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Influence of the Church in Bringing About Change
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"Ignorance, stigmatisation and discrimination have
long characterised the attitude of both church and government toward
HIV-positive persons and AIDS patients," says Rev Angela Veii, Co-ordinator
of Lutheran Unity in Namibia. |
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Information from Christian Aid: HIV/AIDS |
Faced
with cutbacks health and education spending, civil
society has taken the strain. With their highly
organized grassroots networks, churches and
faith-based organizations are in an excellent position
to increase HIV awareness and provide care and support
to those who are ill, as well as to children orphaned
by AIDS. |
114 kb pdf |
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“Is the Church HIV Positive? Building
the Political Will to Remove Barriers and Restore
Dignity” |
Some
may argue that at no time has there been more
recognition, and support generated towards the
eradication of HIV and AIDS, nonetheless we must
recognize that still our collective response is
woefully insufficient when it comes to justice,
mercy, or humility. Still, the HIV and AIDS pandemic
remains an enormous challenge today for all of us.
Our global family remains conflicted, often divided
on theological and moral ground differences.
Muslims, many Latin American countries, the Vatican,
and the United States under the influence of the
religious right struggle with specific commitments
to high risk groups, sexual practices, and gender
equality. Empowerment of women, detailed language on
HIV prevention, and explicit references to male and
female condom use often stop the potential for
dialogue before it can even commence. UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan accused a number of countries of
“putting their heads in the sand” and failing to
deal with the global realities of HIV and AIDS. My
point here is not to pick on the Religious Right.
The so-called progressive left is hardly itself A
Model of Christian Charity. |
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Islam, Drug Abuse and HIV/AIDS
(Large file-please allow extra time for download) |
The
Islamic teachings have left great traditions for
equitable and gentle dealings and behavior, and
inspire people with nobility and tolerance. These are
human teachings of the highest order and at the same
time practicable. These teachings brought into
existence a society in which hard-heartedness and
collective oppression and injustice were the least as
compared with all other societies preceding it |
2953 kb pdf |
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Islam, Irigaray, and the retrieval of gender |
The Prophet said that women totally dominate men of
intellect and possessors of hearts. But ignorant men
dominate women, for they are shackled by an animal
ferocity. They have no kindness, gentleness or love,
since animality dominates their nature. Love and
kindness are human attributes; anger and sensuality
belong to the animals. She is the radiance of God,
she is not your beloved. She is a creator - you
could say that she is not created. - Jalal al-Din
Rumi |
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Islamic Leaders Become a Force for Change in
Indonesia’s HIV Response |
Islamic leaders have tremendous influence in
Indonesia, where the majority of citizens are
Muslims. As a result, they are well positioned to
act as change agents in a country where HIV is
perceived as more of a moral and social issue than a
medical one, and people living with HIV and the most
at-risk populations are highly stigmatized. While
the national government and national-level Islamic
organizations have issued HIV policies and
statements, implementation of the policies at the
local level is often lacking or inadequate due to
misconceptions, weak leadership, and limited
capacity. |
Pdf 117 kb |
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ISLAMIC MEDICAL ETHICS: The IMANA Perspective |
Islam considers access to health care as a
fundamental right of the individual. In medicine,
there are sometimes difficult decision-making
options for the patient’s care. Thus, a physician at
times has to decide for his /her patient in light of
available knowledge, his/her experience, his/her
peers and consensus of the community. In addition, a
Muslim physician derives his /her conclusion from
rules of Islamic laws (Shari`ah) and Islamic medical
ethics. The first main principle of Islamic Medicine
is theemphasis on the sanctity of human life which
derives from al-Qur’an |
Pdf 102 kb |
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ISLAMIC REPUBLIC'S SEX SCANDAL |
A
measure of Islamic fundamentalists' success in
controlling society is the depth and totality with
which they suppress the freedom and rights of women.
In Iran for 25 years, the ruling mullahs have
enforced humiliating and sadistic rules and
punishments on women and girls, enslaving them in a
gender apartheid system of segregation, forced
veiling, second-class status, lashing and stoning to
death. |
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Inter-Faith Declaration Opposes Discrimination Against
People with HIV/AIDS |
Churches and faith communities have declared their
opposition to discrimination against people with
HIV/AIDS. A joint inter-faith declaration adopted at the
end of the 15th International AIDS Conference, which
was held from 11 to 16 July in Bangkok, Thailand,
contained contributions from Christians, Jews, Muslims,
Buddhists and Hindus. It was drafted with support of the
Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA).
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Interfaith: Religious & Spiritual Groups |
Listing of various interfaith groups that can be
accessed by the net |
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Jerry Falwell |
Quotes from Jerry Falwell |
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Jewish Theological and Ethical Reflections on AIDS |
One
other thing should be mentioned about the Jewish
approach to medicine. While segments of Christianity
see pain as salvational, basing themselves on the
suffering of Jesus on the Cross, Judaism does not have
any such doctrine. On the contrary, illness is seen as
inherently demeaning, and so we must do all we can to
prevent it. When somebody does fall ill, we must
reassure the patient of his/her ongoing divine value
despite any disability occasioned by the disease |
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A
quarter-century after the AIDS virus began its grim
march across the world and nearly 20 years after
discovering its first AIDS patient, the Egyptian
government has begun to offer anonymous HIV testing.
