Religion and AIDS in Africa

Abstract

Jenny Trinitapoli and Alexander Weinreb. Religion and AIDs in Africa. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. xii + 296 pp. Appendixes. Notes. Bibliography. Index. $29.95. Cloth.It is no easy task to blend demographic and anthropological approaches on topics related to contemporary Africa. Almost inevitably, those on either side of the spectrum walk away feeling dissatisfied that either generalizable breadth or descriptive depth has been compromised. In the case of Religion and AIDS in Africa, however, with its clear-cut aim to provide the best empirical assessment of an imminently important topic, the blending works. Trinitapoli and Weinreb have done something unique by combining broad scope, sensitivity to the complexity of both and HIV/AIDS, reasoned assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of different types of data, and a humane awareness of the challenges involved when researching suffering and uncertainty.Although they don't reference directly, I sensed the influence of the lived religion approach as they addressed the nuances of the relationship between agenda-setters and those in the pews, as well as the fuzziness of the line between clergy and laypeople. Unlike many, if not most, demographic studies of HIV/AIDS, this one is based on a sophisticated concept of and its multidimensionality. The authors present much more than regressions of key outcomes by religious tradition or subgroup, in particular focusing on the importance of religious context and intensity of personal religious involvement. Thus, they can conclude that in terms of HIV risk, it matters much less whether someone is Protestant, Catholic, or Muslim than how religious they are, how religious is the setting in which they live, and the characteristics of the congregation which they attend (204). They also provide a fascinating discussion of how religious leaders discuss, conceptualize, and disagree about the ultimate spiritual meaning of the epidemic. What these leaders generally share in terms of sacred texts and moral principles is nevertheless applied to quite diverse conclusions about God, sin, and AIDS.At the same time, the book is not directed only to readers who are interested in qua religion. Some of its strongest passages deal with the problems of aggregate data in trying to explain variation in HIV prevalence, the relationship between individuals and their moral contexts, the distinction between proximate and ultimate causes in how those affected interpret the epidemic, and the tensions that arise through the conflicting motivations of various stakeholders. The book's discussion of locally arising prevention strategies such as the promotion of divorce is a case in point. Although divorce has never had the visibility of abstinence or condoms within the prevention doctrine, makes sense and fits within a religious worldview to promote divorce as a sanction against a partner's infidelity. …