VOA标准英语2013--State Department Establishes Office for Religious Engagement

 

State Department Establishes Office for Religious Engagement

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State John Kerry has appointed a professor of Christian¹ ethics² as the first director of the State Department’s Office of Faith-Based Community Initiatives. 

The new office is the outgrowth of an initiative by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said it was important to engage foreign religious groups. She paid her respects at a Sufi shrine³ near Islamabad when she visited Pakistan in 2009.

At Wednesday’s ceremony, her successor John Kerry followed up on that point - by mentioning his recent meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah. Kerry said the king recognizes that Islam has in large measure been hijacked⁴ by people who distort the faith.

“We ignore the global impact of religion, in my judgment⁵, at our peril,” he said.

Kerry chose Christian theologian Shaun Casey to lead the new office for religious engagement. “As religious leaders and faith communities shape their environments, they also have an influence and shape our own foreign policy concerns here in the United States. It’s essential for the United States to understand them and to bring them into our diplomacy⁶ and development efforts.”  

There was considerable controversy⁷ when the Bush administration created offices for faith-based initiatives at other government agencies. Now there are again worries that such an office at the State Department could blur⁸ the line between church and state.

Kerry promised to respect that constitutionally-mandated line. “But what we are doing is guided by the conviction that we have to find ways to translate our faiths into efforts that unify⁹ for the greater good. That can be done without crossing any lines whatsoever,” he said.

Casey said he would work with the state department’s Office of International Religious Freedom, which monitors the mistreatment of religious groups abroad. 

 

1 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。

2 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

3 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

4 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

5 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

6 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

7 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

8 blur   

n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚

参考例句：

• The houses appeared as a blur in the mist.房子在薄雾中隐隐约约看不清。
• If you move your eyes and your head,the picture will blur.如果你的眼睛或头动了，图像就会变得模糊不清。

9 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。