..It's not doing so because of an alarming rise in
the number of people infected with HIV, the virus
that causes AIDS. Egypt and other Middle Eastern
nations have some of the lowest recorded HIV rates
in the world, which political and religious leaders
attribute to their traditional condemnation of
promiscuity, drug use and other practices that help
spread blood-borne infections like HIV. |
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Message of Hope |
There is a very big manifestation of energy going on
in today’s society.... it is focused around "hate"
in all of society. Hate through media, hate through
sports, hate through comedy, hate through stupid
acts of violence, hate through culture movements and
hate through bad mouthing and making stupid racist
comments... society has taken a stupid pill... and
they are about to overdose.... this is the tipping
point about to take place... all we know today....
is about to shatter in our faces. |
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Morality of Premarital Sex by Religiosity and
Generation |
Premarital sex is an issue that most teenagers and
young couples face as they enter new phases of their
relationship. The purpose of this study is to
determine if there is a correlation between
acceptance of sexual relations before marriage and
religiosity or generation. This study is a
cross-sectional, secondary analysis of the variables
PREMARSX, RELPERSN, and COHORT (which was recoded
into three generation categories), which were
extracted from the 1998 General Social Survey (GSS).
Data analysis of the three variables was performed
using the Statistical Package for the Social
Sciences (SPSS) 10.0, applying Pearson's chi-square
as the test of statistical significance and Cramer's
V as the measure of association. The results of
this study indicate that very religious people are
more inclined to view premarital sexual relations as
always wrong. When compared to the three generation
categories, no significant correlation existed. |
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Muslim Women Preachers Plot Strategy on HIV/AIDS |
Enlisting the support of Muslim leaders is backed by
the Indonesian government. "By taking the initiative
to fight HIV/AIDS, it is our hope that women can make
a difference in this patriarchal society," State Minister
for Women's Empowerment Sri Redjeki Sumaryoto
told the seminar
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Muslims and HIV/AIDS |
I believe that we can establish a modality in which
Muslims can engage in the struggle to rid the world of
the scourge of AIDS, while maintaining their religious
and moral world view, and not compromise their
religious beliefs. |
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Muslims, Islam, and AIDS |
The spread of HIV/AIDS within families brings up an
interesting concern with addressing inconsistencies
between intent and experience within the family: How
do certain family structures create greater
vulnerability? The first part of this presentation
will look at an interesting paradox: the family,
that institution through which human beings expect
and receive their greatest nurturing, is the same
institution that can create the greatest
vulnerabilities in the spread of HIV/AIDS for women
and children. When the structure of family itself
causes vulnerability, critical examination is even
more in order to construct ways that civil society
can empower family members to challenge the abuses
that occur within families. However, some see the
very idea of challenging “family” as a disruption in
social well being. Ultimately my question is: How
can families empower all members equally despite
vulnerability due to age or gender. |
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Poverty, HIV and AIDS – the challenge to the Church
in the new millennium |
Let’s consider the reality we face in a different
way: An estimated total of 55 million people died
during World War II:
1.
25
million military personnel
2.
25
million civilians
3.
5
million Jews
If we knew today that World War II would start next
week or next year, what would we do to prevent the
slaughter of millions of people? |
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Prevention Ministry |
In
1989 a group of HIV positive men approached Sr. Anne
to begin a spiritual support group for them because
they were being rejected by local clergy. So she did
-- at St. Joseph's hospital. As both proclamations put
it, Sr. Anne began "ministering to a group of young
men literally exiled from their community and
alienated from families, churches, and society because
they were infected with the HIV virus." |
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Ranting at the Apocalypse |
The
apocalyptic message of the religious right is that
homosexuality and other "deviant" behavior must be
cleansed from our society in order for the Kingdom of
God to occur. On the other hand, the Kingdom must be
preceded by an apocalypse, so sinful behaviors and
their resultant earthly punishments (e.g. AIDS) must
precede the "End." |
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Religion and HIV |
There is a growing momentum for churches to become
involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Essentially
they have no choice as increasing numbers congregants
or their loved ones die and nowadays, according to one
pastor, "you see more people at the cemeteries than at
the soccer stadiums." |
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RELIGION-AFRICA: Integrating HIV/AIDS in Theological
Curriculum |
The
church has been charged with responding to the
HIV/AIDS epidemic. Instead of standing with those who
are living with HIV/AIDS, the church responded by
associating the disease with a punishment from God.
