AIDS Crisis

The AIDS crisis beginning in 1981 provided the Christian right with what they framed as providential confirmation of their theology. Jerry Falwell said in 1983 that he considered AIDS a holy punishment of homosexuals. Pat Robertson said the epidemic was God's judgment on a society that tolerated homosexuality. These were not fringe positions — they were stated from the most prominent pulpits in American evangelicalism. The theological framing of AIDS as divine judgment accomplished several things simultaneously: it provided apparent evidence that homosexuality was uniquely sinful, it mobilized evangelical opposition to any government response that didn't involve condemning homosexuality, and it positioned LGBTQ people as not merely different but as active threats to God's order. Reagan did not give a major speech on AIDS until May 31, 1987. Public-health historians argue the slow federal response cost lives; critics count Religious Right opposition to prevention efforts among the reasons for it.

Themes this entry appears in

• Anti-LGBTQ
• Christian Nationalism
• Gender & Patriarchy

Connections to AIDS Crisis

• Jerry Falwell Sr. exploited (1983) — Falwell used the AIDS crisis as theological confirmation that homosexuality was uniquely sinful, saying in 1983 that he considered it a holy punishment of homosexuals. This framing justified legislative discrimination and opposition to public health responses.
• Pat Robertson exploited (1983) — Robertson used the AIDS crisis to argue that God was judging a society that tolerated homosexuality, reinforcing the theological framework that LGBTQ people were a threat to God's covenant with America.

Sources

• Falwell urges action on AIDS — UPI (1983)
• Remarks at the American Foundation for AIDS Research Awards Dinner (May 31, 1987) — Ronald Reagan (American Presidency Project) (1987)
• Jesus and John Wayne — Kristin Kobes Du Mez (2020), pp. 118-125