VOA慢速英语2021--新冠疫情后美国人会重返教堂吗

Millions of people stayed home from churches and other places of worship during the coronavirus pandemic. Struggling congregations have one important question: How many people will return?

The pandemic has eased in the United States and in-person services have started up again. Many places of worship, however, fear a loss of congregants.

Some houses of worship may not survive.

The Rev¹. Gloria E. White-Hammond is a professor at the Harvard Divinity School and the leader of a church in Boston. She said smaller churches with older congregations are in the greatest danger of failing.

For the 164-year-old Waldoboro United Methodist Church in Maine, the pandemic proved fatal to the church. Even before COVID-19, weekly attendance² had fallen to 25 or 30 for a church that holds several hundred people. The number further fell to five or six before the final service was held Sunday, said the Rev. Gregory Foster³.

"We can't entirely⁴ blame everything on COVID. But that was just the final blow. Some people have not been back at all," Foster said.

In Virginia, the Mount⁵ Clifton United Methodist Church experienced something similar. The church can seat more than 100 people, but the number of weekly worshippers fell around 13, even before the pandemic.

The Rev. Darlene Wilkins led the Mount Clifton congregation. She said the pandemic really ended the church.

It "became next to impossible to sustain⁶," she said.

The pandemic came at a time when fewer and fewer people in the U.S. identify as religious. And it is too early to know the full impact of the pandemic. A survey by The Associated Press and the National Opinion Research Center shows signs of hope as well as cause for concern.

They found that about 75 percent of Americans who attended religious services in person at least monthly before the pandemic say they are likely to do so again. That's up a bit from the 66 percent of people who said in May 2020 that they would attend services if it were possible. But seven percent also said they will not be attending.

Those findings are in line with a Pew Research Center survey of Americans last summer. Pew found that 92 percent of people who regularly attend religious services expected to continue at the same or higher rate. Seven percent said they will attend in-person services less often.

White-Hammond said congregations that are successful after the pandemic will likely be the ones that changed to meet the needs of the pandemic. She said those that kept a connection with congregants have a better chance at surviving. Pew found that eight in 10 congregants said services were being streamed online.

In Charlotte, North Carolina, Temple Beth El was closed during the pandemic. But the temple kept a connection with congregants through events like "challah day." Volunteers baked over 900 loaves of challah bread, which were delivered to homes so people could eat them on Shabbat, Judaism's day of rest.

Dusty Klass is the rabbi of Temple Beth El.

"There were people who went home and may never come back to the sanctuary⁷," he said, adding "it's up to us to make sure they have the opportunity."

Words in This Story

worship — v. to show respect and love for God or for a god especially by praying, having religious services, etc.

congregation — n. the people who are attending a religious service

divinity — n. the formal study of religion, religious practices, and religious beliefs

blow — v. to damage or destroy (something) with an explosion

sustain — v. to provide what is needed for (something or someone) to exist, continue, etc.

survey — n. an activity in which many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to gather information about what most people do or think about something

rabbi — n. a person who is trained to make decisions about what is lawful⁸ in Judaism, to perform Jewish ceremonies, or to lead a Jewish congregation

sanctuary – n. the room inside a church, synagogue, etc., where religious services are held

opportunity – n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done

1 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。

2 attendance   

n.出席，出席人数，护理，照料

参考例句：

• The attendance of this class never dropped off.这个班的出席人数从未下降。
• The young man danced attendance on his rich aunt.这个年轻人小心侍候他有钱的姑妈。

3 foster   

vt.收养，培养，促进；adj.收养的，收养孩子的

参考例句：

• Nowadays young couple sometimes foster.现今年轻夫妇有时领养别人的孩子。
• The captain did his best to foster a sense of unity among the new recruits.队长尽力培养新成员之间的团结精神。

4 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

5 mount   

n.山峰，乘用马，框，衬纸；vi.增长，骑上（马）；vt.提升，爬上，装备

参考例句：

• Their debts continued to mount up.他们的债务不断增加。
• She is the first woman who steps on the top of Mount Jolmo Lungma.她是第一个登上珠穆朗玛峰的女人。

6 sustain   

vt.保持，供养，维持，支持，经受

参考例句：

• During the war we had just enough food to sustain us.战争期间，我们的食物仅够维持生活。
• These four posts sustain the entire building.这四根柱子支撑着整座建筑物。

7 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

8 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。