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spirit and healing in africa - University of the Free State

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Yet alternative constructions on AIDS serve as a means by which <strong>the</strong> social impairment <strong>of</strong><br />

people liv<strong>in</strong>g with HIV/AIDS is addressed. Stigmatization, rejection, racism, lonel<strong>in</strong>ess <strong>and</strong> fear<br />

are all present <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> lives <strong>of</strong> HIV-<strong>in</strong>fected people, who are <strong>of</strong>ten not able to live <strong>the</strong> way <strong>the</strong>y<br />

used to (before receiv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> result <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> HIV-test). Quality <strong>of</strong> social life for people liv<strong>in</strong>g with<br />

HIV/AIDS is what ‘beyond epidemiology’ approaches aim to achieve, <strong>in</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r words a life<br />

beyond stigmatization, <strong>and</strong> an ability to live positively with HIV/AIDS.<br />

A third form <strong>of</strong> quality <strong>of</strong> life as a central notion with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> HIV/AIDS discourse is quality <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>spirit</strong>ual life. Churches <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r faith-based organizations have reached <strong>the</strong> attention <strong>of</strong> AIDS<br />

researchers, because <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir <strong>in</strong>fluence on <strong>the</strong> lives <strong>of</strong> people liv<strong>in</strong>g with HIV/AIDS. Faith<br />

communities def<strong>in</strong>e AIDS aga<strong>in</strong>st <strong>the</strong> backdrop <strong>of</strong> a personal relation with God, which<br />

encourages <strong>the</strong> HIV-<strong>in</strong>fected believer as well as <strong>the</strong> support<strong>in</strong>g community to <strong>in</strong>terpret AIDS <strong>in</strong> a<br />

different way than as God’s punishment. The HIV-<strong>in</strong>fected believer <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> faith community at<br />

large are <strong>in</strong> search <strong>of</strong> how a believer can live mean<strong>in</strong>gfully <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> presence <strong>of</strong> his or her illness.<br />

Quality <strong>of</strong> <strong>spirit</strong>ual life is closely related to liv<strong>in</strong>g positively: <strong>the</strong> believer realizes that he or she<br />

is accepted <strong>and</strong> known by God, <strong>and</strong> this makes him or her fight mental <strong>and</strong> <strong>spirit</strong>ual defeat by<br />

HIV/AIDS. In <strong>the</strong> midst <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> illness <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> suffer<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>the</strong> HIV-<strong>in</strong>fected believer is look<strong>in</strong>g for<br />

ways to renew <strong>the</strong> mean<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> his or her life <strong>and</strong> to re-align his or her life with how God meant it<br />

to be.<br />

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