[303] Members may accept some blood plasma fractions at their own discretion. Only 37% of all those who say they were raised as Jehovah's Witnesses still identify themselves as Jehovah's Witnesses." "Jehovah's Witnesses." In The Holocaust, 1933-1945, 128-137. Growth dropped to an average of just 2.09% between 1996 to 2021. " (19401950)". Jehovah's Witnesses are a religious group with populations distributed across the world. Therefore, over 1.3 million Jehovah's Witnesses were disfellowshipped during the 30 year period from 1991 to 2020. 1 Above all, we want to honor Jehovah, the God of the Bible and the Creator of all things. Throughout the history of Jehovah's Witnesses, their beliefs, doctrines, policies and practices have engendered controversy and opposition from governments, communities, and religious groups. [5] Their official statistics indicate membership according to various territorieswhich they refer to as "lands"many of which are not independent countries. [349], In April 2017, the Supreme Court of Russia labeled Jehovah's Witnesses an extremist organization, banned its activities in Russia and issued an order to confiscate the organization's assets. [342][343] Of those, 2,000 were sent to Nazi concentration camps, where they were identified by purple triangles;[343] as many as 1,200 died, including 250 who were executed. The graphs on this page show that the increase in publishers came from inactive Witnesses starting to preach again. Jehovah's Witnesses have received criticism from mainstream Christianity, members of the medical community, former members and commentators regarding their beliefs and practices. [188] Jehovah's Witnesses believe that humanity is in a sinful state,[188] from which release is only possible by means of Jesus' shed blood as a ransom, or atonement, for the sins of humankind. The religion has more than 105,000 congregations with a presence in 236 countries. No more than four-in-ten members of the group belong to any one racial and ethnic background: 36% are white, 32% are Hispanic, 27% are black and 6% are another race or mixed race. [250][251], Formal discipline is administered by congregation elders when a baptized member is accused of committing a serious sinusually cases of sexual misconduct[119][252] or charges of apostasy for disputing Jehovah's Witness doctrines. Would you like to read this article in %%? Since a portion of new publishers are teenagers raised as Jehovah's Witnesses, 2 billion hours of preaching each year only leads to enough new converts to replace the children that leave. These figures are added together to determine the number of Witnesses worldwide. "My Love for the Earth Will Be Satisfied Forever", Interactive map showing JW adherents in individual lands in service years 2002-2008. This reactivation, seen through a decrease in the rate leaving, manifest itself following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, and at the height of the CFC (Global Financial Crisis) in 2008. [94] In 2001 Newsday listed the Watch Tower Society as one of New York's forty richest corporations, with revenues exceeding $950million. Statistics show this does not hold true for Jehovah's Witnesses. perpetrators of child sexual abuse identified by the organisation since 1950. Learn more about ways you can donate. This word is somewhat confusing, as it refers to a follower that engages in preaching and submitting a report each month of the number of hours preaching they participated in. 501 (c) (3) organization Donations are tax-deductible URL not available 3390 SE MILWAUKIE AVE Portland OR 97202-1775 Portland OR | IRS ruling year: 1948 | EIN: 93-6034513 Mission not available Rating Information Not currently rated Ratings are calculated from one or more beacon scores. [32] During the course of his ministry, Russell disputed many beliefs of mainstream Christianity including immortality of the soul, hellfire, predestination, the fleshly return of Jesus Christ, the Trinity, and the burning up of the world. Find a meeting location near you. Each day that Armageddon delays requires Jehovah to destroy an extra 215,000 people. Whilst roughly one Bible study is conducted every month for each publisher, only a minute amount of these ever progress to baptism. Bible Student missionaries were sent to England in 1881 and the first overseas branch was opened in London in 1900. The following graph highlights the consequence of the slowing growth rate of Jehovah's Witnesses. Branch in WallKill, New York, provided a statement to USA TODAY, saying the organization "care (s) deeply about children" and always tries to follow the. [321], Sociologist Bryan R. Wilson, in his consideration of five religious groups including Jehovah's Witnesses, noted that each of the denominations:[322], A sociological comparative study by the Pew Research Center found that Jehovah's Witnesses in the United States ranked highest in statistics for getting no further than high school graduation, belief in God, importance of religion in one's life, frequency of religious attendance, frequency of prayers, frequency of Bible reading outside of religious services, belief their prayers are answered, belief that their religion can only be interpreted one way, belief that theirs is the only one true faith leading to eternal life, opposition to abortion, and opposition to homosexuality. [90][91][92][93] Watch Tower Society literature did not state dogmatically that 1975 would definitely mark the end,[88] but in 1980 the Watch Tower Society admitted its responsibility in building up hope regarding that year. Both reports are added to February, creating an artificial spike. The following graphs compare 5 