This added to the stigma, as it became increasingly
held that those living with HIV/AIDS had somehow
brought it upon themselves. |
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RELIGION AND HIV/AIDS |
Religion has always been part of social life in Asia
and the Pacific. The region is the birthplace of
such world religions as Hinduism and Buddhism as
well as many other smaller but significant
religions, from Sikhism to Shinto. At the same time,
the region has often been tolerant, welcoming
religions from outside. Today, Asia includes the
largest Islamic countries in the world — Indonesia,
Bangladesh and Pakistan. Besides Islam, Christianity
has also flourished in many countries in the region,
to name a few, the Philippines, South Korea and the
Pacific island nations. |
Pdf 465 kb |
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Religion and HIV/AIDS in Nigeria
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As the HIV/AIDS crisis has spread throughout the
world, HIV rates among Christian populations have
remained significantly higher than among Muslim
populations. This trend can be seen through the
example of Nigeria, a state known for conflict
between Muslim and Christian populations. With an
HIV positive population of over 3 million, Nigeria
has the second highest burden of HIV infection in
sub-Saharan Africa.1
Within Nigeria, the highest prevalence rates are
found in Christian areas of the country, such as
Benue where 10% of the population is HIV positive.
All of the states with an HIV prevalence rate above
6% are in the Christian area of the country.2
The prevalence rates within Muslim states, on the
other hand, generally fall between 2-4%. |
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Religions rise to Aids challenge |
The role of religion in combating HIV/Aids can be a
controversial one. Orthodox thinkers in most major
faiths have, in the past, denounced those who fall ill
with the virus that causes Aids, suggesting their fate
is divine punishment for immoral behaviour - but no
longer. |
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Many humans understand the world via religion and
religious morality, and they are raised and educated
accordingly. In Islamic countries, this story is a
sadder one. That is where many girls have to wear
the Islamic hijab from childhood and Islamic
moralities shape their lives in many ways. One of
the most important of these “morals” is antagonism
toward sex and sexual relations. The reality that
many humans, all over the world, live with the
superstitious belief that “sex before marriage” is
non-acceptable and generally have a hostile attitude
to sexuality is a crime of religion that one could
write a great deal about. But when it comes to AIDS,
this and other religious moral prove deadly and play
a direct role in humans’ deaths. |
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RELIGIOSITY AND ATTITUDES ON INTIMACY Implications
for the HIV/AIDS Pandemic in Central Uganda |
In
the prevailing scholarship, especially in the west,
religion is accorded little power as a source of
social change. In the developing world, however,
this is not the case. The potential influence of
religion is still recognized and appreciated. In
1962, Reinhard (1962) maintained that Weber’s
idealistic interpretation of religion was
reasserting itself and that we had to seriously
consider religion in our nations’ policy packages
for social change and development. His discovery is
no less true today than it was then. Religion has
once again become a major layer in public policy and
today’s power plays are greatly influenced by
religious ideology. The major hypothesis of this
paper is that there is a negative correlation
between religiosity and premarital sexual
permissiveness. This religiosity, however, is not
solely based upon one’s religious membership and/or
on the frequency of one’s church attendance. It has
far greater impact on the daily lives of the people
in Uganda. |
Pdf 268 kb |
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Religious belief could be harnessed to better fight
HIV/AIDS, says study |
Prevention strategies for the spread of HIV/AIDS
should harness religious belief and practice,
especially in societies such as Guyana where
religious affiliation remains strong," wrote the
study's authors in an article published in the March
2007 issue of the International Journal of STD and
AIDS. |
Pdf 12 kb |
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Religious constraints on reporting HIV/AIDS in
Nigeria |
In
virtually every society, religion wields a powerful
and tremendous influence in the lives of the
populace. Many of the rules and regulations that
guide and determine the laws of the land and shape
ideologies and life styles emanate from prevalent
religious beliefs and practices. This is especially
true of Nigeria, where religion has become a
dominant part of the people’s social life. |
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Religious Involvement, Coping, Social Support, and
Psychological Distress in HIV-Seropositive African
American Mothers
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This study used a cross-sectional design to examine
the role of religious involvement within a
stress-process framework. Participants were 252
urban, low-income HIV-seropositive African American
mothers. The relationships among religious
involvement, stress, coping responses, social
support, and psychological distress were examined
using structural equation modeling. The number of
stressors reported by the mother was related to
greater religious involvement, which in turn was
negatively related to psychological distress.
Furthermore, the results suggest that social
support, active coping, and avoidant coping
responses mediated the relationship between
religious involvement and psychological distress.
According to the present results, interventions to
attenuate psychological distress in HIV-seropositive
African American mothers might focus on increasing
social support, promoting active coping, and
decreasing avoidant coping. The present findings
suggest that this may be accomplished, in part, by
promoting involvement in religious institutions and
practices. However, in light of the cross-sectional
design used in the present study, and given that
religion may have both positive and negative
consequences further research is needed to determine
the extent to which promoting religiosity may
increase or alleviate distress |
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Religious Leaders |
As
religious people there is a call to respond with love
to everyone, especially those who are suffering.
People living with HIV/AIDS have many physical,
emotional and spiritual needs. However, PWAs are
frequently afraid to approach their religious leaders
for fear of facing condemnation, rejection and
judgment, with the result that many lack the spiritual
care and support they need and deserve |
410 kb pdf |
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Response of religious groups to HIV/AIDS as a
sexually transmitted infection in Trinidad |
HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination are
significant determinants of HIV transmission in the
Caribbean island nation of Trinidad and Tobago
(T&T), where the adult HIV/AIDS prevalence is 2.5%.
