Few issues are as difficult for faith leaders as HIV.
In Africa, as the clergy and imams preside over the funerals of their congregations and mosques, they have had to get to grips with the harsh reality and are now demanding action to keep their people alive.
But in Asia, where the epidemic touches a much smaller proportion of people, it’s still possible to deny that HIV is a problem.
HIV in Asia: Cultural and Theological Perspectives, a new theology paper written by Christian Aid’s Dr Paula Clifford, takes a unique look at the way that faith leaders in Asia understand HIV. It asks why they turn away from the crisis – and what are the consequences of inaction.
It explores how the region’s major religions – Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam, as well as Christianity - shape the understanding of, and response to, one of the greatest threats to Asia’s development.
This is a unique and important contribution to theological understanding, based on research and interviews in Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, Hong Kong and India.
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