Devon Whittle » Religion

Travis Kavulla on AIDS relief and culture

devonwhittle — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:12:34 +0000

Aids Relief and Moral Myopia by Travis Kavulla is definitely worth a read for anyone interested in the intersection between ‘Western development’ and local cultures.

Kavulla articles addresses how and why current Western approaches to AIDS aren’t working in Africa due to differing cultural approaches to problem solving.

Whereas in the West we have dealt with AIDS with primarily technical solutions like condoms and ARVs (which have worked!), Kavulla writes that we can’t just transplant to Africa and expect good results, as it fails to take into account the non-Western approach to problems which involves more than just material/technical solutions.

He argues that we need to understand the role spirituality plays in African societies to be able to really tackle AIDS, and that we need to be willing to advocate the altering of behaviour rather then just rely on ’scientific’ or technical solutions to problems.

Some good quotes:

The lesson the public-health community derived from this experience was that widespread sex and drug use is an immutable fact of life. In this light, the main task of the public-health community was and is to give risky behaviors an appliqué of safety, not to seek to alter behavior fundamentally, lest stigma and alienation result. This attitude is rigorously enforced today in such circles; at the 2007 worldwide conference on AIDS in Mexico City, a number of scientists emphasizing behavioral change over condom use were actually shouted down. …

Go to any district hospital in Africa today, and you will find two clinics: one for AIDS—built, funded, and perhaps even staffed by the donor community—and the other for everything else, supported by whatever invariably cash-strapped and corrupt government presides. Bruce Dahlman notes, “Medical officers in either clinic will be seeing the same conditions, because those HIV patients come in with colds and flus and everything else, but they’ll be treated as a separate category because of their status.” So, in addition to the prospect of being medicated for life, Africans who develop AIDS and need intensive treatment become taboo figures—the lepers of this century, you might say, though exquisitely looked after by comparison, much to the resentment of those who must make do with regular health care.

It’s a great read to see how important our cultural blinders can be when trying to ‘help’ others.

There is an obvious danger of condescension and hypocrisy in “telling Africans to abstain and be faithful”, but I think Travulla’s argument is more nuanced then this sort of paternalism. It recognises that for an approach to work it needs to be rooted in the local culture and make sense to the people its designed to help. And I think all to often Western assistance fails because it just doesn’t make sense outside of the donor country.

Travis Kavulla on AIDS relief and culture is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

When international law and religion goes horribly wrong

devonwhittle — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 19:31:56 +0000

Slacktivist has a great post on the ludicrous views espoused and believed by some Christians in the USA. Their obsession with the all-powerful UN would be almost laughable if they weren’t so influential in stymying the development of international law. I particularly find it amusing how they like encouraging some ‘end times signs’ (eg. encouraging war in the Middle East) but then try the best to ‘limit the powers’ of the UN over the US. If they really thought one world government was a precursor to the end, and the UN was the route to that government, surely they’d be the biggest proponents of regional co-operation, merging of currencies etc?

When international law and religion goes horribly wrong is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

Early basis of contract law

devonwhittle — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 07:08:07 +0000

David Opderbeck takes a look at Christianity and the Law, a new book examining the links between religion and western jurisprudence, over at Concurring Opinions. The discussion over early conceptions of contracts is quite interesting – originally the contract was seen as a promise that created an obligation to God and the Courts were there to ensure the salvation of souls by enforcing those obligations to the extent they were just.

Early basis of contract law is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

More on Religion and Development

devonwhittle — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 03:50:12 +0000

Meaningfulness of Little Things has another great post on religion and development. Take a look through the archives for some more good reading. As many development experts come from anthropology, sociology, economics backgrounds, it can be easy for them to not understand what religion is all about. A secular university subject on the anthropology of religion won’t prepare someone for the how and why’s of religion in the real world. Tip: it’s more than just about building a community, helping the poor or preserving power…

More on Religion and Development is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

Touching story of communion and street kids in Nairobi

devonwhittle — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 03:49:18 +0000

Uwem Akpan has had a series of stories published in the New Yorker, all of the much worth a read. This one on a couple of street kids and communion, real stood out for me. Fear gripped my heart—fear that some churchwarden would be incensed by their sacrilege and, as in the church of my youth, drag them outside by the ear; fear that the priest would deny them at the last moment; fear that I might never risk as much for the Body of Christ.

Touching story of communion and street kids in Nairobi is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

Religion and Development

devonwhittle — Thu, 22 May 2008 07:54:51 +0000

Aid agencies are rightly a bit worried about religious groups getting involved in helping people. There has been a history of bad outcomes associated with people not understanding how good development/emergency help works (eg. ‘adopting’ children after the Tsunami). That said, as this post points out ignoring religion means agencies are missing out on what could be a terrific help. The Church, for example, is virtually everywhere, commands the respect of people and provides a network of relationships that aren’t readily available by other means.

Religion and Development is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

Who knows what the Quran says?

devonwhittle — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 03:27:51 +0000

I love this quote from the Muslim Law Prof blog on random Westerners telling us what Islam “really means”.
“Billions of people spanning thousands of years of human history calling this their Holy Book, in any number of countries and cultures and understanding it any number of ways. But you’ve checked it out from the local library, leafed through it, and can tell all of these folks what it “really” means. Anyone who believes something that stupid really isn’t worth my time.”

Who knows what the Quran says? is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

What does jihad really mean?

devonwhittle — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:44:59 +0000

My favourite blog in my newsreader at the moment has to be Islamic Law in Our Times, and posts like this are why. Hamoudi provides real insight into a world that is often misrepresented by just about everyone. In the linked post he talks about defining caliphate and jihad, great stuff.

Jihad is I think deeply misrepresented by the Muslim apologists. We keep being told that it means more than just violence, but here’s the thing. In my life, hearing the world many, many times, it is more or less used in two contexts: (i) violence and (ii) as part of a point that jihad means more than violence. It’s quite rare, almost unheard of, for someone to use the phrase (at least in the modern era) as part of a peaceful struggle except to make the point that the word retains such a meaning.

What does jihad really mean? is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

God Bless Your Brand

devonwhittle — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 12:46:04 +0000

It just goes to show how bad the state of the modern Church is when something like Christvertising has actually made people think twice about whether it was a joke or not. God Bless Your Brand is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com. Related posts:The God-Motive and activism Religion and Development Now tweeting [...]

God Bless Your Brand is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.

Islamic Law in Our Times – brilliant new blog

devonwhittle — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 05:16:02 +0000

After one paragraph of the second post of Islamic Law in Our Times, I had subscribed to the RSS feed in my feed reader. This looks like a very relevant and insightful look at law from a Muslim perspective. The post is on the situation of the British schoolteacher in Sudan on trial for blasphemy. This is a really important read, shows up bias in the media, and the realities of the law of Islamic states.

Islamic Law in Our Times – brilliant new blog is a post from: Devon Whittle. You can contact the author at devonwhittle@gmail.com.