T&T is a spiritually-aware society and over 104
religious groups are represented. This religious
diversity creates a complex social environment for
the transmission of a sexually transmitted infection
like HIV/AIDS. Religious leaders are esteemed in
T&T's society and may use their position and
frequent interactions with the public to promote
HIV/AIDS awareness, fight stigma and discrimination,
and exercise compassion for people living with
HIV/AIDS (PWHA). Some religious groups have
initiated HIV/AIDS education programs within their
membership, but previous studies suggest that
HIV/AIDS remains a stigmatized infection in many
religious organizations. The present study
investigates how the perception of HIV/AIDS as a
sexually transmitted infection impacts religious
representatives' incentives to respond to HIV/AIDS
in their congregations and communities. In
correlation, the study explores how the experiences
of PWHA in religious gatherings impact healing and
coping with HIV/AIDS. |
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Responses of the Faith-Based Organisations |
In
the era of HIV/AIDS, FBOs have been the recipients
of many accusations: of being a ‘sleeping giant’; of
promoting stigmatising and discriminating attitudes
based on fear and prejudice; of pronouncing harsh
moral judgments on those infected; of obstructing
the efforts of the secular world in the area of
prevention; and of reducing the issues of AIDS to
simplistic moral pronouncements, that have not made
Churches or Mosques places of refuge and solace, but
places of exclusion to all those “out there” who are
but 'suffering the consequences of their own moral
debauchery and sin.'’ |
Pdf 473 kb |
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Satan Triumphant: The Black Death |
Imagine, that a mere five days after having read
this that all of your best friends have succumbed to
an illness which cannot be explained. Imagine also,
that all the residents who live on your street have
died under similar circumstances in the same amount
of time. If you can conceive of such a dreaded act
occurring within your experience than you may have
some glimpse into the mindset of the mid-14th
century European who was unfortunate enough to have
experienced the BLACK DEATH. |
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Scaling Up Effective Partnerships
(Large report-increase download time) |
A
guide to working with faith-based organizations in
the response to HIV and AIDS |
Pdf 1800 kb |
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Seizing Tomorrow |
However, on the positive side, the church is
beginning to respond to this crisis in a mature and
responsible manner. Although the church got a slow
start in its response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in West
Africa, I believe it is the church, church-related
organizations and individual Christians who are
leading the way in the fight against the HIV/AIDS
pandemic. This crisis has forced the church to think
and act and do things differently than before |
Pdf 215 kb |
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Sermon
Ideas |
As
people of faith we believe that it is just to fight
against discrimination, to fight for a just sharing of
resources so that all people wherever they happen to
live on this globe have the same access to prevention,
care and treatment. This conviction should also give
us the courage to stand up and persistently approach
those who oppose just solutions, whether in the
churches, the industry or the government. |
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Sex, Drugs, HIV/Aids And Religion |
This
paper provides a basic presentation of facts about HIV
prevalence, transmission principles, prevention
strategies and issues. The second part begins to
explore the relationship between HIV/AIDS,
homosexuality and religion |
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Sexual Attitudes and Abstinence Among Christian
Youth |
This
section and the next examines what youth say about five
sexual behaviors at various stages of a relationship:
the first date when the couple are strangers, the dating
stage, the going together stage, the "in love" stage,
and the planning to be married stage. Inasmuch as
possible, each stage is examined separately except when
the statistical assumptions were violated. In this
case, categories were collapsed in logical ways.
Percentages that are bold-faced signify that that
particular percentage was statistically different from
chance, as revealed by an analysis of standardized
residuals. Finally, it should be noted that the
construction of the survey question forced respondents
to select the one sexual behavior that represented the
limit of their sexual expression at each stage of
relationship |
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Sexual Attitudes and Abstinence Among Christian
Youth |
This
section and the next examines what youth say about five
sexual behaviors at various stages of a relationship:
the first date when the couple are strangers, the dating
stage, the going together stage, the "in love" stage,
and the planning to be married stage. Inasmuch as
possible, each stage is examined separately except when
the statistical assumptions were violated. In this
case, categories were collapsed in logical ways.
Percentages that are bold-faced signify that that
particular percentage was statistically different from
chance, as revealed by an analysis of standardized
residuals. Finally, it should be noted that the
construction of the survey question forced respondents
to select the one sexual behavior that represented the
limit of their sexual expression at each stage of
relationship. Because of this limitation, there is not
a direct way to compare their attitude against their
behavior |
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Sexual Attitudes and Abstinence Among Christian
Youth Part 1 |
I wish
I had an answer to this dilemma. For Christian
families, public school options that teach comprehensive
sex education will not be satisfactory since it will
include information on masturbation, contraception and
homosexuality. For other Christian families, the
favored abstinence program will fall short if
contraception is not included since a significant
portion of the teens will become sexually active.
