Faith Community

Abstract

“Faith community” has been defined by the AIDS National Interfaith Network to include groups that are “organized around any set of beliefs or practices that involve a belief in a higher power or order, a larger organizing principle for life and the universe, or a system or code that links our values and actions to the idea that there is a reason and purpose to our existence on Earth” (American Association for World Health, 1999). In 1993, the interfaith coalition of the Council of National Religious AIDS Networks developed an interfaith declaration in response to the AIDS epidemic. The declaration emphasized that: HIV/AIDS is not a punishment from God; all individuals, regardless of their characteristics, are entitled to compassionate and nonjudgmental care and support; there is a responsibility to work to transform public attitudes and policies; the provision of accurate information relating to HIV transmission and prevention is to be encouraged; intolerance and bigotry are to be deplored; all sectors of society are to seek ways to eliminate poverty; and all are to be committed to action.