title: Fighting down the scourge, building up the church: organisational constraints in religious involvement with HIV/AIDS in Mozambique.
abstract: Religious organisations (ROs) are often said to play an important role in mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS. Yet, limitations of that role have also been acknowledged. While most of the literature has focused on ideological and individual-level implications of religion for HIV/AIDS, in this study we shift the focus to the organisational factors that shape and constrain ROs' involvement in both HIV prevention and HIV/AIDS care and support. Using primarily qualitative data collected in a predominantly Christian area in southern Mozambique, we show that the organisational vitality of a RO as determined by its membership size and its relationships with other churches and with governmental and non-governmental agencies is a pervasive priority of RO leaders. Therefore, all church activities, including those related to HIV/AIDS, are instrumentalised by the religious leadership to achieve the church's organisational aims--maintaining and growing its membership, safeguarding the often precarious coexistence with other churches, and enhancing its standing vis-à-vis the government and powerful non-governmental organisations. As a result, the effectiveness of ROs' involvement in HIV/AIDS prevention and assistance is often compromised.
authors.affiliation: School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA. Victor.Agadjanian@asu.edu
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Agadjanian
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Menjívar
mesh_terms: D002835:Christianity; D017280:Condoms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005378:Financial Support; D017144:Focus Groups; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D009073:Mozambique; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors