Twenty-five percent of married adults in the United States have different religious beliefs than their husband or wife. That could be a Christian mother and a Jewish father, or a very religious mother and a father who is not religious. This information comes from the Pew Research Center, an independent research group in Washington, D.C. The center based its findings on a 2014 opinion survey of 35,000 Americans. Mother Knows Best Children raised in homes with parents of different religious beliefs were most influenced by their mothers, Pew found. Forty-eight percent raised in mixed religion homes identified with their mother’s religion, the center reported. Only 28 percent identified with their father’s religion. Nearly one in four people from a mixed religious home did not identify with either of their parents’ religious beliefs. How Important is Shared Religious Beliefs? People surveyed by Pew were asked about how important it was to them to share the same religious beliefs with their spouse. Forty-four percent said sharing the same religious beliefs is very important to a successful marriage. But that is not as high as the percentages of Americans who found other reasons important, Pew said. A bigger percentage, over 60 percent, found shared interests, a satisfying sexual relationship and sharing household duties as very important to a successful marriage. Forty-six percent said having enough money is very important to a successful marriage. That was higher than the percentage who identified shared religious beliefs as very important. Sixty-two percent of people married to someone of the same religion said this was a very or somewhat important to their decision to marry that person. Eighty-four percent of people who do not identify with a religion said the religious beliefs of their spouse were not important in their decision to marry. The center said the number of Americans raised in homes with people who do not share the same religious beliefs is growing. Pew reported that 39 percent of people who have been married since 2010 have a spouse with different religious beliefs. Only 19 percent of those who married before 1960 were married to a person of a different religion, Pew said. The religious make-up of Americans is also changing, according to Pew. Christianity is still the major religion in the United States. Over 70 percent of people surveyed by Pew described themselves as Christian in 2014. But that is down from 78.4 percent in 2007. About 1.9 percent of Americans describe themselves as Jewish, up from 1.7 percent in 2007. Muslims make up 0.9 percent of the population, up from 0.4 percent in 2007, Pew said. Nearly 22.8 percent of Americans said in 2014 that they are not connected to any religion, up from 16.1 percent in 2007. These can be people who do not believe in organized religion, or those who believe in the idea of a God, but not in any one religion. I’m Bruce Alpert. Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page. Would you marry someone who has different religious beliefs than you do? Why or why not? ____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story spouse - n. someone who is married -- a husband or wife raise - v. to bring up or rear a child survey - v. 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
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Monday, October 31, 2016
Nigerian Helps the Displaced by Selling Her Land
Hajia Hawa is working to help Nigerians displaced by fighting with the Islamic militant group Boko Haram. And she is doing it on her own terms. On an average day, Hawa walks along a busy road in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri. She very quickly gets the attention of the people around her. Sometimes it is old or disabled adults. Very often, hungry children in torn clothing run to her. Many of them have not eaten a meal for days. Every time, they hold out their hands to her, and she gives each person a small piece of paper. The paper is a card that serves as a voucher. The cards can be exchanged for free food. Hawa walks around Maiduguri handing them out. “This will allow you to come to my house in Moranti side to get food for up to six months,” Hawa tells them, describing the area in Maiduguri where she lives. In a city where many people are experiencing hunger, Hawa usually creates a lot of good feelings. God's work Hawa is not a rich woman. She was born and raised in Maiduguri. She is well-respected among the poorest people in the community. She says she is only doing the work of God. “I’m Hajia Hawa, I’m suffering for people that need help.” More than one million people have moved to Maiduguri to escape violence from Boko Haram. The militant group has killed an estimated 20,000 people in its seven-year campaign against the Nigerian government. The conflict has forced around 2.3 million people from their home. The fighting has created a humanitarian crisis. Boko Haram has destroyed farms and crops. Some farm families are too afraid to return to home. This has led to a shortage of food in some areas. Hajia Hawa lost her husband in 2014. He went missing one day. She suspects that Boko Haram killed him. Hawa does not get money from the government. She pays for her acts of kindness by selling off her father’s land. But these days, she is running out of land to sell. Hawa says she now is forced to go to rich people and ask them for money. She uses the money to buy food, pass out clothing to those in need and print food vouchers. “Hajia Hawa gave me a sewing machine, and she always gives me food to eat. Nobody else is helping us. Hajia Hawa is our father, mother, everything for us.” Staying together During the past five years, the number of people who depend on Hawa has grown. She currently has a list of nearly 6,000 people who depend on her. “Even now, if I tell these people to leave me, they cannot leave me,” she says. “We have been together for a long time. We love each other. No matter how we suffer, we will still stay together.” Once, police officers arrested Hawa. She says the officers questioned how she earned her money. She said the officers suspected the money came from Boko Haram. They suspected she was attempting to influence people so they will support Boko Haram. The officers took her to the police station and kept her there for three days. However, thousands of her supporters went to the station to demand her release. Hawa has become an important person in her community. She wakes up every morning to see