美国国家公共电台 NPR Provoked By Trump, The Religious Left Is Finding Its Voice

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Now let's talk of religious voters. When we talk about voters who are people of faith, religious conservatives get most of the attention. But with liberals increasingly energized¹, some faith leaders want to rally religious voters for progressive causes. NPR's Tom Gjelten reports on the prospects² for reviving the religious left.

TOM GJELTEN, BYLINE³: There's been no hotter political issue in recent months than what to do about all the migrants, including families, showing up at the U.S. border. Among those pushing for a more open policy is a group called Faith in Public Life. It's led by an ordained⁴ Presbyterian minister, Jennifer Butler, who shows up at rallies wearing her clerical collar.

(SOUNDBITE OF RALLY)

JENNIFER BUTLER: So today we say what Moses said to Pharaoh. Let my people go. Let the children go. Say it with me. Let...

GJELTEN: Rallies like this one are not uncommon⁵, but Reverend Butler says her movement is grounded in religion.

BUTLER: There are over a hundred verses of Scripture⁶ that say we're to welcome immigrants and welcome strangers. And so I think we're driven by our moral values and not by politics.

GJELTEN: Besides supporting migrants, Butler's movement advocates for LGBT rights, universal health care and racial justice. She founded the organization 13 years ago with a precedent⁷ in mind. It was religious leaders who drove the abolitionist movement in the 19th century and the civil rights movement in the 20th.

BUTLER: I think religion helps people understand who they should be.

GJELTEN: Butler's group and others of like mind and mission represent a renewed faith-based movement on the left. The obvious comparison is to the religious right. The reverend Jerry Falwell founded the Moral Majority in the late '70s to oppose abortion⁸ and promote private Christian⁹ schools during a time of cultural change.

HENRY OLSEN: What motivated the religious right to begin organizing is a feeling of loss.

GJELTEN: Henry Olsen is the author of "The Four Faces Of The Republican Party."

OLSEN: They felt their deepest values from their religion were being taken away from them.

GJELTEN: Now left-leaning believers feel it's their religious values that are under threat, with respect, for example, to social and economic justice.

TARA HARRIS: Jesus talked about reaching out to the poor, reaching out to the marginalized, reaching out to the oppressed.

GJELTEN: Tara Harris is a lay leader at Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C., and newly active in support of immigrant rights.

HARRIS: The way that I personally interpret my own Christian faith and my own Christian walk, it's an active challenge. How can I make a difference in the lives of others? So I would say there's a direct tie and a direct linkage¹⁰ there for me.

GJELTEN: She was speaking there over Skype. The religious left is not yet a match for the more familiar religious right. For one thing, it draws on a smaller base. Surveys show liberals, by various measures, are simply less religious than conservatives. In fact, the agenda of the religious left doesn't seem all that different from what secular¹¹ groups on the left push for. The religious right, on the other hand, is almost exclusively an evangelical movement with priorities that secular conservatives don't push quite so much.

OLSEN: They are more interested in preserving the Constitution than the Bible.

GJELTEN: Henry Olsen is now with the Ethics¹² and Public Policy Center, a center-right think tank.

OLSEN: The secular right may agree on some issues, but they are primarily motivated by a concern about what they would argue is the growing power of government.

GJELTEN: The religious left does have some advantages, Reverend Butler argues. She says her faith in public life movement is strengthened by its interfaith character.

BUTLER: We're working with Muslims and Jews and Sikhs and every sort of faith group. We all have the same sort of core values in mind, which is that everybody is created in the image of God, and we need to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

GJELTEN: An approach that unites religious traditions makes sense given that the nation is becoming increasingly diverse. Another advantage, Butler thinks the religious left, compared to the secular left, has a deeper commitment to bridge-building.

BUTLER: A lot of folks on the secular left are a bit reticent¹³ to form common cause with people who see things differently on an issue.

GJELTEN: Consider the abortion issue, for example.

BUTLER: We've been able to form alliances with people who are pro-life and pro-choice because all of us agree that there's a common ground of wanting to reduce the numbers of abortions¹⁴ in the country.

GJELTEN: One more thought. A politics inspired by moral values is especially passionate¹⁵. A religious left can bring new energy to a movement with the reputation of being too cerebral¹⁶.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

WILLIAM BARBER: Jesus, a brown-skinned Palestinian Jew...

(APPLAUSE)

BARBER: ...Called us...

(APPLAUSE)

BARBER: ...To preach good news to the poor, the broken.

GJELTEN: The most rousing speech at the last Democratic Convention was delivered by a pastor¹⁷, the Reverend William Barber of North Carolina. Barber, who combines theology with activism, is now Butler's partner in her religious-left coalition¹⁸. While their movement doesn't yet have the political clout¹⁹ of the religious right, it is growing. Faith in Public Life says it has so far mobilized more than 40,000 local clergy²⁰ and faith leaders around the country. Tom Gjelten, NPR News.

1 energized   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• We are energized by love if we put our energy into loving. 如果我们付出能量去表现爱意，爱就会使我们充满活力。 来自辞典例句
• I am completely energized and feeling terrific. 我充满了活力，感觉非常好。 来自辞典例句

2 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 ordained   

v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定

参考例句：

• He was ordained in 1984. 他在一九八四年被任命为牧师。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was ordained priest. 他被任命为牧师。 来自辞典例句

5 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

6 scripture   

n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段

参考例句：

• The scripture states that God did not want us to be alone.圣经指出上帝并不是想让我们独身一人生活。
• They invoked Hindu scripture to justify their position.他们援引印度教的经文为他们的立场辩护。

7 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

8 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

9 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。

10 linkage   

n.连接；环节

参考例句：

• In their monographic treatment of linkage,they have emphasized this especially.他们在论连锁的专题文章中特别强调了这点。
• Occasionally,problems with block inheritance or linkage are encountered.有时会遇到区段遗传或连锁问题。

11 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。

12 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。

13 reticent   

adj.沉默寡言的；言不如意的

参考例句：

• He was reticent about his opinion.他有保留意见。
• He was extremely reticent about his personal life.他对自己的个人生活讳莫如深。

14 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

15 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

16 cerebral   

adj.脑的，大脑的；有智力的，理智型的

参考例句：

• Your left cerebral hemisphere controls the right-hand side of your body.你的左半脑控制身体的右半身。
• He is a precise,methodical,cerebral man who carefully chooses his words.他是一个一丝不苟、有条理和理智的人，措辞谨慎。

17 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

18 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

19 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

20 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。