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Jehovah's Witnesses beliefs

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Part of a series on
Jehovah's Witnesses

Overview

Organizational structure
Governing Body
Watch Tower Bible
 and Tract Society
Corporations

History
Bible Student movement
Leadership dispute
Splinter groups
Doctrinal development
Unfulfilled predictions

Demographics
By country


Beliefs ·
 Practices
 
Salvation ·
 Eschatology

The 144,000
Faithful and discreet slave
Hymns ·
 God's name

Blood ·
 Discipline


Literature

The Watchtower ·
 Awake!

New World Translation
List of publications
Bibliography

Teaching programs

Kingdom Hall ·
 Gilead School


People

Watch Tower presidents

W. H. Conley ·
 C. T. Russell

J. F. Rutherford ·
 N. H. Knorr

F. W. Franz ·
 M. G. Henschel

D. A. Adams

Formative influences

William Miller ·
 Henry Grew

George Storrs ·
 N. H. Barbour

John Nelson Darby


Notable former members

Raymond Franz ·
 Olin Moyle


Opposition

Criticism ·
 Persecution

Supreme Court cases
 by country

v ·
 t ·
 e
   
The beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses are based on the Bible teachings of Charles Taze Russell—founder of the Bible Student movement—and successive presidents of the Watch Tower Society, Joseph Franklin Rutherford and Nathan Homer Knorr.[1][2][3] Since 1976 all doctrinal decisions have been made by the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses,[4] a group of elders at the religion's Brooklyn headquarters. These teachings are disseminated through The Watchtower magazine and other publications of Jehovah's Witnesses, and at conventions and congregation meetings.[5]
Jehovah's Witnesses teach that the present age of human existence is about to be terminated by the direct intervention of God, who will use Jesus Christ to fully establish his heavenly government over earth, destroying existing human governments and non-Witnesses,[6][7][8] and creating a cleansed society of true worshippers. They see their mission as primarily evangelical (disseminating "good news"), to warn as many people as possible in the remaining time before Armageddon.[9][10] All members of the religion are expected to take an active part in preaching.[11] Witnesses refer to all their beliefs collectively as "the Truth".[12]



Contents  [hide]
1 Source of doctrines
2 Organization
3 Restorationism
4 Bible
5 God
6 Jesus Christ
7 Cross
8 Satan
9 God's Messianic Kingdom
10 Death
11 Salvation 11.1 144,000 anointed
11.2 Other sheep
12 Eschatology
13 Defection
14 Apostasy
15 Education
16 References
17 Bibliography
18 External links

Source of doctrines[edit]
See also: Development of Jehovah's Witnesses doctrine
Doctrines of Jehovah's Witnesses are established by their Governing Body. Until late 2012, the Governing Body described itself as the representative[13][14] and "spokesman" for God's "faithful and discreet slave class"[14][15][16][17] (the approximately 10,000 "anointed" Jehovah's Witnesses), which Witnesses were taught Christ used as a channel for God's progressive revelations and to direct Christians on biblical matters.[18][19][20] The Governing Body seeks neither advice nor approval from any "anointed" Witnesses other than high-ranking members at the Brooklyn headquarters.[15][21][22] At the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Watch Tower Society, the "faithful and discreet slave" was defined as referring to the Governing Body only.[23]
Jehovah's Witnesses are instructed to welcome changes to their religion's doctrine, regarding such "adjustments" as "new light" or "new understanding" from God.[24][25] The view is based on their interpretation of Proverbs 4:18, which they believe refers to a continuous progressive advancement in doctrinal knowledge and scriptural understanding for "righteous ones",[26][27] with the holy spirit helping "responsible representatives of 'the faithful and discreet slave' at world headquarters to discern deep truths that were not previously understood".[28] Watch Tower literature has suggested such enlightenment results from the application of reason and study,[29] the guidance of holy spirit, and direction from Jesus Christ and angels,[30] however, the Governing Body also disclaims infallibility and divine inspiration.[31][32][33] The religion makes no provision for members to criticize or contribute to official teachings[34] and all Witnesses are expected to abide by the doctrines and organizational requirements as determined by the Governing Body.[35] Watch Tower Society publications strongly discourage Witnesses from formulating doctrines and "private ideas" reached through independent Bible research.[36][37][38][39] Members who promote privately developed teachings contrary to those of the Governing Body may be expelled and shunned.[36][40][41]
Organization[edit]
See also: Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses



