Commentary: Why won't pastors preach about AIDS?
2/11/2003 News media contact: Tim Tanton · (615) 742-5470 · Nashville, Tenn. NOTE: A photograph of the Rev. Ronald J. Weatherford is available on the Headshots gallery. A UMNS Commentary By the Rev. Ronald J. Weatherford*
By the Rev. Ronald J. Weatherford*
Since 1999, I have traveled the United States advocating
faith-based AIDS prevention and intervention efforts. I am encouraged
that faith communities are beginning to confront HIV/AIDS. However, for
every AIDS ministry, there is a congregation that has yet to
acknowledge the epidemic is in its midst.
In casual
conversation, I always ask fellow clergy if they have ever preached an
AIDS sermon. I am astounded by the number of clergy who confess that
they have never used the pulpit to educate parishioners about HIV/AIDS.
And
why haven't they? Many pastors are stymied by the stigmas associated
with AIDS - sexual promiscuity and intravenous drug use. For example, a
study of New York City clergy found that many clergy still link the
disease with homosexuality - a divisive theological issue for all
denominations. Further, a 1992 Hampton University survey of 600
African-American pastors showed that four in five opposed homosexuality,
and one in three considered AIDS a divine curse. These attitudes
marginalize people living with AIDS.
Historically, the church
has taken a conservative stance on sexual ethics. I suspect some pastors
fear that a Sunday sermon on such an explicit subject might alienate
their flocks. And many clergy are torn about whether to teach
abstinence or preach prevention. They simply don't want to risk being
perceived as sanctioning behavior at odds with the church's theology.
It's easier just to deny the problem and avoid talk of sex, especially
since most pastors lack a depth of knowledge about sexually transmitted
diseases.
A 1996 survey by the Presbyterian AIDS Network found
that only 12 percent of pastors were very knowledgeable about the virus'
origins and spread; 9 percent about the biochemistry of AIDS; and 23
percent about transmission.
In the age of AIDS, however, what we don't know can hurt us.
Why
should clergy preach AIDS sermons? Statistics alone are compelling.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 850,000 to
950,000 U.S. residents are infected with HIV. One in four are unaware of
their infection.
Of 40,000 new HIV infections each year in the
United States, 70 percent are among men and 30 percent among women. Half
of these newly infected people are under 25 years old. By 2002, AIDS
had claimed 467,910 lives, making it the fifth-leading cause of death in
the United States among 25- to 44-year-olds, and the leading cause of
death for black men in this age group.
Globally, AIDS is the
leading infectious cause of death. An estimated 42 million people
worldwide - including 3.2 million children under age 15 - are living
with HIV/AIDS. The United Nations has appealed to churches to address
the AIDS pandemic. However, charity should begin at home.
Lives
are at stake right in our backyard, and silence can be deadly. Clergy
have a moral obligation to spread the prevention message and encourage
compassion toward people living with AIDS. Pastors must use the power of
the pulpit to alleviate suffering, provide refuge and reduce the death
toll.
So what are pastors waiting for? Clergy who have not
preached an AIDS sermon probably have eulogized AIDS victims - perhaps
unknowingly. HIV/AIDS is not someone else's problem. It is the church's
cross to bear. Some clergy devote worship services to World AIDS Day and
the Balm in Gilead's Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS. Even more
need to.
# # #
*Weatherford is the author of Somebody's
Knocking at Your Door: AIDS and the African American Church. Chairperson
of the North Carolina Faith Initiative Brain Trust, he pastors
Garrett's Grove and Camp Springs United Methodist churches. He lives in
High Point, N.C. He is currently seeking submissions of sermons on
health-related topics for an anthology he is editing. For more
information, contact him at weathfd@aol.com; 3313 Sparrowhawk Drive,
High Point, NC 27265; or (336) 887-4505.
Commentaries provided
by United Methodist News Service do not necessarily represent the
opinions or policies of UMNS or the United Methodist Church.
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