁶ it has committed.

“At USAID, because we really look at freedom of worship as a core human right, we're supporting programs to address religious hate speech and interfaith conflict, to promote the strengthening and enforcement of laws that protect religious freedom, and to increase the capacity of civil society to advocate for it,” said Administrator Green. This includes technical assistance and financial support for civil society.

USAID is presently undertaking⁷ reforms to its partnership⁸ and procurement⁹ process to make partnering with NGOs and civil society groups easier.

At the same time, to help prevent the worst manifestations¹⁰ of religious intolerance before they cause harm, USAID is working to assemble metrics to measure capacity and commitment in the countries where it is active, such as the capacity of civil society, and the inclusiveness of government policies.

Finally, working with its partners, USAID aims to reinforce and strengthen ethnic¹¹ and religious pluralism where it has historically existed.“It isn't about the content of faith; it never has been,” said Administrator Green.“It's about society's tolerance⁴ for multiple faith traditions. We believe that religious pluralism, which is part of a cultural mosaic¹², we believe it is worth preserving as a matter of development, as well as an expression of our values.”

1 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

2 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

3 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

4 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。

5 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

6 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 undertaking   

n.保证，许诺，事业

参考例句：

• He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。
• He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

8 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

9 procurement   

n.采购；获得

参考例句：

• He is in charge of the procurement of materials.他负责物资的采购。
• More and more,human food procurement came to have a dominant effect on their evolution.人类获取食物愈来愈显著地影响到人类的进化。

10 manifestations   

n.表示，显示（manifestation的复数形式）

参考例句：

• These were manifestations of the darker side of his character. 这些是他性格阴暗面的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• To be wordly-wise and play safe is one of the manifestations of liberalism. 明哲保身是自由主义的表现之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

12 mosaic   

n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的

参考例句：

• The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
• The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。