美国国家公共电台 NPR--Survey on religion finds major ideological differences between Republicans, Democrats

Survey on religion finds major ideological¹ differences between Republicans, Democrats²

Transcript³

NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with Rev⁴. Kelly Brown Douglas, dean of the Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary, about the role of religion in American politics.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Joining me now to dive deeper into the findings of this research and what it says about faith in America is Reverend Kelly Brown Douglas. She's dean of the Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Good morning. Thanks for being on the program, Reverend.

KELLY BROWN DOUGLAS: Good morning. Thanks for having me.

FADEL: I want to start with why you think so many Americans are leaving the church.

BROWN DOUGLAS: Yeah. Well, what we see, first of all, is that there's not, since the last survey, a notable or a significant decline in terms of those who identify as religion - religious. But I think what you find is that Americans in general, as this survey reflects, are less trusting of institutions. And so you see this difference between those who claim to be religious or spiritual, as they will denote, and those who say they're spiritual and those who are religious. And those who are leaving the church are less trusting of institutions.

FADEL: Why do you think that's happening? I mean, also, this survey found really ideological differences that break down along partisan⁵ lines in some cases and in some cases by race. For example, the vast majority of Republicans and the vast majority of white churchgoers, according to this research, say they believe America is in danger of losing its, quote, "culture and identity," while fewer than half of Democrats think that. When you hear that, what do you think?

BROWN DOUGLAS: Yeah. You know, as you dig deeper into this survey, what we're seeing is the kind of partisanship⁶ or divisions, if you will, that we're seeing in the country in general that, in large measure, break down along racial and party lines. And so we're, of course, seeing that in the church as well. And so that - you will see, for instance, particularly this difference with white evangelical Protestants. And because white evangelical Protestants reflect the base of the Republican Party, then, of course, you're going to begin - you see this in terms of their religious associations. And so that partisan divide, if you will, that you're seeing in the church is reflective of what's going on in the country in general.

FADEL: Now, the church is also still a very segregated⁷ place...

BROWN DOUGLAS: Yes.

FADEL: ...Despite how diverse the country has become. Why?

BROWN DOUGLAS: Well, you know, people who have the same life experiences are people who tend to worship together. And so inasmuch as Black Americans, for instance, and white Americans or people of color and white Americans have different life experiences, then they will - you won't see them worshipping together because they expect the same things out of worship. And so - and the same kind of worship experience. And what we do know in a companion survey is that not only do white Americans and Americans of color - particularly Black Americans - have different life experiences, if you will, but we also know that they generally are not integrated in terms of their friend group or the people that they socialize with the most...

FADEL: True.

BROWN DOUGLAS: ...Particularly with white Americans, who 90% of their friend group are other white Americans. And so it would be unusual if those two things didn't also play out in terms of church attendance and who they worship with.

FADEL: You talked about how the church really reflects the society at large and the partisan divides in this country. Should faith leaders be trying to sort of heal that divide in this moment?

BROWN DOUGLAS: Well, I think if we're going to see particular changes in the country and the political divide, etc., that our churches and church leaders will have to become more engaged in sort of changing that - yes, healing that, but really transforming. What we have to see is not so much the concern for healing the divide. What we have to see is a concern for healing the inequality in our country, right? And so what church leaders have to, I think, be more engaged in are these social justice issues where people are indeed experiencing such radical⁸ differences in terms of the way in which they experience life. And so they should be concerned about issues such as poverty, concerned about issues such as racism⁹, etc. If we begin to address that, then we can begin to address the divides.

FADEL: The Reverend Kelly Brown Douglas is the dean of the Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Thank you so much for your insights on this.

BROWN DOUGLAS: Thank you.

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1 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

2 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》

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

5 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

6 Partisanship   

n. 党派性, 党派偏见

参考例句：

• Her violent partisanship was fighting Soames's battle. 她的激烈偏袒等于替索米斯卖气力。
• There was a link of understanding between them, more important than affection or partisanship. ' 比起人间的感情，比起相同的政见，这一点都来得格外重要。 来自英汉文学

7 segregated   

分开的； 被隔离的

参考例句：

• a culture in which women are segregated from men 妇女受到隔离歧视的文化
• The doctor segregated the child sick with scarlet fever. 大夫把患猩红热的孩子隔离起来。

8 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

9 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。