The Problems in American Religious

    The U．S. A．is a religious world in which people have fervent religious beliefs．Some of the small sects are extremely intolerant．Some are rather emotional；some are odd and brutal; and some others are hysterical．It is said that there is a small religious group，whose members cut their hair clean and wear wigs and leather shoes．They commit many kinds of crime，robbery，and trafficking in narcotic drugs. Some of them even store guns and bullets．There is another small religious group called the People’s Temple．This group declared that its followers are about two million．The founder is Jones．He said he and his followers would try to realize socialism" and build up a“Christian Socialist Commune”He took advantage of the superstition of his men who lacked spiritual ballast．Once people joined this group，they could not quit，They would be under the control of Jones．If a husband and a wife want to live together，they had to get the permission from Jones. But Jones could cohabit freely with any woman. In order to keep all this inside story，Jones，in 1974，moved the People’s Temple to a wood near George town，capital of Guiana．In 1977，someone accused Jones of kidnapping，and criticized that the People’s Temple violated people’s own will．Then an American Congressman with three journalists went to investigate. They encountered sudden attack and they were all shot dead on the spot．Then Jones felt that the People’s Temple would come to an end，and he ordered that every member should commit suicide by drinking a kind of venom．Those who were reluctant were forced to drink．Anyone who wanted to escape would be shot. On November 22nd，1978 in a wood near Georgetown，a shocking tragedy happened．Altogether 914 people，including Jones and his wife and children, committed collective suicide.

    All these religious problems are also social problems. In such a highly developed capitalist world, the economic declining, constant unemployment, the disintegration of families——all these make people all the more crazy for religion.

美国在宗教信仰上的“矛盾”

        美国宗教是一个典型的存在于美国的矛盾问题。美国自建国以来，就非常注意把教会与国家，宗教与政府分开，以免宗教问题溶入政治，妨碍政治决策，国家问题带上宗教色彩。美国宪法，特别是第一条修正案，规定政府不得对任何一种宗教给予优惠待遇。因此，美国没有教会税，没有官方的国家教会或受官方资助的宗教，也没有任何法定的宗教节假日。例如，圣诞节是基督教徒的重大节日，但国会并不宣布它为假日，否则就是违反宪法。美国没有一个政党的名称中含有“基督教”这个词，好像宗教与政治不沾边。然而，美国总统宣誓就职，要把手放在《圣经》上，现任美国总统小布什要定期去做礼拜。美国的政府官员大都有自己信仰的宗教。美国小学生宣誓忠于美国的誓词上也出现上帝的词汇。前不久，一位没有宗教信仰的家长状告美国政府不该把宗教信仰强加给公民，因为他的女儿必须读这样的誓词。这在国会议员中引起轩然大波，群情激动，表示一定要打赢这场官司——这或许就是美国式的矛盾。

        尽管美国宪法规定政府不得对任何一种宗教给予优惠待遇，但也不得干涉公民信教的自由，事实上，美国是个宗教国家，平均每100个美国人中就有63人是教会成员，其他人虽不属于某一宗教组组织但也有不同程度的宗教信仰，不信教者只占3%。对于美国人来说宗教不仅仅是一种信仰，而且是一种精神，它渗透在美国人生活的各个方面，美国人的一生都和宗教紧密相连，无论是出生、结婚、还是患病、死亡，都得举行宗教仪式。最近一次的盖洛普民意测验，进一步说明了宗教信仰在美国人生活中所占的重要地位。在接受测验的1500个成年人中，66％的人把上帝看作他们一举一动的“法官”，87％的人每天都向上帝祈祷，以前一般都是上了年岁的人、患病的人、生活境况不佳的人向上帝祈祷，现在大批受过高等教育、生活富裕、年富力强的人也虔诚地向上帝祈祷，以达到精神上的满足。据最近调查，75％的美国人每周至少祈祷一次，其中52％的人每天至少祈祷一次。美国人把自己工作上的成就、地位的提高、生活的改善都视为是上帝对他们保护和恩赐的结果。一个美国人如果参加了宗教组织，他便在社会上获得了某种身份和地位，精神上便会感到安慰，别人也不会对他另眼相看。为此，他们也更加虔诚地按上帝的标准做人。美国人传统价值观中的许多成份，如平等自由、友爱互助、同情弱者、尊重他人、自尊自爱、自强自立都源于宗教信念中所提倡的价值准则和处世哲学。总而言之，美国人的价值观念、生活态度以及道德标准在相当大大程度上受宗教思想的影响，宗教是美国人精神生活的支柱。

        宗教虽然在许多美国人的生活中起着重要的作用，但它对政治事务的实际影响却很小，特别是在国家一级。举例来说，有些美国人曾担心，支持里根总统的保守的宗教团体可能在80年代影响国家政策，而今天证明这种担心是夸大了的。美国幅员广阔，一向容纳异教，法律规定教会与政府必须分离，美国人的宗教背景又各式各样，凡此种种都使宗教不能对政治起任何重大影响。与西方许多其他国家相比，宗教对政治体制的影响，在美国算是最微小的了。