more people stopping by her home, hoping to find some sort of assistance. They look to Hawa as their leader. “They are all needy,” she says. “Some women here lost their husbands. Some are the children that lost their parents. We are here suffering. Some will beg, some will not beg, some will help me to work.” Hawa lives in a small house where she sleeps with her daughters. There is another building with two bedrooms where some of the displaced people sleep. She is building more buildings where more displaced people can sleep. Hawa often speaks to the displaced people under a tree on her property. She speaks to them about why they must stay together to help each other survive. One old man once told Hawa, “We support you 100 percent. Powerful men have neglected us and you have come to our aid.” I’m Phil Dierking. Chika Oduah wrote this story for VOANews.com. Phil Dierking adapted his report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. What do you think of the giving assistance to displaced people? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section or on our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________ Words in This Story voucher – n. a document that gives you the right to get something, such as a product or service, without paying for it sewing – n. the act or process of using a needle and thread to make or repair something, such as a piece of clothing allow – v. to permit (something) : to regard or treat (something) as acceptable beg – v. to ask people for money or food neglect – v. to fail to take care of or to give attention to someone or something
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Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Help Fight Depression
From VOA Learning English, this is the Health and Lifestyle report. Researchers say a number of drugs currently used to treat autoimmune diseases also appear to treat signs of depression. These medicines are known as anti-inflammatories. They help to reduce inflammation in the body. Inflammation is the pain and expansion, or swelling, of damaged tissue. What is an autoimmune disease? An autoimmune disease is a disease where the body attacks itself. Examples include the skin condition psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes and Crohn's disease. White blood cells are part of the body’s natural defense against disease. They help to protect us against infection. In autoimmune diseases, the white blood cells are over-activated. Instead of simply attacking bacteria and viruses, the body’s natural defense system also attacks healthy tissue. To treat an autoimmune disease, patients often are told to take anti-inflammatory drugs. Now, a study suggests that the drugs also appear to treat signs of depression. The study also suggests that anti-inflammatory medicines may soon take their place with traditional treatments to help people with this disorder. Researchers looked at a number of drug studies that involved patients with autoimmune diseases. They noted an improvement in patients with signs of depression after the research ended. Anti-inflammatory drugs quiet the body’s natural defenses by disarming proteins known as cytokines. These proteins are important in the body's reaction to inflammation. A small amount of inflammation is necessary to activate the immune system to fight an infection. But too much pain or swelling is harmful. Golam Khandaker is a professor of psychiatry at the University of Cambridge. "Slow burning inflammation that's circulating in our body can cause a number of physical and psychiatric conditions. For example, in the brain, it could lead to increased risks of depression. Similarly in the body, it could lead to increased risk of heart disease, particularly coronary heart disease such as stroke … or also type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes." People with autoimmune diseases often suffer from depression. Some earlier studies suggested these people are depressed because of their condition. But the new study suggests that inflammation changes the chemistry of the brain, causing depression. Antidepressant drugs work to help to re-establish the operation of brain chemicals, called neurotransmitters. However, the drugs are not always successful in treating patients with depression. Anti-inflammatory drugs, which work differently in the brain, give doctors another choice. For the study, Khandaker and his team looked at the results of 20 studies of people treated with anti-inflammatory drugs. These patients had arthritis, psoriasis or Crohn's disease. The researchers found that individuals who reported signs of hard-to-treat depression before the study had a mild to moderate reduction in those symptoms after the study. In fact, the results were similar to the effectiveness of antidepressants. "And what they showed is that patients who were inflamed at the beginning of the trial showed benefits from the anti-cytokine drug. And the higher the level of inflammation, the greater the improvement in the severity of depressive symptoms." The researchers published their findings in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. Researchers say anti-inflammatory drugs could someday be used in patients with depression for whom other drugs have failed. Depression will be the second highest cause of disease burden in middle-income countries by the year 2030. This prediction comes from the World Health Organization. For the Health & Lifestyle report, I’m Anna Matteo. VOA science reporter Jessica Berman wrote this story for VOANews.com. Anna Matteo adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. ___________________________________________________________ Words in This Story over-activate – v. make to active especially in a way that produces a bad result deactivate – v. to make (something) no longer active or effective activate – v. to make (as molecules) reactive or more reactive disarm – v. to make harmless psychiatric – n. a branch of medicine that deals with mental or emotional disorders burden – n. something oppressive or worrisome
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Program Helps Ease Effects of Childhood Poverty in US
