Christians concerned about Jamaica Council of Churches’ partnership with agencies pushing unrighteous lifestyle
By Nadine Wilson-Harris
The extension of a partnership between the Jamaica Council of Churches (JCC) and international and local agencies to improve access to sexual and reproductive health information among those living with HIV/AIDS has reignited lingering concerns that the faith-based group is facilitating the LGBTQ lifestyle.
The JCC, which comprises several influential denominations locally, has announced that it is seeking a programme specialist, to co-ordinate the implementation of all stigma and discrimination and human rights interventions among faith-based organizations. This person will be working with the the National Family Planning Board (NFPB), and other key project partners, including the United Theological College of the West Indies to achieve the end of AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
The concerns regarding the input of faith-based groups in the national HIV/AIDS initiative were first raised in 2015 by the Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society through a letter which was signed by 140 organisations from within CARICOM who took issue with a PANCAP Justice for all project to address human rights and HIV-related stigma and discrimination in the region. Men who sleep with Men (MSM), and transgender women have consistently been found to be the groups where incidents of HIV/AIDS are highest, but churches generally do not support these lifestyles based on teachings from the Bible.
“Based on behaviour change theories, we emphasise the importance of creating a social environment that enables the practice of abstinence, delayed onset of sexual activity, and mutual fidelity in marriage as critical to a reduction in the incidence of HIV,” the Coalition wrote to then CARICOM secretary-general, Ambassador Irwin Laroque.
According to the recent advertisement put out by the JCC, they and the UTCWI have successfully implemented HIV response programmes in partnership with Christian Aid, UNAIDS, and the World Council of Churches (WCC).
“In 2015, with the support of the WCC, the JCC carried out a Mapping Exercise aimed at ascertaining scientifically the contribution of the Jamaican religious community in response to HIV&AIDS , as well as to determine the gaps in the response,” it said before outlining two of the recommendations of the Mapping Exercise.
“Despite these and other interventions, stigma and discrimination remain a challenge to efforts geared at reducing new infections as the rates of HIV infection among key populations remain unacceptably high,” the JCC said.
Spokesperson for the Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society, Philippa Davies, said the current project being promoted by the JCC seems like a revival of the PANCAP programme which enlisted the help of faith-based groups to help repeal the buggery law.
“Stigma and discrimination are known euphemisms for any objection to the homosexual lifestyle that is Biblical-based, and sensitisation can be attempting to normalise homosexuality and tear down Christian objection,” she told the Freedom Come Rain newspaper. She said that while the church should treat all people with dignity as Jesus does, sin should not be excused.
She noted that among the sponsors for this project are groups that are known to promote LGBTQ ideologies. Checks by the Freedom Come Rain newspaper showed that the World Council of Churches (WCC), one of the affiliate partners for the JCC, promotes materials supporting LGBTQ and Christian Aid has explicitly defended the rights of transgenders.
“We press governments and global institutions to implement policies and laws that combat inequality and discrimination. Working through partnerships with churches and interfaith networks, we challenge intolerance and promote inclusion.
We work with and train faith leaders and faith-based organisations to understand and address inequitable social norms and harmful practices,” the group stated on its website.
General secretary of the JCC, Rev. Newton Dixon said the JCC has been supportive of the national HIV/AIDS response in Jamaica for several years now. He cautioned against holding the view that one’s sexual orientation is the only cause of the transmission of HIV/AIDS.
“We have historically linked the occurrence of HIV/AIDS with a particular lifestyle, when the truth is the data has shown us that there is no particular configuration of HIV with a specific sexual orientation. The testimonials we hear are of heterosexual couples, of children, of persons who are substance abusers, or of persons who have homosexual lifestyles. There is a wide gamut of victims and persons affected by the disease,” he told the Freedom Come Rain newspaper.
“The connection between the moral position that was traditionally held by our forebearers with regards to sexual orientation and the occurrence of AIDS is in our view, something that needs to be explored because we do not think that there is a direct causation between morality and HIV occurrence,” he said.
He insisted that the church is standing in support of those who suffer from HIV, as they do with others suffering from other diseases. He explained that they are currently promoting ways to reduce non-communicable diseases within the population and they also assisted in reducing the impact of COVID -19 during the pandemic.
“At the moment, all of the member bodies of the Jamaica Council of Churches are in full support of the initiatives to address the HIV issue from the different angles from which it is being addressed, whether it is from the enabling environment, where we provide spaces for persons with or affected by AIDS. HIV and AIDS can be treated without the stigma and discrimination that is often a part of that lived experience,” he said.