Faith Development in the Lives of HIV-Positive Adults

Studies of religious faith consistently document the important role of religion in the lives of adults. Investigations of adult religious faith also suggest that a life crisis can stimulate faith development. However, these earlier studies do not explain how a life-threatening crisis changes adult r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of religion and health
Authors: Courtenay, Bradley C. (Author) ; Merriam, Sharan B. (Author) ; Reeves, Patricia M. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Springer Science + Business Media B. V. [1999]
In: Journal of religion and health
Further subjects:B Life Crisis
B Spiritual Orientation
B Faith Development
B Religious Faith
B Strong Sense
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
Description
Summary:Studies of religious faith consistently document the important role of religion in the lives of adults. Investigations of adult religious faith also suggest that a life crisis can stimulate faith development. However, these earlier studies do not explain how a life-threatening crisis changes adult religious faith. This study examines the impact of an HIV-positive diagnosis on adult religious faith development. Interviews were conducted with 18 HIV-positive men and women under 45 years of age. The researchers found that an HIV-positive diagnosis affects faith development in these ways: the perspective of faith shifts from a religious to a spiritual orientation for which the participants feel a stronger sense of ownership; the concept of God changes from an authoritarian to an empowering figure, and views of the self are transformed to include others.
ISSN:1573-6571
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of religion and health
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1023/A:1022928601047