Income inequality in the United States is a major election campaign issue. It is an issue of interest to many people across the country. Studies have shown that 49 million Americans -- including one in four children -- are living in poverty. The United States Census Bureau says there were 43.1 million people in poverty last year. That is 3.5 million fewer than in 2014. A community development program in Georgia is working to improve neighborhoods and help lift families out of poverty. It also helps young people from poor families get a good education. The East Lake Foundation directs the community redevelopment programs in the East Lake neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia. Daniel Shoy heads the foundation. “So by having a high-quality education pipeline we are able to provide first class opportunities for our children, and really for their families, to help them move beyond the intergenerational cycle of poverty, to expose them to what I consider a world of possibilities.” The program provides education to children from the age of three all the way to college. The three-year-olds attend classes where they focus mainly on reading. The program works to ensure the children can read well by the time they enter the third grade. As they grow up, their progress is followed and they are urged to work hard. They attend the same public high school which has an educational curriculum that requires mathematics, science and technology. “I’d say the most staggering result that we’ve seen is for our young people go from having only about five percent of its 5th graders be able to meet or exceed the state standard in math to now 95 percent of our young people across all core academic subjects meet and exceed that standard.” Shoy notes that the children “are performing well compared to their peers across the country.” The education program is just one of the activities offered to young people who live in the community. Jalil Spearman grew up in the program and is now in the 11th grade. He hopes to become an engineer. “Having all these different extra-curricular activities like engineering, dance, band, like, really helps you to, like, decide on what you like to do right now in high school, so when you go off to college you already know something that you want to do.” Many of the students from poor families are performing as well as middle-class students. Terez Chapman and her family moved to East Lake 15 years ago. She now attends college and works part-time. “Knowing that someone else other than your family has taken a(n) interest in you, it really encourages you -- and makes you want to do better and set the bar high for yourself to make your own accomplishments.” Terez Chapman says that support from teachers helps the students get the preparation they need to be successful in school and in life. I’m Caty Weaver. VOA’s Chris Simkins reported this story from Atlanta, Georgia. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted his report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story pipeline – n. the system for developing and producing something intergenerational – adj. passing from one generation to the next cycle – n. a set of events or actions that happen again and again in the same order; a repeating series of events or actions expose – v. to cause (someone) to experience something or to be influenced or affected by something (often + to) focus – v. to direct your attention or effort at something specific curriculum – n. the courses that are taught by a school, college, etc. staggering – adj. very large, shocking or surprising core – adj. the most important or basic part of something peer – n. a person who belongs to the same age group or social group as someone else extra-curricular – adj. activities that happen at a school but not necessarily in a classroom, such as sports set the bar – expression to change the standard that is used to judge whether someone or something is good, successful, etc. accomplishment – n. something done, achieved or accomplished successfully
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Halloween Excitement Takes over Twitter
This is What’s Trending Today: “Happy Halloween” is the Number One trending topic on Twitter today. That is because October 31 is Halloween and people in the United States and elsewhere are excited to celebrate. Each year on the last day of October, children and adults celebrate the holiday by dressing in cute, frightening or humorous costumes. Young people carry out the Trick-or-Treat tradition to get candy from neighbors. People also cut faces or designs into pumpkins and light them from inside. Many people hold Halloween costume parties. In fact, many Americans were celebrating Halloween all weekend long. The NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers had a costume party. LeBron James dressed as a character from a 1990s television show. Even family animals are included. At an event in Boston, one dog came dressed as a Lobster sandwich. Some costumes are popular every year. Since Halloween honors the dead, people often dress as ghosts or zombies. Many children like to dress as imaginary characters. Cinderella, Superman, Catwoman, Captain America and Wonder Woman are popular. But many adults like to represent a person who has been in the news. For example, many dressed as presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Others chose Ken Bone, the man from Illinois who gained brief fame after he asked a question during the second presidential debate. Others like to dress as their favorite celebrities or characters from movies and television shows. The hosts of a popular morning television program dressed like characters from the 1990s. They looked like actor Jerry Seinfeld, singer Baby Spice, former First Lady Barbara Bush and characters from the movie Pulp Fiction. The singer Usher even posted a photo showing scary-looking doughnuts. But this year, some scientists made Halloween an educational holiday as well. The U.S. space agency NASA posted a video explaining a recently discovered kind of star called a “pumpkin star.” And that’s What’s Trending Today. I’m Alice Bryant. Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. Did you celebrate Halloween? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story trending – v. to move upward or become popular celebrity – n. the state of being famous or celebrated cute – adj. clever in an appealing way scary – adj. causing fear costume – n. the clothes that are worn by someone (such as an actor) who is trying to look like a different person or thing character – n. a person who appears in a story, book, play, movie, or television show doughnut – n. a piece of sweet fried dough that is often shaped like a ring
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