VOA标准英语2011--Romney's Religion Could be Factor in US Presidential Race

Romney's Religion Could be Factor in US Presidential Race

 

In U.S. presidential politics, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt¹ Romney has a narrow lead over Georgia businessman Herman Cain in the latest CNN-ORC public opinion poll. Most experts consider Romney the frontrunner for the Republican Party's presidential nomination² next year. But in recent weeks, Romney has been on the defensive³ about his religion and the issue came into focus during the latest Republican candidates' debate in Las Vegas. Romney is a member of the Mormon Church, which generally follows Christian⁴ precepts⁵, but adheres to its own founder⁶ and holy book separate from the Christian Bible.

The intersection⁷ of politics and religion in the 2012 race for the White House came into sharp focus because of comments from an evangelical Christian pastor⁸, Robert Jeffress, who supports Texas Governor Rick Perry for president.

Jeffress opposes Mitt Romney because of his membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormon Church.

"In my estimation, Mormonism is a cult⁹," said Jeffress. "And it would give credence¹⁰ to a cult to have a Mormon candidate."

Mormons generally follow Christian precepts, but adhere to their own church founder, Joseph Smith, and a holy book, the Book of Mormon, which is separate from the Christian Bible.

Jeffress says Mormons are moral people, but are not part of mainstream¹¹ Christianity - a view many Mormons dispute.

Republican presidential candidate and businessman Herman Cain (l) speaks as former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney listens during a Republican presidential debate at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, October 11, 2011.

The religious issue was raised during the Republican debate in Las Vegas this week, when Rick Perry was asked about Jeffress's comments.

"That individual expressed an opinion," said Perry. "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 [President Barack Obama]."

Mitt Romney said that using any kind of religious test for political candidates is wrong.

"That idea that we should choose people based upon their religion for public office is what I find to be most troubling because the founders¹² 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," noted¹³ Romney.

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

That was backed up by a recent sampling of opinion in Los Angeles. However, Romney might be hurt by the reluctance¹⁴ of some Christian voters to support him, says Daniel Cox with the Public Religion Research Institute here in Washington.

"Evangelicals are a vital part of the Republican primary constituency," said Cox. "They are about one in four voters overall and they make up a significant portion of the Republican primary electorate¹⁵, particularly in places like Iowa and South Carolina and Florida."

But Cox says there is a way for Romney to overcome some of those doubts.

"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 explained.

If he wins the Republican nomination and defeats President Barack Obama next year, 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 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 precepts   

n.规诫，戒律，箴言( precept的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They accept the Prophet's precepts but reject some of his strictures. 他们接受先知的教训，但拒绝他的种种约束。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The legal philosopher's concern is to ascertain the true nature of all the precepts and norms. 法哲学家的兴趣在于探寻所有规范和准则的性质。 来自辞典例句

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 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

8 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。

9 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。

10 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。

11 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。

12 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

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

14 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。

15 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。