Further, many programs will fail to show how many
precoital sexual behaviors in addition to sexual
intercourse carry the risk of STDs. I am firmly
persuaded that Christian parents must not cease trying
to be salt and light to people in their community, and
this includes speaking out for an appropriate.
age-graded sex education curriculum. On the other hand,
parents must accept primary responsibility for educating
their children about sexuality. This should begin when
the infant is in the cradle, when she cannot understand
a word being said. |
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Sexual Attitudes and Abstinence Among Christian
Youth Part 2 |
I made
a disturbing claim: the message that the Church preaches
on sex fails to affect a significant proportion of the
Church's young people. This is due in part to the
nature of the message in that youth are asked to make
ethical choices based on legalistic rules rather than
sound Biblical principles that by necessity must include
the concept of the one-flesh union. The prohibition of
premarital intercourse, when followed, fails to provide
any help on deciding exactly what behaviors are
appropriate at various levels of intimacy. This leads
to youth testing the limits of the prohibition rule by
any means imaginable to the point that oral sex (and
most other sexual expressions) become permissible, at
least in later stages of intimacy (however vaguely
defined). The impotence of the Church can also be
traced to the strong societal influences that affect
youth, such as the media, peer pressure, and relaxed
values and morality |
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Sexuality and
Public Policy |
While
there are obvious civil liberty issues concerning
social and governmental oversight of personal sexual
behavior, human sexuality is in fact an activity which
is highly regulated by society through custom,
religion and legislation. Even those who adopt a
libertarian attitude toward sexuality tend to respect
modern social prohibitions regarding certain
behaviors, e.g. incest, rape, and sex involving
children. By contrast, historically some these
practices have been tolerated to varying degrees in
certain cultures while many other practices currently
considered acceptable have been prohibited. In
general, prevailing sexual behaviors are consistent
with and governed by prevailing social
attitudes. (Report contains several graphs and charts
concerning sexual behavior) |
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Sexuality, sin and disease - Theological and Ethical
Issues Posed by HIV/AIDS to the Churches |
I offer these reflections to the
theological discussion on AIDS from the perspective
of a physician specializing in immunology. As a
Christian - though not a formal theologian - I hope
my comments will contribute to the understanding of
this pandemic and suggest some ways those of us in
the churches can approach it. I will concentrate on
the medical but also psychological aspects of the
problem, for these are an important factor in how
the problem of AIDS is perceived, and in our
reactions to it. I will also explore the themes of
sin and guilt in relation to AIDS. |
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Some Theological and Ethical Reflections on AIDS |
"Who can separate us from the love of Christ? ... I am
convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels,
nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else
in all creation, will be able to separate us from the
love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:35a,
3839, NRSVB).
Isn't it a paradox. The one writer in the bible who
has most fervently been used to fan the flames of
homophobia and assisted the church in its repression
of gays and lesbians, is the same writer who gives us
the words quoted above, words which ought to be
recited at every AIDS Christian healing service, at
every AIDS interfaith conference, at every Christian
funeral or memorial service for one who has died of
AIDS related complications |
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Spiritually Rooted Diseases |
Behind every health issue and every emotional or
spiritual problem resides the "Spirit of Fear." The
Spirit of Fear is the Devil's faith working in
people by using lies to control them. And if we
dwell on those lies long enough, we will begin to
believe them, thus resulting in responding to them
which can lead to all kinds of problems. We need to
discover the root behind our problems. |
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STIGMA AND DISCRIMINATION |
Stigma is as old as history. While the word dates back
to ancient Greek times and refers to the physical mark
made by fire or with knives on individuals or groups
considered outsiders or inferiors, the concept appears
universal. In different cultures and at different
times, slaves, criminals and adulterers – or those
suspected of being slaves, criminals and adulterers –
have been branded or otherwise physically marked. |
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Stigma and Religion: An Inevitable Partnership? |
"Stigma almost killed me" related one delegate who had been
ostracized from her church because of her HIV status. Her
statement underlined the continuing damage of HIV-related
stigma, and the role of religious leaders in reducing
discrimination
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The African Religious Leaders Assembly on Children and
HIV/AIDS – Africa |
Participants, who were chosen to ensure religious,
geographic, and gender diversity, sought concrete
support from the G8 leaders convening in late June in
Kananaskis, Canada. They also organised the delivery
of a plan of action to combat stigma associated with
HIV/AIDS, as well as the role of faith-based groups in
context of Global Trust Fund implementation strategy. |
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THE ABC Disaster |
Since the introduction of ABC there has been
scepticism, but almost of an apologetic sort. What
could be heard was that abstinence is "of course"
the ideal but since the reality is different, the
messages should be targeting sexually active people.
All couples being faithful is "of course" what we
all would like to see, but since the reality is
different, we need to talk a lot about condoms. Over
the years, the A and B of the ABC tend to get a lot
more emphasis than the C (clearly reflected in the
materials and manuals where condoms feature on the
last one or two pages of the teachers' guide).
