Eliminating Stigma and Discrimination in the Church
by Warren Chain
HIV and AIDS is an epidemic in the United States. While pharmaceuticals have increased the life expectancy of HIV+ individuals, 56,300 people annually are newly diagnosed with HIV. As a result, the number of persons living with virus continues to increase; more than 1.2 million people in our country are HIV+. While this epidemic impacts persons of every race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and geographic region, its burden has particularly impacted the African American and Latino communities and men who have sex with men.
In the face of this epidemic, the church must respond. One factor which hinders the flourishing of those impacted by HIV and AIDS is stigma and discrimination. God loves everyone and as such, all are welcomed by God in the church. However, persons living with HIV often encounter stigma and discrimination in the church - as if their HIV+ status excludes them from the community gathered together by God. In a recent survey of HIV+ individuals, 26% felt that they face discrimination in their church (POZ, December 2007).
Stigma and discrimination enforce a silence which hinders the flourishing of those living with HIV and AIDS. Many impacted by HIV often do not disclose that status because they believe they will not embraced by their congregation. As a result, a congregation may believe erroneously that all persons feel welcomed when, in fact, families may be living silently with HIV without the congregation’s loving embrace.
Imagine the pain caused by receiving an HIV+ diagnosis, exacerbated by the isolation due to the belief that you cannot turn to your congregation for support. Consider the mother from a Midwestern ELCA congregation who feels she cannot share her son’s HIV+ status. Or, the ELCA member whose partner is HIV+, who feels the church would shun him if he disclosed his partner’s condition. Both walk alone with this burden without their congregation’s support.
Your congregation can fight stigma and discrimination by engaging in moral deliberation about HIV and AIDS. Many congregations find this topic difficult to discuss, because it intersects with other difficult issues such as sexuality, sexual orientation, class and race. Several resources exist to help your congregation engage this issue. The resource “Talking Together as Christians about Tough Social Issues” [Talking Together as Christians about Tough Social Issues, ELCA Division for Church in Society (Augsburg Fortress; code 698681; $3.25 plus postage; 800 328-4648).] can be used to guide discussion. The resource “Exploring Solutions: How to Talk about HIV Prevention in the Church” has ideas to help your congregations discuss HIV, AIDS and stigma and discrimination. (This resource is available at http://www.e-alliance.ch/hivaids_exploringsolutions.jsp .)
In addition, small gestures can signal to those living with HIV that your church values their full participation. Consider this story: a Lutheran, from a midsized southwestern city, not only learned that he was HIV+ but also was recovering from a serious AIDS related illness and needed to rejoin a community that, as a child, he felt was safe and supportive. He visited a particular Lutheran congregation several times, but always arrived late and left early - he felt he might be shunned if they discovered he had advanced AIDS and lived in a hospice. But, he continued to return for service. Why? The pamphlets in the narthex from a local AIDS organization signaled to him that the church may be open to his participation. In addition, after a few visits, a member of the church came over and asked if she could sit with him during the service. These small acts - the pamphlets and the quiet welcome - were enough to move this man to join and become an active member of that congregation. The ELCA website http://archive.elca.org/aids/ has a number of resources and ideas that you can utilize in your congregation.
HIV and AIDS impacts our country, your local community and your congregation. Let’s respond with the love of Christ to make sure that those living with HIV feel God’s welcome in the church.
About the author: Dr. Warren Chain works with ELCA World Hunger.
Comments
Stigma is Still Rampant Today
On AIDS2008.com's blog posting"Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give thee rest" by Jacqui Patterson, I left the following comment.
"WWJD? Well, since he was never at odds with, what was perceived in his time, as the lower of the population echelon, he would embrace the LGBT and Hetero-HIV/AIDS community with open arms: non-judgmental and compassionate. He would not blithely turn his back and “wait” until they were more like “him” but would guide them with love, acceptance and understanding. My question is: “When will the religious community stop treating this epidemic as a “you got yours comeuppance" and practice the love and acceptance they are so fond of preaching instead of turning their backs by saying “It would not happen to me!”.
I feel that your article brought the stigma that many parents feel in not being able to talk about their child's HIV status. I have found that though my blog and participation on an AIDS Forum that there are very few parents willing to discuss and much of this is due to fear of how their religious brethen would view them. I hope that one day Moms and Dads can put aside "how" their child contracted this deadly virus and embrace them publicaly even if it is reaching out to local support groups. Education is key but sometimes we Moms and Dads need a shoulder as well. Thank you for your blog post. Jude at http://hopeandcope.blogspot.com/