 Organizational headquarters in Brooklyn, New York.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that God uses an organization both in heaven and on earth, and that Jehovah's Witnesses, under the direction of their Governing Body, are the only visible channel by which God communicates with humanity.[42][43] The organization is said to be theocratic, "ruled from the divine Top down, and not from the rank and file up".[44] Witnesses teach that people must choose between God’s organization and Satan’s.[45][46] Watch Tower publications teach that the Bible is an "organizational book" that does not belong to individuals and that the Bible cannot be properly understood without guidance by "Jehovah's visible organization".[47]
Witnesses undergoing baptism are required to publicly confirm that they are associating themselves "with God's spirit-directed organization",[48] thereby submitting themselves to its direction and judicial system.[49] Watch Tower Society publications urge Witnesses to demonstrate loyalty to the organization without dissent,[50][51] even at the cost of family ties.[52] Loyalty to the organization is said to require full involvement in public preaching[53] and regular meeting attendance.[54]
Disagreement with the Watch Tower Society's concept of God's organization figured prominently in events that led to a 1980 purge of high-level members at the religion's Brooklyn headquarters. A summary by a Governing Body committee of "wrong teachings" being promoted as "new understandings" included the suggestion that God did not have an organization on earth.[55] Former Governing Body member Raymond Franz, who was expelled as part of the purge, subsequently criticized the Watch Tower concept of organization,[56] claiming the concept—which posits that God does not deal with individuals apart from an organization—has no scriptural support and serves only to reinforce the religion's authority structure, with its strong emphasis on human authority.[57] He also claimed that The Watchtower has repeatedly blurred discussions of both Jesus Christ's loyalty to God and the apostles' loyalty to Christ to promote the view that Witnesses should be loyal to the Watch Tower Society.[58] Sociologist Andrew Holden has observed that Witnesses see no distinction between loyalty to Jehovah and to the movement itself,[59] and other researchers have claimed that challenging the views of those higher up the hierarchical ladder is regarded as tantamount to challenging God himself.[60]
Restorationism[edit]
See also: History of Jehovah's Witnesses and Restorationism (Christian primitivism)
Witnesses believe that after the death of the apostles, the Church embarked on a "Great Apostasy", diverging from the original teachings of Jesus on several major points. Influenced by Restorationism in the 19th century, Charles Taze Russell and his associates formed a Bible study group in the 1870s in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, developing teachings that they considered to be a revival of "the great truths taught by Jesus and the Apostles".[61] Watch Tower publications claim both the Great Apostasy and Russell's subsequent "restoration" of original Christianity[62] were a fulfilment of Jesus' parable of the wheat and the weeds at Matthew 13:24-30,36-43.[63] Although many of their eschatological teachings have changed over the years,[64] Jehovah's Witnesses have consistently claimed to be the only true religion.[65] Based on their interpretation of Revelation 18:2-24, Jehovah's Witnesses believe all other religions are part of "Babylon the Great", a "world empire of false religion" under the control of Satan; consequently, they refuse all ecumenical relations with other religious denominations.[66][67]
Bible[edit]



