VOA慢速英语2015 信仰上帝的美国人越来越少

Fewer Americans Believe in God 信仰上帝的美国人越来越少

Fewer Americans believe in God, pray daily and regularly go to church than in 2007, a poll says.

一项民意测验显示,信仰上帝、每日祈祷、经常去教堂做礼拜的美国人越来越少。

More than 35,000 Americans were polled about their religious beliefs over four months in 2014 by the Pew Research Center.The study, called the 2014 Religious Landscape, was released Tuesday.It updates research done seven years ago.

2014年,皮尤研究中心对35,000名美国人的宗教信仰进行了调查,历时4个月。该研究被称作是“2014年宗教版图”,于本周二发表。更新了7年前研究得出的结果。

The Pew Research center said the percentage of Americans who are ＂absolutely certain＂ God exists fell to 63 percent from 71 percent.

皮尤研究中心表示,“绝对相信”上帝存在的美国人由71%下降至63%。

One reason for this, the center says, is the large population of young adults – called Millennials – who say they don’t belong to any religion.

该研究中心表示,其中一项原因是众多青年人,即新千禧一代,宣称不信仰任何宗教。

The other reason is that older, more religious Americans, are dying.

另外一个原因是,那些年老的虔诚信徒不断离去。

The people who don’t belong to a religion are called ＂nones＂ by the survey’s writers.

此项调查的作者将不信仰任何宗教的人们称之为“无宗教者”。

＂Nones＂ made up 16 percent of the adult population in 2007.This time around, the number is 23 percent.

2007年,“无宗教者”在成年人中所占比例为16%。此次调查中,该比例为23%。

Among the ＂nones,＂ about 61 percent said they believed in God.

在这些人中,约有61%的人表示信仰上帝。

But the research center said there is a ＂great deal of stability in the U.S. religious landscape＂ in spite of the lower numbers.

但是调查中心表示,尽管数量较低,“美国的宗教版图非常稳定”。

Within the category of people who are affiliated 2 with a religion, the numbers stayed mostly stable.

在有宗教信仰的群体中,该数字最为稳定。

Seventy-seven percent of the people surveyed said they were connected to a religion.

接受调查的人群中有77%的人表示有宗教信仰。

In that group, 89 percent of those surveyed said they believe in God,which was only a small change from the last time the survey came out.

这些人中,89%的受访者表示信仰上帝,该比例与上次调查结果并无太大变化。

Alan Cooperman, the Pew center’s director of religious research,says those who identify as ＂religious＂ are as observant as ever.

皮尤研究中心宗教研究主任Alan Cooperman,表示被定为是“虔诚”的人,会一如既往的虔诚。

＂On some measures, there are even small increases in their levels of religious practice.＂

“通过一些衡量指标,其宗教实践水平甚至会有提高。”

The survey asked Americans about a number of hot-button issues related to religion.

该项调查还问及了一些与宗教相关的热点敏感问题。

The survey looked at Americans’ views on homosexuality, abortion 3 and evolution.

此项研究还调查了美国人们对于同性恋、堕胎以及进化论的看法。

People who identified as Christian 4 were about 10 percent more accepting of homosexuality than they were seven years ago.Most Christian institutions officially oppose homosexuality.

与7年前相比,基督教徒接受同性恋的程度上升了10%。大部分基督教会都公开反对同性恋。

Views about abortion were mostly unchanged compared with the survey seven years ago.Fifty-three percent of Americans said abortion should be legal in most cases.

与7年前的调查结果相比,美国人们对堕胎的看法几乎没有改变。53%的美国人认为,大部分情况下,堕胎都是合法的。

About evolution, 62 percent of Americans said they believed humans evolved over time.Thirty-four percent said they did not believe in that theory.

至于进化论,62%的美国人表示相信人类经历了漫长的进化历程。34%则表示不赞同进化论。

Words in This Story

abortion – n. a medical procedure used to end a pregnancy 5 and cause the death of the fetus 6

affiliate– v. to closely connect (something or yourself) with or to something (such as a program or organization) as a member or partner

capture – v. to get and put (information) into a form that can be read or used by a computer

homosexual – adj. sexually attracted to people of the same sex

hot button – n. an issue that causes people to feel strong emotions (such as anger) and to argue with each other

millennial 1 – n. an idiomatic 7 term used to describe the generation of people born between the early 1980s and early 2000s

observant – adj. careful to follow religious teachings or customs