Ethnic churches attended by first generation Chinese immigrants are uniquely positioned to address emerging HIV prevention and care needs within the Chinese community at-large. Efforts to develop faith-based HIV programs necessitate identifying how HIV intersects with the sinicization of Christianity within Chinese churches. This article will review the process of contextualizing HIV within theological and cultural frameworks that are meaningful for ethnic Chinese church leaders and members. The authors specifically propose two points of integration between public health and ecclesial functions: (1) HIV stigma-mitigation initiatives as informed by Christo-centric teachings of compassion and justice, and (2) HIV prevention and care reframed as social responsibility and informed by the Christian tradition of evangelism. Systems and practices that hinder and promote the involvement of Chinese churches in HIV prevention, care, and stigma-reduction will be discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AbelA. (2006). Favor fishing and punch-bowl Christians: Ritual and conversion in a Chinese Protestant church. Sociology of Religion, 67(2), 161–178.
2.
AdogameA. (2007). HIV/AIDS support and African Pentecostal-ism. Journal of Health Psychology, 12(3), 475–484.
3.
AlonzoA. A., and ReynoldsN. R. (1995). Stigma, HIV and AIDS: an exploration and elaboration of a stigma trajectory. Social Science and Medicine, 41, 303–315.
4.
Asian American Federation (2008, October). Working but poor: Asian American poverty in New York City.New York: Asian American Federation.
5.
BoerH., & EmonsA. A. (2004). Accurate and inaccurate HIV transmission beliefs, stigmatizing and HIV protection motivation in Northern Thailand. AIDS Care, 16(2), 167–176.
6.
BoschD. J. (1984). The scope of mission. International Review of Mission, 73(289), 17–32.
7.
CampbellM. K., HudsonM. A., ResnicowK., BlakeneyN., Pax-tonA., & BaskinM. (2007). Church-based health promotion interventions: Evidence and lessons learned. Annual Review of Public Health, 28, 213–234.
8.
CaoN. (2005). The church as a surrogate family for working class immigrant Chinese youth: An ethnography of segmented assimilation. Sociology of Religion, 66(2), 183–200.
9.
CarnesT. (2004). Faith, values, and fears of New York City Chinatown seniors. In CarnesT., & YangF. (Eds.), Asian American religions: The making an remaking of borders and boundaries (pp. 223–244). New York: New York University Press.
10.
Center for Disease Control (2007, June). HIV/AIDS surveillance: General epidemiology (through 2006).
11.
ChinD. (1999). HIV-related sexual risk assessment among Asian/Pacific Islander American women: An inductive model. Social Science and Medicine, 49(1999), 241–251.
12.
ChinJ., LeungM., ShethL., & RodriguezT. R. (2007). Let's not ignore a growing HIV problem for Asians and Pacific Islanders in the US. Journal of Urban Health, 84(5), 642–647.
13.
ChinJ., MantellJ. E., WeissL., BhagavanM., & LuoX. (2005). Chinese and South Asian religious institutions and HIV prevention in New York City. AIDS Education and Prevention, 17(5), 484–502.
14.
ChinJ., NeilandsT. B., WeissL., & MantellJ. E. (2008). Paradigm shifters, professionals, and community sentinels: Immigrant community institutions’ roles in shaping places and implications for stigmatized public health initiatives. Health and Place, 14(2008), 866–882.
15.
China, State Council AIDS Working Committee Office & UN Theme Group on AIDS in China (2007). A joint assessment of HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care in China.
16.
ConnH. M. (1982). Evangelism: Doing justice and preaching grace.New Jersey: Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing.
17.
DeHavenM. J., HunterI. B., WilderL., WaltonJ. W., & BerryJ. (2004). Health programs in faith-based organizations: Are they effective?American Journal of Public Health, 94, 1030–1036.
18.
FederationA. A. (2008, October). Working but poor: Asian American poverty in New York City.New York: Asian American Federation.
19.
FrancisS. A., & LiverpoolJ. (2009). A review of faith-based HIV prevention programs. Journal of Religion and Health, 48, 6–15.
20.
GazabonS. A., MorokoffP. J., HarlowL. L., WardR. M., & QuinaK. (2007). Applying the transtheoretical model to ethnically diverse women at risk for HIV. Health Education & Behavior, 34, 297–314.
21.
GuestK. J. (2003). God in Chinatown: Religion and survival in New York's evolving immigrant community.New York: New York University Press.
22.
HaddadB. (2005). Reflections on the church and HIV/AIDS. Theology Today, 62(2005), 29–37.
23.
HaddadB. (2006). “We pray but we cannot heal”: Theological challenges posed by the HIV/AIDS crisis. Journal of Theology for Southern Africa, 125(July 2006), 80–90.
24.
HuangZ. J., WongF. Y., De LeonJ. M., & ParkR. J. (2008). Self-reported HIV testing behaviors among a sample of Southeast Asians in an urban setting in the United States. AIDS Education and Prevention, 20(1), 65–77.
25.
IsraelB. A., SchultzA. J., ParkerE. A., & BeckerA. B. (1998). Review of community-based research: Assessing partnership approaches to improve public health. Annual Review of Public Health, 19, 173–202.
