School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.
Glob Public Health. 2011;6 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):S148-62. doi: 10.1080/17441692.2011.598869. Epub 2011 Jul 26.
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.
宗教组织（RO）通常被认为在减轻艾滋病毒/艾滋病的影响方面发挥着重要作用。然而，其作用也存在局限性。尽管大多数文献都集中在宗教对艾滋病毒/艾滋病的意识形态和个人层面的影响上，但在这项研究中，我们将重点转移到影响宗教组织参与艾滋病毒预防和艾滋病毒/艾滋病关怀和支持的组织因素上。本研究主要使用在莫桑比克南部一个以基督教为主的地区收集的定性数据，结果表明，RO 的组织活力（由其成员规模及其与其他教会以及与政府和非政府机构的关系决定）是 RO 领导人的普遍优先事项。因此，宗教领导层将所有教会活动（包括与艾滋病毒/艾滋病相关的活动）都工具化，以实现教会的组织目标——维持和增加其成员，保障与其他教会经常不稳定的共存，并增强其在政府和强大的非政府组织面前的地位。结果，RO 参与艾滋病毒/艾滋病预防和援助的有效性往往受到影响。
