国人多不信教，其实，这里的“教”多指外国起源的宗教，如基督教、天主教、犹太教或伊斯兰教等等。佛教虽起源于印度，传入中国后，它成为中国民族特色的宗教，再加上国产的道教，对中国人的影响很大。即使很多人声称自己不信教，但不可避免地受佛教、道教思想的影响，甚至双重的影响。从这个角度说，中国人不信教是个伪命题，只能说不专一于某个宗教，很可能同时受多家宗教思想的影响；比如，一个人可能烧香拜佛，遇事也会找人算卦；这会说“我佛慈悲”，过会就开始练气健身；既相信天堂、地狱，又相信神仙、鬼魅；还认为存在一个老天爷，情急之中脱口而出的是“天啊”，或“我的天啊”，好比老外挂在嘴边的Oh, my God。这种杂信仰，反映出中国人的实用主义。

由于不熟悉外国宗教，有些称呼很容易分不清。比如，牧师和神父。基督教和天主教传到中国后，对其神职人员是有不同称呼的。主要区别是：基督教的神职人员称“牧师”，天主教的神职人员称“神父”。

“神父”对应的英文单词通常是father，主要是天主教和东正教所用。其次是priest，但它既是天主教的“神父”或“祭司”，也指其他宗教的神职人员。剑桥词典的解释是：a person, usually a man, who has been trained to perform religious duties in the Christian Church, especially the Roman Catholic Church, or a person with particular duties in some other religions。因此，翻译priest时要看对应的宗教是什么，priesthood也是如此。

priest多指天主教的“神父”，用于“牧师”较少，偶尔会有，比如

Puritans wanted less money spent on elaborate church decoration and priestly vestments, less interference in local practices by distant bishops, and more direct participation by laypeople in church services.

- Tyler Anbinder, City of Dreams, the 400-year epic history of immigrant New York, Mariner Books, p20

清教徒（Puritans）属于基督教信徒，因此，priestly在这里的意思应该是“牧师的”，priestly vestments就是“牧师的法衣”。

Dongan brought several Jesuit priests with him to New York City, and as soon as they arrived, they celebrated mass in the fort, the first Catholic service ever held in the city.

- Tyler Anbinder, City of Dreams, the 400-year epic history of immigrant New York, Mariner Books, p41

Jesuit是耶稣会，属于天主教，因此Jesuit priests是天主教的神父。这此句后面也能看出。

New Yorkers banned Catholic priests from the province altogether; any found there after 1700 faced imprisonment for life.

- Tyler Anbinder, City of Dreams, the 400-year epic history of immigrant New York, Mariner Books, p53

Catholic和priests在一起，自然是“天主教的神父”，不能译“牧师”。

When we consider that this immense mass of alien citizens are under the control of a vicious priesthood—that they are wedded to the worst forms of superstition and vice—that their feelings are diametrically averse to the Protestant institutions of this country, . . . how manifest is it that the papacy is acquiring a dangerous ascendancy in the United States?

- Tyler Anbinder, City of Dreams, the 400-year epic history of immigrant New York, Mariner Books, pp198-199

此句是一无所知党在报纸上炮轰天主教的话，priesthood当指天主教的“神父”，因为后文有the papacy。the papacy指“罗马教皇的职位、权力或任期”。

有时搞不清楚priest是天主教徒还是基督教徒，译者可自行定夺译为“牧师”或“神父”。比如

A Fujianese American priest agreed, telling a reporter, “We do have some villages with practically no men there.” By 2000, the Fujianese immigrants in New York far outnumbered those from Guangdong.

- Tyler Anbinder, City of Dreams, the 400-year epic history of immigrant New York, Mariner Books, p524

该句只说一位福建人移民美国后当了priest，但没有交待其他的背景信息，此时译“神父”或“牧师”都不算错。不过，按天主教译“神父”可能性大。

“牧师”对应的英文单词就多了：pastor、minister、clergy / clergyman、priest / priesthood、cleric、Reverend、chaplain等，涉及的宗教派别也多。

需要特别指出的是，pastor也用于天主教，职务是“主任司铎”。比如

They complained bitterly to the city's small contingent of Italian-born priests, who primarily served as assistants to the Irish American pastors who ran most of the city's parishes. The Italian priests wrote letters to Rome complaining of the ill-­treatment their countrymen received at the hands of the Irish and asking the Vatican to intervene.

- Tyler Anbinder, City of Dreams, the 400-year epic history of immigrant New York, Mariner Books, p406

Italian-born priests和Italian priests都是指意大利神父，因为后面有他们给罗马教庭（Rome）写信的内容，那pastors就是天主教里面的“主任司铎”。

 据柯林斯词典解释：Reverend is a title used before the name or rank of an officially appointed Christian religious leader. 意思是说Reverend用于正式任命的基督教领袖的名字或头衔前，一般译为“牧师大人”，其缩略词是Rev.。

chaplain比较特殊，剑桥词典的解释：a Christian official who is responsible for the religious needs of an organization，即他或她是为某机构提供宗教服务的牧师，这些机构可以是学校、监狱、医院或军队。

 　　基于上述分别称呼的原则，那要是英文中同时出现了“牧师”和“神父”应该如何翻译？

 The result was one of the most appalling Union defeats in the entire war. Yet again the Irish Brigade was at the center of the ill-fated attacking force, charging six times into Lee's impregnable line. "The place into which Meagher's brigade was sent was simply a slaughter-pen,” wrote the brigade's chaplain, Father William Corby.

- Tyler Anbinder, City of Dreams, the 400-year epic history of immigrant New York, Mariner Books, pp232-233

 这里的chaplain, Father William Corby就同时出现了chaplain和Father。如果译为“牧师威廉·科比神父”，那就撞车了。因此，必须研究一下chaplain这个词。既然chaplain为很多机构提供宗教服务，那他或她既可能是牧师，也可能是神父。如果此处的chaplain译为“神父”，那就成了“神父威廉·科比神父”。作者不太可能明知重复还用之，而且Father不像是对chaplain的同义解释。一定有另外一种合理的说法。

继续研究上下文，发现语境是南北战争，才会有the brigade's chaplain这种说法，the brigade指的是“爱尔兰旅”，那chaplain就是军中的chaplain，而军中的chaplain，在汉语中有个专门的称呼“军牧”。军牧只能是牧师吗？美军中的军牧一般称military chaplain，可以是基督教牧师、天主教神父、犹太教拉比、穆斯林阿訇等等。

既然军牧不专门指牧师，那the brigade's chaplain, Father William Corby译成“该旅的军牧威廉·科比神父”就顺理成章了。

美国是宗教自由的国度，多种宗教并存，包括基督教、天主教、犹太教、伊斯兰教、印度教、佛教等，各个宗教又有不同的教派。据美国国防部统计，服役的数千名军牧代表了200多个不同的宗教和宗教派别。

美军设立军牧起源于独立战争。军牧是军官，享受与其他军官一样的福利待遇，不同的是，他们是非战斗人员，不参与作战。