'A Blessing in Disguise': The Art of Surviving HIV/AIDS as a Member of the Zionist Christian Church in South Africa

In this article, Associate Professor Bjarke Oxlund explores the manner in which the Zionist Christian Church (ZCC) in South Africa – one of the largest African independent denominations – positions itself in relation to the ways in which HIV-infected members engage with treatment. As a healing oriented church that embraces ancestor worship and the belief in witchcraft, the ZCC does not subscribe to a viral aetiology of HIV/AIDS nor does it recommend medical treatment. Meanwhile, the symptoms associated with HIV and AIDS lend themselves easily to a ZCC interpretation of misfortune brought about by breaches of moral rules and social taboos. The chapter deals with the complexities that ZCC members face in reconciling their subject positions in their lives as they are caught between worship, kinship and therapeutic citizenship.

Oxlund, B. (2014) ‘A Blessing in Disguise’: The Art of Surviving HIV/AIDS as a Member of the Zionist Christian Church in South Africa.

In: van Dijk, R.; Dilger, H.; Burchhardt, M.; and Rasing, T. Religion and AIDS Treatment in Africa: Saving Souls, Prolonging Lives. Farnham: Ashgate.