VOA标准英语2011--Romney Faces Political Challenge Over Religion

Romney Faces Political Challenge Over Religion

In U.S. presidential politics, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt¹ Romney has a narrow lead over Georgia businessman Herman Cain in the latest CNN-ORC poll. Most political analysts² consider Romney the frontrunner for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination³ next year, but he is on the defensive⁴ about his religion. Romney is a member of the Mormon Church, formally known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mormons believe in the Christian⁵ Bible but also follow teachings from their founder⁶ and a holy book separate from the Bible.

“He is a true conservative and a genuine follower⁷ of Jesus Christ!” said Reverend Robert Jeffress -- an evangelical christian minister who supports Texas Governor Rick Perry for president.

Jeffress favors Perry over frontrunner Mitt Romney because the former Massachusetts governor is a Mormon. “In my estimation, Mormonism is a cult⁸, and it would give credence⁹ to a cult to have a Mormon candidate,” Jeffress said.

Jeffress says Mormons are moral people, but not part of mainstream¹⁰ Christianity, something Morman believer Linda Jensen finds offensive. “It is not a cult. We don’t have horns. We don’t have several wives. So let’s get past that,” Jensen said.

Many Americans prefer to keep politics and religion separate. But it doesn't always work that way.

Perry and Romney sparred over the Jeffress comments during the latest Republican debate in Las Vegas.

“That individual expressed an opinion. I didn’t agree with it, Mitt, and I said so. But the fact is Americans understand faith and what they have lost faith in is the current resident of the White House,” Perry said.

“That idea that we should choose people based upon their religion for public office is what I find to be most troubling because the founders¹¹ of this country went to great lengths and even put it in the Constitution that we would not choose people to represent us in government based upon their religion,” Romney said. (APTN DROPLINE 10-18-11 9PM 00:24:49:19 to 00:25:06:18)

Public opinion surveys show that most Americans are tolerant of diverse religious views, unless they are seen as extreme.

That is reflected in a recent sampling of opinion in Los Angeles.

“It is the extremist that I have a problem with, basically because they kind of preach towards everybody and expect everyone to believe the way they do,” a woman said.

“I live in Arizona, so we have a lot of Mormons and they interact like anybody else who is Catholic or Protestant, Baptist. To each his own,” one man said.

Mitt Romney might be hurt by the reluctance¹² of some Christian voters to support him, says Daniel Cox with the Public Religion Research Institute in Washington.

“Evangelicals are a vital part of the Republican primary constituency. They are about one in four voters overall, and they make up a significant portion of the Republican primary electorate¹³, particularly in places like Iowa and South Carolina and Florida,” said Cox.

But Cox also says there is a way for Romney to overcome some of those doubts. “And so if Romney can convince voters, particularly Evangelical voters in the Republican primaries, that he shares their political values, there is a good chance that the religious values may not be as important,” Cox said.

If he wins the Republican nomination and defeats President Barack Obama next year, Mitt Romney would become the country’s first Mormon president.

1 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

2 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

3 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

4 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

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 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

7 follower   

n.跟随者；随员；门徒；信徒

参考例句：

• He is a faithful follower of his home football team.他是他家乡足球队的忠实拥护者。
• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。

8 cult   

n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜

参考例句：

• Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书，但有一定的崇拜者。
• The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。

9 credence   

n.信用，祭器台，供桌，凭证

参考例句：

• Don't give credence to all the gossip you hear.不要相信你听到的闲话。
• Police attach credence to the report of an unnamed bystander.警方认为一位不知姓名的目击者的报告很有用。

10 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

11 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

12 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

13 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。