As the AIDS crisis spread and gained momentum, Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish clergy in the United States and the United Kingdom became involved in sometimes surprising ways. Using quantitative and qualitative data from the early 1990s and from follow-up interviews conducted later in the decade, the authors show that many clergy became involved in the pastoral care for and counseling of people stigmatized by AIDS, including gay and bisexual men, despite expressions of antipathy from their denominations. Sociological theories concerning clergy roles, social movements, social space, and...
As the AIDS crisis spread and gained momentum, Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish clergy in the United States and the United Kingdom became involved ...