Something else also happened in the process: a whole
generation of teachers, counsellors, and others
involved in educating young people, who themselves
enjoyed an at that time unprecedented sexual freedom
in their adolescent years, are preaching abstinence
without even confronting their own history, desires
and practices within what they preach |
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THE AIDS CRISIS IN AMERICA AND THE RESPONSE OF THE
RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY: THE CHALLENGE AND THE CHARGE |
A
disease which was earlier identified with gay White
males, now afflicts the heterosexual Black community
with a vengeance. Unfortunately, with few exceptions,
the American religious community has failed to speak
out on this critical issue. The Black Church and
African American Muslims have been virtually silent,
reticent in the face of an epidemic that threatens to
annihilate a generation of black people |
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The Black Death |
I
say, then, that the years of the fruitful
Incarnation of the Son of God had attained to the
number of one thousand three hundred and
forty-eight, when into the notable city of Florence,
fair over every other of Italy, there came to
death-dealing pestilence, which, through the
operation of the heavenly bodies or of our own
iniquitous doings, being sent down upon mankind for
our correction by the just wrath of God, had some
years before appeared in the parts of the East and
after having bereft these latter of an innumerable
number of inhabitants, extending without cease from
one place to another, had now unhappily spread
towards the West. |
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The Canadian Church and the HIV/AIDS
Pandemic |
"We
[Canadian Christians] could have been a leader," she
says, in the struggle against the pandemic that has
killed millions. "I don't know why we allow other
issues to supersede our compassion. But we do." |
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The Church's involvement in the Bubonic Plague |
The blame that the flaggelants placed on the Jews
continued after their group dissolved, despite the
efforts of Catholic officials and attempts of
secular authorities to prevent their outbursts (Strayer,
1983). The flaggelants had helped to spread the
belief that Jews infected cities' wells with the
Plague element through the use of contaminated
vials. Fears were heightened as it was discovered
that Jews would not take water from city wells. (In
order to keep Jewish kosher laws, Jews had to draw
water from country springs.) In September, 1348,
eleven Jews were charged with contaminating a well
in a small southern German town. The men were
tortured, and each eventually confessed (falsely) to
the deed. Their trial and executions set off a wave
of terrible acts against Jews in Switzerland and
Germany. Zurich was the first city to take action
against the Jewish community by voting never to
admit Jews into thier city (Giblin, 1995). Jews in
Basel, Strasburg, and Brussels were herded into
wooden barns and burned alive. Others in Germany
were burned at the stake. Pope Clement VI asked that
gentiles treat Jews with tolerance, but this request
was not granted. The Church had lost authority
during the Plague, and now had few loyal followers.
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The Impact of Faith-based organizations |
Faith
Based Organizations often have a direct impact on
social institutions, such as schools, which socialize
people and change values over time. In addition,
their jurisdiction often includes a number of areas
closely connected to HIV/AIDS, such as morality,
beliefs about the spiritual bases of disease, and
rules of family life and sexual activity. |
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The Impact of Faith Identity on the health and
healthcare of Pakistani Muslims |
Two historical frameworks dominate European
discourse about Muslim identity. First, the
Enlightenment notion that religion is a private
matter to be disassociated from public life,
particularly from the scientific enterprise.
Secondly, the Orientalist tradition of portraying
Islam as inferior to Western culture and Muslims as
people to be feared and controlled. These
discursive practices have consequences for the
everyday lives of Pakistani Muslims in the UK and
for their healthcare and health |
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The Impact of Islam and
Its Teachings on Preservation of Individual and Public
Health |
Islam differs from other religions in that it concerns itself
with both this life as well as the here after. It is the only
religion which has built on earth a state and a society.
Hence all the instructions for administrating such a
society descended directly from heaven. Some concern
the ruling system, others social and economic dealings in
addition to the hygienic regime.
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THE INTERRELATIONSHIP OF RACISM AND AIDS |
From
the perspective of this writer, it requires serious
denial to avoid the conclusion that racism and AIDS
are intimately interrelated- However, it is not nearly
as easy to comprehend how or why this reality exists
and will not easily disappear. I believe the problem
is not due to our failure to understand H1V/AIDS so
much as our failure to understand racism. |
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The Muslim Face of AIDS |
On a cold December evening in the southern Iranian
city of Kerman, the stars blazed overhead as a
father took his son’s life. Enraged, and with an ax
in hand, the head of a prominent Iranian family
chopped his child to pieces for bringing shame upon
his relatives. The son’s crime? Contracting HIV, the
virus that causes AIDS. In a country where, in some
parts, nearly 60 percent of HIV–positive citizens
take their own lives within the first year of their
diagnosis, the 23-year-old son faced little chance
of acceptance, even from his family. |
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The Muslim View Of Homosexuality |
The article begins with the fact that there are gay
Muslim groups just as adamant as their Christian and
Jewish counterparts in declaring that their holy
scriptures and religious philosophy do not oppose
homosexuality. This argument is directly challenged
by Dr. Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, described by El-Awady as a
highly esteemed Islamic scholar. Al-Qaradawi states
that Islamic beliefs are squarely against gay
relationships because Allah created opposites to
attract including the attraction between man and
woman as the means to continue the existence of the
human species. He then goes on to quote several
passages from the Koran: |
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The need to act now: HIV/AIDS and development |
How
does HIV/AIDS make poor people poorer? Young adults -
the parents or money-earners of the family - are most
likely to be affected. Becoming ill means the most
basic of tasks, such as putting food on the table,
become almost impossible. Lack of food reduces your
ability to fight HIV-related disease. |
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The New Scarlet Letter: A for AIDS |
When someone finds out you’re HIV positive or have
AIDS … you can lose your wife, your kids, your job,
your business partners, and the support of your
church. Even going to county courthouse for welfare
and to apply for help in paying for medications is
risky. |
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The Role of Religious Leaders in Reducing Stigma and
Discrimination |
Religious leaders have a unique catalytic role to play
in addressing stigma and discrimination within
communities. Religious leaders can influence a
community’s response. Unfortunately, many religious
leaders have spoken in judgment against HIV/AIDS
equating it to sin that afflicts un-believers and
those who have fallen short in their morals.
