TY - JOUR
T1 - Fighting down the scourge, building up the church
T2 - Organisational constraints in religious involvement with HIV/AIDS in Mozambique
AU - Agadjanian, Victor
AU - Menjívar, Cecilia
N1 - Funding Information:
The support of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) grant #R01HD050175 is gratefully acknowledged. Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the Conference on Religious Responses to HIV and AIDS, Columbia University, New York, 12·14 July 2010, and at the 18th International AIDS Conference, Vienna, Austria, 18·23 July 2010.
PY - 2011/10
Y1 - 2011/10
N2 - Religious organisations (ROs) are often said to play an important role in mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS. Yet, limitations of that role have also been acknowledged. While most of the literature has focused on ideological and individual-level implications of religion for HIV/AIDS, in this study we shift the focus to the organisational factors that shape and constrain ROs' involvement in both HIV prevention and HIV/AIDS care and support. Using primarily qualitative data collected in a predominantly Christian area in southern Mozambique, we show that the organisational vitality of a RO as determined by its membership size and its relationships with other churches and with governmental and non-governmental agencies is a pervasive priority of RO leaders. Therefore, all church activities, including those related to HIV/AIDS, are instrumentalised by the religious leadership to achieve the church's organizational aims - maintaining and growing its membership, safeguarding the often precarious coexistence with other churches, and enhancing its standing vis-à-vis the government and powerful non-governmental organisations. As a result, the effectiveness of ROs' involvement in HIV/AIDS prevention and assistance is often compromised.
AB - Religious organisations (ROs) are often said to play an important role in mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS. Yet, limitations of that role have also been acknowledged. While most of the literature has focused on ideological and individual-level implications of religion for HIV/AIDS, in this study we shift the focus to the organisational factors that shape and constrain ROs' involvement in both HIV prevention and HIV/AIDS care and support. Using primarily qualitative data collected in a predominantly Christian area in southern Mozambique, we show that the organisational vitality of a RO as determined by its membership size and its relationships with other churches and with governmental and non-governmental agencies is a pervasive priority of RO leaders. Therefore, all church activities, including those related to HIV/AIDS, are instrumentalised by the religious leadership to achieve the church's organizational aims - maintaining and growing its membership, safeguarding the often precarious coexistence with other churches, and enhancing its standing vis-à-vis the government and powerful non-governmental organisations. As a result, the effectiveness of ROs' involvement in HIV/AIDS prevention and assistance is often compromised.
KW - Africa
KW - Aids care
KW - Hiv prevention
KW - Mozambique
KW - Religion
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U2 - 10.1080/17441692.2011.598869
DO - 10.1080/17441692.2011.598869
M3 - Article
C2 - 21787253
AN - SCOPUS:80052463288
SN - 1744-1692
VL - 6
SP - S148-S162
JO - Global Public Health
JF - Global Public Health
IS - SUPPL. 2
ER -