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Contextualizing HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Link with Tradition, Religion, and Culture

In: Vulnerabilities, Impacts, and Responses to HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Getnet Tadele
  • Woldekidan Amde

Abstract

Tradition, religion, and culture are interrelated and overlapping concepts. Social scientists in general and anthropologists in particular have given numerous definitions of culture. Of all the definitions offered by different scholars, Edward Tylor’s is among the most widely accepted. Tylor defined culture as that broader reality that comprises a gamut of belief systems, perception of righteousness, competencies, and long-established practices that are passed across generations in society (Tylor 1987, in Helman 2007, p. 2). This definition suggests that tradition and religion are part of the culture of any society. The overlap between culture, tradition, and religion must be considered in evaluating their roles in prevention or spread of HIV/AIDS. Distinctions between aspects of culture that have religious origin or backing of religious texts and those that are simply the result of age-old tradition are relevant for analytical studies, although the two are joined seamlessly in many instances. Patriarchy, for instance, is a cultural practice having the backing of religion.

Suggested Citation

  • Getnet Tadele & Woldekidan Amde, 2013. "Contextualizing HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Link with Tradition, Religion, and Culture," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Vulnerabilities, Impacts, and Responses to HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa, chapter 2, pages 25-45, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palchp:978-1-137-00995-1_2
    DOI: 10.1057/9781137009951_2
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