Stepping up in Faith

http://iacfaith.org/preconference

The interfaith pre-conference on HIV to the 20^th International AIDS Conference hosted by the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance brought faith leaders from all over the world together to caucus around the theme, “Stepping up in Faith.”

Faith groups have often been criticized as one of the main drivers of stigmatization and discrimination relative to HIV and the at risk populations the virus largely affects. This is often an accurate criticism unfortunately, but to be fair, following global government and NGO support, faith communities account for the delivery of the most HIV and AIDS services worldwide. So it makes sense for communities of faith to have a seat at the table in the HIV and AIDS discussion, granted faith communities recognize their role in fueling the disease through stigma.

The interfaith pre-conference was an attempt to address this harsh reality head on, highlighting the faith community’s successes but acknowledging its failures during the opening plenary titled: “Our Journey with HIV So Far: Lessons from Our Past to Shape the Future.” This diverse panel of same gender-loving and/or HIV+ faith leaders offered first-hand accounts of what it means to be a religious leader living a life that the very same faith often stigmatizes.

This opening panel discussion offered a seamless segue into 12 workshops throughout the weekend where 4 of the workshops were centered specifically on stigma reduction, including:

1. Addressing Homophobia and HIV-related Stigma through Scripture and Spirituality
2. Engaging Business Sectors, Social Media and Community to Overcome AIDS Stigma and Discrimination
3. Mobilizing Local Faith Communities to Eliminate Stigma
4. Stigma Must be Replaced

There were also healthy discussions about faith-based comprehensive sexuality education which is a much needed dialogue within our churches, mosques, temples, and synagogues in order to reduce the stigma associated with sex + faith. Many times during the preconference we heard, “sexuality is a gift from God,” which often drew applause yet also garnered awkward silence even among some the most progressive religious leaders in the world. This speaks to the work we as people of faith still have ahead of us in reconciling our relationship with sexuality and faith, especially as it relates to the HIV and AIDS epidemic.

There is no doubt that communities of faith have a significant role to play in the fight against HIV and AIDS, but we must not allow life taking theologies, ideologies, and doctrines to get in the way of the life giving grace, love, and compassion that faith has to offer to those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS. One participant said it best, “We can’t wait to figure out how God feels about HIV. We’ve got to act first, and worry about the theology later, in order to save lives.”