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The group's members are known for their racially diverse, close-knit brotherhood, door-to-door evangelizing, and non-participation in government, including politics and military service. They generally exhibit a high degree of commitment to their religion, attending meetings three times a week in their local Kingdom Hall or in private homes. Larger gatherings are held, usually three times a year, in assembly halls or public facilities, such as sports stadiums.
Some trinitarian Christian groups do not consider the Witnesses to be Christian, because of the Witnesses' rejection of the Trinity, as expressed in their belief that Jesus Christ is a created being. Critics have considered them to be a totalitarian religious group, accusing them for holding most of the characteristics of such religious groups.
Drawing much of their early membership and some of their theology from the Millerite movement, the Jehovah's Witnesses adopted their current name in 1931 under the direction of the Watchtower Society's second president, Joseph Franklin Rutherford.
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2 Publications 3 Opposition to Jehovah's Witnesses 4 Related articles 5 External Links |
As of August 2003, Jehovah's Witnesses claim a world-wide membership of more than 6.4 million active individuals. Witness membership figures refer to the number of active 'publishers' or door-to-door evangelists and are therefore not directly comparable with statistics produced by other religious groups, which may include all associates regardless of their degree of commitment. Well over 16 million people attend at least some of the group's meetings.[1].
Jehovah's Witnesses make vigourous efforts to spread their beliefs throughout the world in a variety of ways, with particular emphasis on the written word. Their teachings are mainly presented through two monthly journals. Awake, published in 87 languages, is a general-interest magazine covering many topics from a religious perspective. The Watchtower, published in 148 languages, focuses mainly on doctrine. With an average circulation of 25 million copies semimonthly, The Watchtower is the most widely distributed religious magazine in the world, and is available in a large-print edition, in Braille, on audiocassettes, in American Sign Language (on videocassette and DVD)and on CD, in MP3 format. At their yearly conventions, new books, brochures, and other items pertaining to the religion's current doctrine are usually released. Additionally, a number of audio- and videocassettes have been produced featuring various aspects of the group's beliefs and practices.
Their web site presents information in 234 languages (as of February 2004) and is the most multilingual website on the Internet.
Throughout their history, their doctrines and practices have met controversy. Animosity against them has at times led to the point of mob action, government oppression — including being targeted in the Holocaust — and widespread criticism from members of other faiths. In the United States, the well known anti-Semitic priest, Father Coughlin, was especially persistent in leading mobs to attack Witness gatherings.
In the United States, many Supreme Court cases involving Jehovah's Witnesses have shaped First Amendment law. Significant cases affirmed rights such as these:
In addition to government opposition, many Christian denominations have accused the Jehovah's Witnesses of being a non-Christian sect and of being a cult, and include them among lists of religious organizations to avoid in instructional material given to their members. This effort to counteract the proselytizing efforts of the Jehovah's Witnesses, as well as other groups, is perceived by some as being incompatible with religious liberty.
Jehovah's Witnesses are at times accused of exercising unreasonable control over their members. Members are expected to participate in preaching activities and adhere to a strict moral code, which includes not accepting blood transfusions from others, and not accepting transfusions of their own stored blood. The organization counters that membership is voluntary and undertaken, not as a baby, but at an age of understanding. Those who become Jehovah's Witnesses participate in extensive personal interviews with the congregation's elders in which their obligations as members are clearly spelt out. Most Jehovah's Witnesses do not view the strict moral standards that they have espoused as restrictive, but rather support and defend them vigorously. They feel that all such practices are firmly based on the Bible.
Opponents claim that members of congregation are told to avoid speaking to ex-members, even if they are family or relatives, and that resigning from the congregation is therefore not easy. Although it is true that members are expected to restrict contact with family members living outside the home, such accusations are sometimes inaccurate or exaggerated. For a fuller treatment, see Practices of Jehovah's Witnesses under the heading Disfellowshipping, as well as the article Shunning
Membership
Publications
Opposition to Jehovah's Witnesses
By 1988, the U.S. Supreme Court had reviewed 71 cases involving Jehovah's Witnesses, two thirds of which were decided in their favor. Most recently, in 2002, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society disputed an ordinance in Stratton, Ohio that required a permit in order to preach from door to door. The Supreme Court decided in favor of the Witnesses.Related articles
External Links
Opposing Viewpoints