Thread: Help about religious translation

Hey everyone,

I have to write a paper about religion and its history in Russia in Russian, and am having difficult writing this last sentence. How would you translate "The role of the church should be restricted to answering the spiritual demands of believers." into Russian?

Thank you for your time and help!

Роль церкви должна быть ограничена ответами на духовные запросы верующих.

Роль церкви должна быть ограничена удовлетворением духовных запросов верующих.

Out of curiosity: Would it be possible to use the construction "следует +[infin.]" in this context? Thus, "Следует ограничить роль церкви..."

Would it be possible to use the construction "следует +[infin.]" in this context? Thus, "Следует ограничить роль церкви..."

Можно. Просто возникает вопрос: кому следует? Со словом "следует" фраза больше выглядит как инструкция.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

Out of curiosity: Would it be possible to use the construction "следует +[infin.]" in this context? Thus, "Следует ограничить роль церкви..."

Despite the weaker modal verb "Следует ограничить роль церкви..." sounds slightly stronger. It means "They (e.g. society or church itself) should restrict the role of church..."

Спасибо большое, ребята! Modal verbs are just a bitch, sometimes.

Полуношник, your "weaker but stronger" comment made total sense to me when I read it in the light of Marcus's comment "больше выглядит как инструкция".