Why the Philippines is the only country where divorce is ilegal
為什麼菲律賓是唯一一個離婚違法的國家
Even by the standards of former Spanish colonies,the Philippines has extremely socially conservative laws. It is the only country in world, bar the Vatican City, to outlaw divorce (except for Muslims).
即使按照前西班牙殖民地的標準來衡量，菲律賓當今的法規也體現著極端的社會保守主義。除梵蒂岡以外，它是世界上唯一一個法律禁止離婚的國家(僅允許穆斯林離婚)。
Filipinos seem less conservative than the laws that govern them. More than half think divorce should be legal, according to surveys conducted in 2017 by Social Weather Stations (SWS), a pollster.
相比起約束著他們的法規，菲律賓人似乎沒那麼保守。菲律賓民意調查機構“社會氣象站”(SWS) 2017年開展的調查顯示，超過半數的菲律賓人認為離婚應該合法化。
So why are Filipinos' views so poorly represented in national legislation? The explanation lies in an unfortunate mix of politics and faith. About three-quarters of Filipinos consider religion very important , SWS found in 2018. A study the same year suggests that almost four in ten voters are likely to cast their ballots for a candidate endorsed by their church or religious movement.
菲律賓公眾的意見在國家立法中沒有得到很好的體現?其原因就在於，在菲律賓，政治與宗教信仰可悲地結合在了一起。SWS在2018年調查發現，約有四分之三的菲律賓人認為宗教信仰“非常重要”。同年開展的另一項研究表明，幾乎有40%的選民會將選票投給自己在的教會或參與的宗教運動所支持的候選人。
In recent years the clout of the Catholic church has diminished somewhat. But Catholics' declining influence over politics has been offset by the growing importance of various Protestant sects.Although only about 10% of Filipinos,or roughly 10m people, describe themselves as Protestants or evangelicals, their relative fervour makes them a political lobby to be reckoned with. They tend to espouse a literal interpretation of the Bible and so are fiercely opposed to divorce, same -sex marriage and abortion, says Jayeel Serrano Cornelio ofAteneo de Manila University.
近年來，天主教會的勢力已有所衰退。不過，各新教教派與日俱增的重要性，已經彌補了天主教教徒失去的政治影響力。雖然只有10%左右的菲律賓人(約1千萬人)自稱新教徒或福音派教徒;但相較之下，這些信眾的狂熱讓他們成為了不容小覷的政治遊說團體。來自馬尼拉雅典耀大學的傑伊爾.塞拉諾.科內利奧指出，這些新教徒傾向於擁護對《聖經》的字面解釋，也因此強烈反對離婚、同性婚姻以及墮胎。
Fierce religious opposition helped to delay by 13 years the passage of the law allowing the government to distribute contraceptives. The ongoing battle bodes ill for the bill to legalise divorce that is currently under consideration in Congress.
宗教團體的激烈反對，使得一條 允許政府發放避孕藥具的法規推遲了13年才得以通過。目前，離婚合法化法案正交由國會審議;而仍在持續的政教鬥爭表明，這項法案的前景不容樂觀。
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