Death in a Church of Life

Moral Passion during Botswana’s Time of AIDS

Frederick Klaits author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:University of California Press

Published:5th Feb '10

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Death in a Church of Life cover

This deeply insightful ethnography explores the healing power of caring and intimacy in a small, closely bonded Apostolic congregation during Botswana's HIV/AIDS pandemic. "Death in a Church of Life" paints a vivid picture of how members of the Baitshepi Church make strenuous efforts to sustain loving relationships amid widespread illness and death. Over the course of long-term fieldwork, Frederick Klaits discovered Baitshepi's distinctly maternal ethos and the 'spiritual' kinship embodied in the church's nurturing fellowship practice. Klaits shows that for Baitshepi members, Christian faith is a form of moral passion that counters practices of divination and witchcraft with redemptive hymn singing, prayer, and the use of therapeutic substances. An online audio annex makes available the examples of the church members' preachings and songs.

"This book is a valuable contribution to the study of HIV/AIDS... I would highly recommend it to anyone." Easa "This [book] will provoke new, creative, and sustainable ways of designing and implementing AIDS prevention and treatment policies." Journal Royal Anthro Inst "The [book] is rich and detailed, both meticulous and expansive." Somatosphere "A long-awaited contribution from one of the most insightful researchers in the field ... it does not disappoint." American Ethnologist

ISBN: 9780520259652

Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 25mm

Weight: 726g

368 pages