美国人在政府讨论宗教

Man’s Law or God’s Law? Americans Debate Religion in Government 美国人在政府讨论宗教

Hundreds of supporters cheered when a local government official, Kim Davis, was released from jail Tuesday. She smiled and appeared to cry.

“I just want to give God the glory."

Ms. Davis is a clerk who works in a small-town government office in Kentucky that issues marriage licenses¹. She has declared that she will not sign licenses for marriages between people of the same gender².

That is a violation³ of U.S. law.

Ms. Davis has become a celebrity⁴ at the center of the debate in the U.S. about religion freedom and civil liberties. She says her religion – she is an Apostolic Christian⁵ -- disagrees with same-sex marriage. 

Her job in a secular⁶ government includes signing licenses that permit eligible⁷ couples to marry. Since June, when the U.S. Supreme⁸ Court ruled that gay marriage was legal across the country, Ms. Davis has refused to sign marriage licenses for anyone. Her refusal is a protest against gay marriage. 

Kim Davis and religious freedom

Supporters say Ms. Davis is acting⁹ on her First Amendment¹⁰ rights. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

Linda Przybyszewski is a history professor at the University of Notre Dame¹¹ in Indiana. The university was founded by a sect¹² of Catholics focused on education and research. She says Americans’ understanding of religious freedom has changed since the First Amendment was approved in 1791.

In the 18th century, Ms. Przybyszewski says, many state judges supported the idea that laws should promote morality.

“And in order to do that amongst your people, you need religious faith. And to their minds, almost all the time, it’s Christianity, and it’s Protestantism.”

But in the past 100 years, federal courts have heard more and more cases about whether states violate citizen’s religious liberties. For example, Ms. Przybyszewski says, Jews objected to state laws requiring them to close their stores on Sunday. Or Catholics objected to laws requiring them to read a Protestant version of the Bible.

Over time, judges in the late 19th and early 20th centuries said some of the issues needed to be confronted. They had to judge how to balance how religion was practiced in a secular nation.

Ms. Przybyszewski notes that religious beliefs and political issues have clashed many times in history. Slavery and marriage have been persistent¹⁴ issues. These disputes are part of a society that includes people of many faiths, she says. At the same time, she says, the government must afford all its citizens equal rights.

Josh Earnest is a spokesperson for President Barack Obama. He spoke¹⁵ to reporters about this issue:

"...every elected official in this country is -- is subject to the rule of law, and that is a founding principle of our democracy."

In other words, says Mr. Earnest, Americans may not choose which laws to follow.

Kim Davis and the law

The federal judge who ruled on Ms. Davis’ case, David Bunning, says she is required to follow the law – including the law that permits gay marriage.

In addition, the judge points out he, like Ms. Davis, is a government official. He says his promise to serve the public means he cannot permit his personal beliefs to interfere¹⁶ with his job.

Protesters also note that Ms. Davis has been married four times. Her personal history conflicts with the Apostolic Christian belief that marriage is only between one man and one woman.

Ms. Davis, who is 49 years old, says she became an Apostolic Christian four years ago. She worked in the Rowan County clerk’s office for 27 years and was elected county clerk last November.

Ms. Davis said God’s law conflicts with her job.

“You can’t be separated from something that’s in your heart and in your soul,” she told the judge. Ms. Davis, who earns about $80,000 a year as an elected official, says she plans to return to work in a few days.

Kim Davis and politics

Many Republican politicians have opinions on Ms. Davis and her case. When she left the jail Tuesday, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee stood at Ms. Davis’ side. Another Republican presidential candidate, Ted¹³ Cruz, said he was planning to visit Ms. Davis in jail.

Both Mr. Huckabee and Mr. Cruz identify themselves with evangelical Christianity, which is similar to Apostolic Christianity. They believe that the Christian Bible is God’s word, and that people can be “born again” and go to heaven if they accept God’s teaching.

Evangelical Christians¹⁷ also often talk publicly, or proselytize¹⁸, about their Christian beliefs.

A study in May 2015 by the Pew Research Center found that about 70 percent of Americans identify as Christian. That number of Christians has dropped eight points since 2007. About 25 percent of Christians in the U.S. are evangelical, the study said.

Six percent practice religions other than Christianity, and 23 percent do not have a connection to any organized religion.

What’s next?

Judge David Bunning released Ms. Davis from jail after less than a week. Other court clerks in Ms. Davis’ office are signing marriage licenses. Judge Bunning says Ms. Davis may not block marriage licenses.

Ms. Davis’ lawyers are asking for her to be able to continue her job, without approving any marriage licenses. They do not want her name on any official document that permits same-sex couples to get married.

The governor says only the legislature can make that decision. The legislature meets next in January 2016.

Words in This Story

glory – n. public praise, honor, and fame

secular – adj. attitudes and activities that have no religious or spiritual basis

eligible – adj. able to do or receive something

Amendment – n. a formal change to a law, contract, constitution or other document

version – n. a particular translation of the Bible

persistent – adj. firmly in pursuit

heaven – n. where God lives and good people go after they die, according to some religions

1 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

2 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

3 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

4 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

5 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。

6 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。

7 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

8 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

10 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

11 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。

12 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。

13 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

14 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

15 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

16 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

17 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。

18 proselytize   

v.改变宗教

参考例句：

• I assured him we didn't come here to proselytize.我向他保证我们并不是来改变他的信仰的。
• Christians were arrested for trying to convert people,to proselytise them.基督徒因为试图改变他人信仰而被捕。