year time-frames, showing that over half a million Jehovah's Witnesses leave every five years, more than half the number baptised. It is not easily calculated, as birthrates vary throughout the world, and Jehovah's Witnesses birthrates may vary from the local population due to their view on the Last Days. There is one figure Jehovah's Witnesses expected to decrease each year - the number of partakers, since the 144,000 was thought to have all been chosen by 1935. Publishers includes those not yet baptised,[1] and it cannot be determined how many that become publishers go on to be baptised. [377] Historian James Irvin Lichti has rejected the description of the denomination as "totalitarian". Other Watchtower articles that provide figures for the number disfellowshipped include w60 12/1 p.728; yb79 p.31; w89 12/1 p.17; w91 11/15 p.9. ", "Discipline That Can Yield Peaceable Fruit", "Display Christian Loyalty When a Relative Is Disfellowshipped", "Appendix: How to Treat a Disfellowshipped person", "Keep Your Distance When Danger Threatens", "The Educational Identity Formation of Jehovah's Witnesses, Religion & Education", "Parents-What Future Do You Want for Your Children? [355] Similar cases in their favor have been heard in Canada.[356]. [293], Jehovah's Witnesses refuse blood transfusions, which they consider a violation of God's law based on their interpretation of Acts15:28,29 and other scriptures. This free study edition of the New World Translation includes pictures, footnotes, cross-references, and additional study tools. [174][175], Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus is God's only direct creation, that everything else was created through Christ by means of God's power, and that the initial unassisted act of creation uniquely identifies Jesus as God's "only-begotten Son". Publishers were growing at an average rate of 5.63% per annum for the 15 years between 1981 and 1995. In the 15 years from 1997 to 2011, the number of hours preaching required per baptism increased from 3000 to 6000, an increase of 100%. [201][202], A central teaching of Jehovah's Witnesses is that the current world era, or "system of things", entered the "last days" in 1914 and faces imminent destruction through intervention by God and Jesus Christ, leading to deliverance for those who worship God acceptably. [331][332][333] Watch Tower Society literature of the period directed that Witnesses should "never seek a controversy" nor resist arrest, but also advised members not to co-operate with police officers or courts that ordered them to stop preaching, and to prefer jail rather than pay fines. Of those, more than 21,000 people partook of the memorial emblems of unleavened bread and wine. 0. First to Review. Today, Jehovah's Witnesses number 8.5 million worldwide, with the largest concentration, 1.2 million, in the United States. These are the most recent statistics by continent, based on active members, or "publishers" as reported by the Watch Tower Society of Pennsylvania. Jehovah's Witnesses have an active presence in most countries. Currents Shaping Our World: Switched after Birth (ctlibrary.com 1 Jul 2003) Nightlife. "Jehovah's Witnesses are most "mobile." The highest percentage growth rates for peak publishers were in the 1970's and highest numerical growth in the early 1990's. [82] Knorr's presidency was also marked by an increasing use of explicit instructions guiding Witnesses in their lifestyle and conduct, and a greater use of congregational judicial procedures to enforce a strict moral code. Overall rating. [246][247], Divorce is discouraged, and remarriage is forbidden unless a divorce is obtained on the grounds of adultery, which they refer to as "a scriptural divorce". Each month, Witnesses report their preaching activity to their local congregation. Jehovah's Witnesses suffered religious persecution by the Nazis because they refused military service and allegiance to Hitler's National Socialist Party. [17] They prefer to use their own Bible translation, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures,[18] although their literature occasionally quotes and cites other Bible translations. [344][345] Unlike Jews and Romani, who were persecuted on the basis of their ethnicity, Jehovah's Witnesses could escape persecution and personal harm by renouncing their religious beliefs by signing a document indicating renunciation of their faith, submission to state authority, and support of the German military. Number of Congregations provides better comparison to other Christian groups, as the figure for "average publishers" does not count youth and interested ones that do not report hours of preaching. Discuss a Bible question, or learn more about Jehovahs Witnesses. [415] In 2017, the Charity Commission for England and Wales began an inquiry into Jehovah's Witnesses' handling of allegations of child sexual abuse in the United Kingdom. They reject Trinitarianism, inherent immortality of the soul, and hellfire, which they consider to be unscriptural doctrines. However, the percentage growth rate has been in decline since 1995. [208][209], This judgment will be based on their actions after resurrection rather than past deeds. This figure has been calculated in the following way; 1997 was the peak of a long period of year on year growth in baptisms. [205][206], Satan will subsequently use world governments to attack Jehovah's Witnesses, an action that will prompt God to begin the war of Armageddon, during which all forms of government and all people not counted as Christ's "sheep" will be destroyed. In 2022, the attendance at the Memorial was 19,721,672. In 1919, he instituted the appointment of a