The Impact of Religious Convictions on the HIV Pandemic - Report Example

Introduction

Man is a religious creature. As such, religiosity perpetuates all facets of the existence of humans and influence numerous health effects on the population. These include depression, mortality, and drug abuse. Religious convictions and teachings inform and affect the behavior of the population across the globe (Genrich, Brathwaite, 2005).Therefore, differences in religious doctrines have had a mixed result in complimenting the efforts to arrest the spread of the HIV pandemic. Globally numerous prevention and curative strategies have been put in place in a bid to reduce the effect of HIV pandemic on populations. The treatment and preventive measures aimed at HIV high-risk population groups include testing, condom use, abstinence, marital fidelity, change in behavior, circumcision (in males), and safe supply of blood. However, the efficacy of many of such programs has been affected, both positively and negatively, by prevailing religious teachings or doctrines. This paper explores how different religious groups have reacted to the HIV/AIDs pandemic and how these responses have affected the efficacy of preventative and curative measures meant to curb the spread of the disease and manage those affected.

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Religion

Religion plays a key role in shaping the social life, education, welfare, and politics of various countries. As such, interpretation of messages and the resulting changes in behavior takes place within a religious context. Religious teachings have always had a place for communicable diseases such as plagues since time immemorial. HIV/AIDs came at a point in time where both theological views and popular religious beliefs have undergone significant divergence. The contemporary world poses an additional challenge because both scientific and theological perceptions are arguably more complex than they were in times past. As a result, religious groups have reacted to the HIV/AIDs pandemic in a multifaceted complex manner.

The Abrahamic faiths, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, have had long and salient backgrounds that construe pandemics as an act of God. It was not until the late 19th century when theological and medical opinions on pandemics such plagues used converge to the finding that sinning caused God to punish people with afflictions. In any case, it was widely believed that being impulsive, filthy, immoral, and self-indulgent attracted the ire of God and made one particularly susceptible to disease. Nowadays, advances in science give a better overview of communicable diseases as well as effective preventive and curative measures. As a result, religions are more relaxed and hardly associate many contemporary communicable diseases with God’s ire. However, the few diseases that are communicable by sexual contact such as HIV/AIDs and other STIs still manage to attract significant theological reference. Although most religious groups do not substitute scientific explanation of the causes of the group, that sexual transmission of the disease is perpetuated by sinful behavior. For instance, Islam views HIV through the point of view of sin. Sex with more than one partner, sexual immorality, homosexuality, and prostitution are some of the sins that Islam associates with HIV/AIDs.

Judaism and Christianity also link immoral sexual behavior to the spread of HIV/AIDs. In religious settings, words such as impure or unclean have been used to describe those infected with the virus. This has significantly contributed to the stigmatization of the disease. In any case, the bible and the Quran have adequately supported such acuities. For instance Romans 6: 23 assertion that the wages of sin are death and the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah have been used by religious leaders and adherents alike to validate the religious stigma that HIV/AIDs victims receive. Religious leaders and groups that associate the HIV/AIDs pandemic with sexual immorality make punitive judgments because science shows that sexual immorality is not the only cause of HIV infection. As such, religious ascriptions made on the assumption of sinful behavior exacerbate the stigma of HIV positive individuals. The stigma demeans these individuals because it seeks to justify their sufferings as a punishment. Religious anecdotes that promote HIV stigma, thus, debases the victims of HIV/AIDs and deprives them of the respect that congregants should otherwise accord. Due to stigma, victims of the pandemic are at times held accountable for real or perceived misfortunes to the community and are, thus, isolated. They suffer greater social distances and receive lessened sympathy from other members of the community.

Sexuality

Sexuality is an intensely emotive issue in contemporary religion. Sexuality presents a predominantly problematic feature of HIV/AIDs pandemic to religion because homosexuals are a high-risk group. Religions that explicitly condemn homosexuality find it difficult to handle or manage gay men suffering from AIDs or even inform protective measures among such individuals. All the Abrahamic faiths categorically condemn homosexuality as sinful. In any case, same-gender sexual relationships have been judged harshly by not only religions but by the wider society. Emperor Justinian, who was Christian, enacted the first legislation that outlawed homosexuality and imposed the death penalty on offenders. According to National Research Council (1993), he did this because the plagues and earthquakes experienced during his reign were viewed as a punishment for homosexuality. This long tradition of sexuality intolerance echoes I the minds of contemporary Christians especially those who hold the view that HIV/AIDs is a punishment for sinful tendencies. Although the position that HIV/AIDs is a punishment for homosexuality was not adopted by many religious groups, the relationship between the pandemic and homosexuality has complicated their response to the pandemic.

