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 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.