Ironically, religion is full of hope for those who
suffer and this can be translated into action to
support those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. |
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The Root Of Homophobia |
As
is the case with racism, numerous and complex
societal factors contribute to homophobia. Moreover,
as with racism, homophobia is based on prejudice
towards those who are different. The primary source
of homophobia in most Western nations seems to be
the Judaeo-Christian religious tradition of
opposition to homosexuality, justified by certain
passages in Scripture (although in recent years
certain "progressive" branches of Protestantism and
Judaism are increasingly accepting of
homosexuality). From its roots in religion,
homophobia has institutionalized itself in the law
(in many states one can be legally fired for being
homosexual), psychology (until 1980, homosexuality
was deemed a mental disorder by the official
diagnostic manual of psychology, the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), the
military (unlike any other minority, avowed
homosexuals may not enlist or serve in the armed
forces) and popular culture (homosexuals until very
recently were usually depicted in movies and on
television as either depressed, diseased, deranged,
or preying on children). |
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THE TRUTH ABOUT AIDS |
Many officials want to battle the AIDS epidemic by
passing out condoms to almost everybody and giving
free needles to drug users. Such measures may help
reduce the risk of AIDS for people with sinful
lifestyles, and I hope some lives are spared. But I’m
afraid the overall effect may be to spread Satan’s
lie. The condom and the needle proclaim, “You people
are just animals. You can’t be expected to do anything
right, so don’t even try. Here’s a way to improve your
chances of survival while doing wrong.” |
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Theological Education: HIV/AIDS and Other Challenges |
Clearly, this framework does not subscribe to
perspectives which, for whatever reason, hold that
certain groups of people, be it on the basis of their
ethnicity, health status, gender, race, age, class, or
sexual orientation should be subjugated, oppressed or
denied their God-given human dignity. In this
framework, salvation is liberation from spiritual,
physical, economic, cultural and politically
oppressive and exploitative structures and
institutions. In this framework, social structures and
institutions that sanction oppression and exploitation
do not represent God's will, and must be counteracted
by those of us who accept our role as co-creators in
keeping the earth sacred, good, and balanced. |
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Theology of compassion |
When each one of us is so equally dependent on that
grace – we need to go slowly in our handing out of labels
of “innocent” and “guilty”, “worthy of compassion” and
“unworthy of compassion.” My bother, son or father who
is on umrah can be infected with HIV by the blade that
is used to shave his hair. Will we ask him to wear
a label – “touched but innocent” around his neck when
it comes to light that he is HIV+, will we leave his food
at his bedroom door so that we can not be touched; will
we say that the word condom must never be used so that
he will suffer for the rest of his life the absence
of the great joys that the beast also brings?
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Those on the Margins |
AIDS
is like a lens bringing critical issues into focus,
including the inscrutable complexities of human
sexuality, motivation and behavior, the shameful
economic disparities and xenophobic prejudices that
exist in society, and the obligations of those with
resources to share equitably and even sacrificially
with those who are in great need. |
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TO HELL WITH AIDS |
“Forget about rural areas, here in Dar only there are
those who believe Aids is rich people’s disease. They
strongly believe it cannot touch them. True, they do
not have the money to engage in risky attitudes where
they can contract HIV but we live in closed
communities. Interaction between people at all level
happens and many contract Aids not because they
themselves play around but because they get it from
their unfaithful partners,” one community elder in
Mbagala, Dar told The Express. |
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Towards a Christian Aid Policy on HIV/AIDS |
This
Policy Paper sets out Christian Aid’s corporate
response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the beliefs and
principles that underpin this response, and the
specific policy commitments we aim to fulfill. The
HIV/AIDS Strategy Paper (now being developed
separately) will outline how we intend to resource and
fulfill these commitments over the period 2001-2004 |
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TUNTUNAN
SYARI'AT ISLAM DLAM BERSIKAP, |
Sebagai agama yang ajarannya penuh rahmat bagi
penghuni dunia ini (rahmatan lil-'alamiin), Islam telah
memberikan tuntunan-tuntunan bagi pemeluknya.
Ajaran Islam sarat dengan tuntunan untuk merawat
dan memperlakukan orang yang sakit dengan baik.
'Iyadah al-maridh yang sangat digalakkan oleh Islam
sebenarnya tidak hanya berarti menengok orang sakit,
sebagaimana yang dipahami selama ini, melainkan
juga berarti merawat dan mengobati orang yang sakit.
