Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate how clergy are dealing with HIV prevention and sexuality education of young people in their congregations. An electronic questionnaire was filled in by 142 clergy from white Afrikaans-speaking churches in the Reformed tradition. Results showed that 77% clergy believed that unmarried young people in their congregations are sexually active. More than 85% clergy agreed that it is the task of the church to provide sexuality and HIV prevention education to young congregants. However, not many clergy (13%) offered HIV prevention programmes for young people in their own congregations. The main HIV prevention message 85% of clergy were prepared to share with young congregants was ‘abstinence only’ or ‘your body is the temple of God’. Only 15% clergy (significantly more female clergy) were prepared to offer comprehensive sexuality education (abstinence PLUS) programmes. The HIV prevention message of the church should at least be in line with the lived experiences and reality of its youth in today’s society. The church can no longer afford to alienate young people through moralism only. She needs an approach that satisfies both morality and reality.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article has implications for the fields of psychology, HIV and AIDS research and pastoral care. It challenges the way the church prepares young people to cope with HIV in a modern society and suggests change in terms of a greater participation in the sexuality education of young people.
Highlights
South Africa, like other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, has been hit very hard by the HIV epidemic, and especially young people between the ages of 15 and 24 are cause for great concern
One-tenth (10.9%) of young people who participated in the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) survey had sex before the age of 15 years, and 22.4% reported having multiple sex partners during the preceding year
They agreed with researchers that developmental and social factors make it very difficult for young people to adhere to the moral norms of sexual abstinence until marriage and absolute faithfulness thereafter
Summary
South Africa, like other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, has been hit very hard by the HIV epidemic, and especially young people between the ages of 15 and 24 are cause for great concern. In their latest survey on HIV prevalence, incidence and behaviour in South Africa, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) reported an overall HIV prevalence of 7.1% among young people aged between 15 and 24 years, with an increase of 18.8% in the age group between 15 and 49 years old (Shisana et al 2014:40–42). The HSRC study sample (n = 38 431) was representative of the population of South Africa in terms of sex, age and locality, the figures for white South Africans were unrepresentative because of a low response rate from this part of the population (Shisana et al 2014:XXVIII). The fact that a very low HIV prevalence of only 0.3% was reported among white participants should be approached with the necessary caution
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