director in each congregation, and a year later all members were instructed to report their weekly preaching activity to the Brooklyn headquarters. [176] Jesus served as a redeemer and a ransom sacrifice to pay for the sins of humanity. God. 3 stars. Documents the Witnesses' fight for civil rights in Canada and the US amid political persecution during World War II. These are all traditionally Christian Continents and it becomes immediately apparent that the success of Jehovahs Witnesses is dependant on the success of Christianity before it. interesting topics> Like political candidates, Witnesses are perhaps best known for knocking doors and passing out brochures on street corners . [340], In 1933, there were approximately 20,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in Nazi Germany,[341] of whom about 10,000 were imprisoned. Call Patrick for a FREE DEMO (877) 322-5478 Share with your friends. For instance, Watchtower has regularly changed its reporting criteria over the years, such as reducing the minimum time to be counted a publisher to just 15 minutes per month for some individuals and reducing the hours required to be considered a pioneer. 5 stars. [6] The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.5 million adherents involved in evangelism and an annual Memorial attendance of over 19.7 million. [411][416][417][418], The group's failure to report abuse allegations to authorities has also been criticized. (Note on negative figures - The years 1983/4/5 and 2009 have negative figures for those becoming inactive, indicating more people reactivated than stopped publishing. Overall rating. Anthony Morris III, a member of the Governing Body, has been quoted as saying "the most intelligent and eloquent professors will be trying to reshape the thinking of your child, and their influence can be tremendous. Provides facts concerning the period and two opposing viewpoints on the topic. 64,501 Kingdom Halls catered to 115,416 congregations in 2014, an average of 1.78 congregations per hall. A 0.4% increase is less than the population growth rate. . PRIVACY SETTINGS, https://assetsnffrgf-a.akamaihd.net/assets/m/1011231/univ/art/1011231_univ_sqr_xl.jpg. [124] Individuals undergoing baptism must affirm publicly that dedication and baptism identify them "as one of Jehovah's Witnesses in association with God's spirit-directed organization,"[124] though Witness publications say baptism symbolizes personal dedication to God and not "to a man, work or organization. [63] Significant changes in doctrine and administration were regularly introduced during Rutherford's twenty-five years as president, including the 1920 announcement that the Hebrew patriarchs (such as Abraham and Isaac) would be resurrected in 1925, marking the beginning of Christ's thousand-year earthly kingdom. Breakdown of Baptisms, Increases and the Number that Leave. [179], Biblical references to the Archangel Michael, Abaddon (Apollyon), and the Word are interpreted as names for Jesus in various roles. Participation is voluntary. He participated in religion during his childhood along with his family and brothers and continued to preach door to door, twice a week, even when his fame had begun to grow, in 1984. United States Publisher Statistics. [244][245] Marrying a non-believer, or endorsing such a union, is strongly discouraged and carries religious sanctions. After removing the number of Jehovah's Witnesses that die each year, it can be seen that tens of thousands more leave annually for other reasons. With so few reviews, your opinion of Jehovah's Witnesses could be huge. "[259] The practice of shunning may also serve to deter other members from dissident behavior. [98][99][100], Jehovah's Witnesses are organized hierarchically,[2] in what the leadership calls a "theocratic organization", reflecting their belief that it is God's "visible organization" on earth. the denomination has embarked on application of construction teams to increase the number of kingdom halls in the country. Find a location of the next annual Memorial observance. Overall rating. Kingdom Hall. Race is fairly equally distributed with 36% White, 32% Latino, and 27% Black, however, Asians make up less than 1%. The result will be a fully tested, glorified human race on earth. [57][58][59] It strongly criticized Catholic and Protestant clergy and Christian involvement in the Great War. PRIVACY SETTINGS. [319], Controversy surrounding various beliefs, doctrines and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses has led to opposition from governments, communities, and religious groups. We are happy to help those interested in the Bible or in our worldwide work. There were around 6,000,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in 1995, during which time the global average birth rate was 22.4/1000. By the 1910s, Russell's organization maintained nearly a hundred "pilgrims," or traveling preachers. [141] Their publications teach that doctrinal changes and refinements result from a process of progressive revelation, in which God gradually reveals his will and purpose,[142][143][144][145] and that such enlightenment or "new light"[146] results from the application of reason and study,[147] the guidance of the holy spirit, and direction from Jesus Christ and angels. Since 1995, the rate at which Jehovah's Witnesses were growing started to decline, coinciding with the change of the Generation Doctrine, and internet access to information regarding the religion and its teachings. [290] They do not salute or pledge allegiance to flags or sing national anthems or patriotic songs. Start your review today. 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