26.
KangE., RapkinB. D., & DeAlmeidaC. (2006). Are psychological consequences of stimga enduring or transitory? A longitudinal study of HIV stigma and psychological distress among Asians and Pacific Islanders living with HIV illness. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, 20(10), 712–723.
27.
KangE., RapkinB. D., RemienR. H., MellinsC. A., & OhA. (2005). Multiple dimensions of HIV stigma and psychological distress among Asians and Pacific Islanders living with HIV illness. AIDS & Behavior, 9(2), 145–154.
28.
KangE., RapkinB. D., SpringerC., & KimH. J. (2003). The “demon plague” and access to care among undocumented Asian immigrants living with HIV disease in New York City. Journal of Immigrant Health, 5(2), 49–58.
29.
KwokP. (1992). Claiming our heritage: Chinese women and Christianity. International Bulletin of Missionary Research, 16(4), 150–154.
30.
KwongP. (1996). The new Chinatown.New York: Hill and Wang.
31.
LasaterT. M., BeckerD. M., HillM. N., & GansK. M. (1997). Synthesis of findings and issues from religious-based cardiovascular disease prevention trials. Annals of Epidemiology, 7(7), Supp 1, S46–S53.
32.
LamW. H. (1980). Patterns of Chinese theology. Occasional Bulletin of Missionary Research, 4(1), 20–24.
33.
Lienemann-PerrinC. (2004). The biblical foundations for a feminist and participatory theology of mission. International Review of Mission, 93(368), 17–34.
34.
LondonA. S., & RoblesA. (2000). The co-occurence of correct and incorrect HIV transmission knowledge and perceived risk for HIV among women of childbearing age in El Salvador. Social Science and Medicine, 51(2000), 1267–1278.
35.
LuL., JiaM., MaY., YangL. H., ChenZ., HoD. (2008). The changing face of HIV in China. Nature, 455, 609–611.
36.
MarsdenG. M. (1991). Understanding fundamentalism and evangelicalism.Michigan: WM Eerdmans Publishing.
37.
MartinJ. E., & SihnE. P. (2009). Motivational interviewing: Applications to Christian therapy and church ministry. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 28(1), 71–77.
38.
MMWR. (2006). Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Diagnoses of HIV/AIDS: 33 States, 2001–2004. MMWR Morbidity Mortality Weeky Report, 55(5), 121–125.
39.
MuseE. A. (2005). The evangelical church in Boston's Chinatown.New York: Routledge.
40.
NgK. H. (2002). Seeking the Christian tutelage: Agency and culture in Chinese immigrangs’ conversion to Christianity. Sociology of Religion, 63(2), 195–214.
41.
ProchaskaJ. O., ReddingC. A., HarlowL. L., RossiJ. S., & VelicerW. F. (1994). The transtheoretical model of change and HIV prevention: A review. Health Education Quarterly, 21(4), 471–486.
42.
ResnicowK., BaranowskiT., AhluwaliaJ. S., & BraithwaiteR. L. (1999). Cultural sensitivity in public health: Defined and demystified. Ethnicity and Disease, 9(1), 10–21.
43.
ScramblerG., & HopkinsA. (1990). Generating a model of epileptic stigma: The role of qualitiative analysis. Social Science and Medicine, 30(11), 1187.
44.
SiderR. J. (1975). Evangelism, salvation and social justice: Definitions and interrelationships. International Review of Mission, 64(255), 251–267.
45.
StraussA., & GlaserB. (1975). Chronic illness and the quality of life.St. Louis: Mosby.
46.
TakshashiL. M. (1997). Stigmatization, HIV/AIDS, and communities of color: Exploring response to human service facilities. Health and Place, 3(3), 187–199.
47.
TakshashiL. M., MalalongM. C., DeBellP., & FasudhaniA. (2006). HIV and AIDS in suburban Asian and Pacific Islander communities: Factors influencing self-efficacy in HIV risk reduction. AIDS Education and Prevention, 18(6), 529–545.
UNAIDS. (2008). Report on the global AIDS epidemic: Executive summary.
50.
VolfM. (1996). Exclusion and embrace: A theological exploration of identity, otherness, and reconciliation.Nashville: Abingdon Press.
51.
WangL., WangN., WangL., LiD., JiaM., GaoX. (2009). The 2007 estimates for people at risk for and living with HIV in China: Progress and challenges. Journal of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, 50, 414–418.
52.
WebbW. J. (2001). Slaves, women, & homosexuals: Exploring the hermeneutics of cultural analysis.Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.
53.
YangF. (1998). Chinese conversion to evangelical Christianity: the importance of social and cultural contexts. Sociology of Religion, 59(3), 237–257.
54.
YangF. (1999). Chinese Christians in America: Conversion, assimilation, and adhesive identities.Penn State Press.
55.
YangF. (2004). Gender and generation in a Chinese Christian church. In CarnesT., & YangF. (Eds.), Asian American religions: The making an remaking of borders and boundaries (pp. 205–222). New York: New York University Press.
