After adjusting for age, marital status, household income, education, foreign born status, importance of prayer and major stress, men who reported attending religious services almost every day (odds ratio (OR) = 0.21, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.07, 0.62) and weekly (OR = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.29, 0.77) had lower odds of being a current smoker compared to men who reported never attending religious services. Conclusions/Importance: Findings suggest a health benefit in attending religious services on cigarette smoking among Black men in a nationally representative sample. In spite of lower church attendance in Black men in general, our results demonstrate that religious service attendance may still serve as a buffer against cigarette use. Given the emergent attention on faith-based health promotion among men, this conclusion is relevant and timely.
AIDS has been one of the most severe contemporary crises to affect Black American communities. With epidemic rates surpassing several African nations, health professionals and AIDS activists have called on black churches to help lead the fight to end AIDS. This study examines the response efforts of eight black churches (three of which are megachurches) to this illness. Interviews reveal three specific approaches used to address HIV-and AIDS-related stigma and silence-quilting, prayer, and practices in liberation theology. Overall, these approaches illuminate the progressive and conservative forces that make some churches more effective than others in ending multiple silences and stigmas surrounding AIDS.
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