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Various Christian Beliefs concerning illness |
The Word of God also shows us that we have all been
offered the very same gift of eternal life from God our
Father through His Son Jesus Christ
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VIRGIN SYMBOL AND BODY: CHRISTIAN AND
AFRICAN TRADITIONAL BELIEFS ON SEXUALITY IN RELATION
TO THE PROBLEM OF HIV/AIDS |
One Sunday, I read an article that reported that
more and more virgin girls are being raped by
men who believe this will "cleanse" them of
the disease AIDS. After finishing reading, it once
again freshly daunted me that these beliefs around
the symbol of virginity had actually shaped my early
general education on sexuality by both my African
and Christian Catholic traditions. As a uniquely
embodied African Christian woman in South Africa, I
have experienced my body through the learned roles
and expectations from both my community (family and
relatives) and Christian (Catholic) tradition,
apprehended and communicated to me through the
symbol of virginity. Virginity, as a symbol of
purity in both my (African) culture and (Catholic)
Christian tradition meant behaviour and practices
fitting the image of purity, as contrasted with
polluting activities. On the one hand, my mother
told me that, in order to have a blessed and stable
marriage I should enter into the institution of
marriage in a pure bodily condition, that is, not
having known any man through sexual intercourse. My
Roman Catholic Sunday school teacher (who was a
nun), on the other hand, instructed me that
virginity is a gift of holiness from God. Basing
this education in sexuality on Pauline tradition,
she went on to quote St. Paul |
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Vulnerabilities: HIV and AIDS |
The spread of HIV/AIDS within families brings up an
interesting concern with addressing inconsistencies
between intent and experience within the family: How
do certain family structures create greater
vulnerability? The first part of this presentation
will look at an interesting paradox: the family, that
institution through which human beings expect and
receive their greatest nurturing, is the same
institution that can create the greatest
vulnerabilities in the spread of HIV/AIDS for women
and children. When the structure of family itself
causes vulnerability, critical examination is even
more in order to construct ways that civil society can
empower family members to challenge the abuses that
occur within families. However, some see the very idea
of challenging “family” as a disruption in social well
being |
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What Role Does Islam Have In Fighting HIV/AIDS? |
It's taken the Muslim world a couple of decades, but people
in leadership positions have started to tackle the reality of
HIV/AIDS among Muslim populations, particularly in hard-hit
areas such as Africa or Asia. Last year, an international
conference of Muslim leaders convened to begin sharing
strategies, such as Uganda's " Jihad on AIDS" project and
a women's education program in Indonesia.
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When religion becomes a weapon of mass destruction |
We
never met face-to-face, but we communicated daily.
“Joshua” was an accomplished dancer, musician,
painter and sculptor living in Kampala. He was a
lead dancer in several companies. His sculptures and
paintings had been purchased by the president of
Uganda. He was finishing his studies in
Organizational Studies at the university. The future
looked bright, until his evangelical Christian
parents discovered he was gay. His father informed
the police and had his 25-year-old son arrested |
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Rosemary Radford Ruether, professor of applied
theology at the Garrett Evangelical Theological
Seminary at Northwestern University in Evanston,
Ill., estimates there are some 50,000 "core"
adherents who call themselves "Identity Christians."
But writing in the Chicago Tribune recently, she
also noted that "they have recently targeted
alienated white youth in affluent suburbs and have
considerable presence through a number of Web sites
and the promotion of racist music aimed at the
young." |
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Why Reach Out to Persons with AIDS? |
A
man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his
knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and
touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”
Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.—Mark 1:40-42. |
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Why Religion Matters: The Impact of Religious
Practice on Social Stability |
Religious practice appears to have enormous
potential for addressing today's social problems. As
summarized in 1991 by Allen Bergin, professor of
psychology at Brigham Young University, considerable
evidence indicates that religious involvement
reduces "such problems as sexual permissiveness,
teen pregnancy, suicide, drug abuse, alcoholism, and
to some extent deviant and delinquent acts, and
increases self esteem, family cohesiveness and
general well being.... Some religious influences
have a modest impact whereas another portion seem
like the mental equivalent of nuclear energy....
More generally, social scientists are discovering
the continuing power of religion to protect the
family from the forces that would tear it down." |
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Working with people living with HIV/AIDS
organizations |
This document has been written to accompany World
Council of Churches, Partnerships between Churches
and People Living with HIV/AIDS Organizations:
Guidelines, (2005). Whereas the partnership document
explores the question of why churches should work
with People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA)
organizations and networks, this document has a
focus on how churches may work with PLWHA
organizations and networks. For example: What issues
do you need to think about? What are the needs of
PLWHA? How should you interact PLWHA? It is hoped
that this document of practical suggestions will
assist in helping make partnerships functional and
effective |
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You've got AIDS? Go to hell! |
“They told me I could go to hell for all they care. I
tried to phone them so many times, and each time they
would hang up on me.” Unfortunately, this is a common
story in Thailand. On top of the trauma of having to
come to terms with having HIV and the scarcity of
affordable treatment, sufferers often face abandonment
by their families |
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