Science fronted a key preventive measure, which used to be a method of contraception, in the use of condoms. Using condoms is now a proven way of limiting the spread of HIV/AIDs. However, the Catholic Church, one of the largest Christian denominations has opposed the use of Condoms, both male and female for decades. The fact that the Catholic Church rejects the use of condoms, which is one of the lynchpins of HIV/AIDs preventive measures, is a major cause of friction between religion and HIV/AIDS preventive and management measures. The basis of the Catholic Church's opposition lies in its use as a contraceptive. According to Catholicism, the use of condoms separates the reproductive part of human intercourse from the unitive purpose. The Catholic Church has also frowned heavily on the extensive and undiscriminating promotion of condoms as a satisfactory means of preventing HIV infections. The reasons quoted by opponents of condom use include; condoms alter an act of love into one of self-centered pleasure while denying accountability, condoms diminish mutual respect, self-control, and dignity.

The Catholic Church

The Catholic Church posits that the ethical perspective is enough to justify its position even though the use of condoms prevents HIV infection. This position reached its pinnacle in 2009 when on his maiden visit to Africa, Pope Benedict XVI said that the indiscriminate distribution of condoms would not halt the spread of HIV but would rather accelerate it (Akin, 2010). This false and outrageous statement created an international incident. As such, the position of the Catholic Church has come under heavy criticism in the recent past because that position is seen as a huge impendent to efforts in the world where the aim was to arrest the spread of the pandemic despite the methods used. As a result, the Catholic Church has relaxed its stance on its position of use of the condom by giving a list of situations where the use of condoms may be condoned. However, the overall stance of the Catholic Church on prohibiting the use of condoms presents a huge obstacle to the preventive efforts of stakeholders. However, almost all other religious groups have no reservations regarding the use of condoms to plan families. Although most feel that the use of condoms could encourage sexual immorality, they agree that married couples can use condoms as a contraceptive measure.

Although some religious groups hold the view that HIV/AIDs could be divine punishment, and others hold diverging views regarding preventive and curative measures, religions and places of worship have successfully used to complement efforts to halt the spread of the disease and alleviate its effects on the population. In any case, most religious groups agree on almost all aspects of the disease apart from homosexuality and the use of condoms. All agree that AIDs is evil and harmful to both society and individuals alike. As a result, most denominations of the world’s religions treat the HIV/AIDs pandemic as a human problem that needs generosity and compassion to manage. In addition, it is important to point out that the theological teachings of almost all religions care, compassion, care, risk avoidance, morality, and civil rights of the individuals affected in times of crisis. Therefore, the theological and moral points of view of most religions are created with high-risk groups and behavior in mind with special emphasis on ministering to the bereaved, dying, and the sick.

Powerful Obligations

Religions contain within them powerful obligations to take care of the sick and those in all forms of want. In Judaism, the honorable form of charity is kindness where services are given to those who are unable to take care of themselves even in the affliction of diseases. In the New Testament, the parable of the Good Samaritan depicts a stranger taking care of a wounded stranger using his own money. This projects a powerful message of compassion. Christianity is rife with cautions to ensure that adherents take care of the sick. Number & Amundsen, 1986 paint a vivid picture of the reckless ones, who were dedicated early Christians who endangered their lives to take care of the plague victims. Throughout the history of Christianity, church leaders have planned medical care and even imposed preventive measures even when they were theologically convinced that the disease was an act of punishment from God. Religions, therefore, have had a tradition of urging adherents to be compassionate and take care of victims of communicable diseases. This aspect of religion has been key in influencing and informing the reaction of numerous religious groups to the HIV/AIDs pandemic. To this end, many religious groups play a huge role in providing access to primary and life-threatening health care of HIV/AIDS victims.

Conclusion

International health organizations such as WHO and UNAIDS acknowledge the role of faith-based organizations in the global response to the HIV/AIDs pandemic. According to Muñoz-Laboy et al. (2011), one in every five organizations that are involved in the response to the HIV scourge is faith-based. The faith-based organizations are particularly invaluable in marginalized communities and locations, especially in third world countries where local health facilities are unavailable. Vitillo (2009) posits that 30%-70% of health infrastructure in Africa south of the Sahara is run by faith-based organizations. However, the poor cooperation between these faith-based health installations and the mainstream health sectors in third world countries makes their objectives of reaching the vulnerable difficult.