 Jehovah's Witnesses prefer to use the New World Translation of the Bible
See also: New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures
The entire Protestant canon of scripture is seen as the inspired, inerrant word of God.[68] Jehovah's Witnesses consider the Bible to be scientifically and historically accurate and reliable[69] and interpret much of it literally, while also accepting it contains much symbolism.[70] Jehovah's Witnesses base all of their beliefs on the Bible, as interpreted by the Governing Body.[71]
They use the terms Hebrew and Christian Greek Scriptures rather than Old and New Testament to avoid implication that the Old Testament is outdated or inferior.[72] They believe that the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) contain prophecy that was fulfilled in Jesus Christ,[73] and that the books of the Christian Greek Scriptures (New Testament) are primarily directed to the 144,000 chosen by God for life in heaven.[74] The Watch Tower Society's New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures—the main translation used by Jehovah's Witnesses—renders the name of God as Jehovah, rather than God or LORD as found in English translations such as the King James Version.
God[edit]
Main article: God in Abrahamic religions
See also: Jehovah and Nontrinitarianism
Jehovah's Witnesses believe God is the Creator and Supreme Being. Witnesses reject the Trinity doctrine, which they consider unscriptural.[75] They view God as the Father, an invisible spirit "person" separate from the Son, Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is described as God's "active force", rather than the third part of the Trinity.[76] They believe God, whose personal name is Jehovah, is "infinite, but approachable"; he is not omnipresent, but has a location in heaven;[77][78] it is possible to have a personal relationship with him as a friend;[79] he is kind and merciful, and would not eternally "torture" wicked people.[80] Being respectful of the principle of free will, he does not force his sovereignty on people, choosing to save only those who want to serve him, even though the course of mankind in general may lead them to harm.[81]
Witnesses teach that God must be distinguished by his personal name—Jehovah. The name is a common modern Latinized form of the Hebrew Tetragrammaton, or four-letter name, transliterated as YHWH.[82] The use of his personal name is regarded as vital for true worship,[83] and Witnesses usually preface the term God with the name Jehovah.[84] The title, LORD (Greek: Kyrios), is rarely used by Witnesses when speaking about God.[84] Because no other religion uses the name Jehovah with the same prevalence, they believe only their religion is making God's name known.[85]
Jesus Christ[edit]
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus is God's "only-begotten Son", and that his life began in heaven.[86] He is described as God's first creation and the "exact representation of God",[87] but is believed to be a separate entity and not part of a Trinity. Jesus is said to have been used by God in the creation of all other things.[88] Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the Archangel, Michael, "the Word" of John 1:1, and wisdom personified in Proverbs 8 refer to Jesus in his pre-human existence and that he resumed these identities after his ascension to heaven following his death and resurrection. They also identify him with the "rider of the white horse" at Revelation 6 and 19.[89] His birth on earth was accomplished when he willingly allowed himself to be transferred, by God, from heaven to the womb of the virgin, Mary.[90] While on earth, Jesus was executed as a sacrifice to atone for mankind's sins, becoming the "eternal father" to the human family.[91]
They believe that after his death, Jesus appeared to his disciples, convinced them of his resurrection, and then ascended into heaven to sit at Jehovah's right hand until he would become the promised king of God's heavenly kingdom. Jesus acts as the mediator of a "new covenant"[92] referred to in Jeremiah 31:31, Luke 22:20, and Hebrews 9:15; 12:24, directly mediating only for those going to heaven (the 144,000). Those with an earthly hope are said to be beneficiaries of that covenant.[93][94][95] Even as king of God's kingdom, Jesus remains subordinate to God.[96] Witnesses reject the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary, who they believe bore more children after Jesus.[97]
Cross[edit]
See also: Dispute about Jesus' execution method
The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society used the Cross and Crown symbol on tombstones, and on its publications until 1931.[98] Since 1936, Jehovah's Witnesses have rejected the idea that Jesus died on a cross, and instead teach that he died on a single wooden stake (crux simplex), asserting that the Koiné Greek word σταυρος (stauros) refers to a single upright post. They consider the cross to be of pagan origins and an object of idol worship.[99] Some Jehovah's Witnesses have been persecuted or killed for not bowing down to or kissing a cross.[100][101]
Satan[edit]
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Satan was originally a perfect angel who developed feelings of self-importance and craved worship that belonged to God. Satan persuaded Adam and Eve to obey him rather than God, raising the issue—often referred to as a "controversy"—of whether people, having been granted free will, would obey God under both temptation and persecution. The issue is said to be whether God can rightfully claim to be sovereign of the universe.[102][103] Instead of destroying Satan, God decided to test the loyalty of the rest of humankind and to prove to the rest of creation that Satan was a liar.[75][104] Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Satan is God's chief adversary[104] and the invisible ruler of the world.[102][103] They believe that demons were originally angels who rebelled against God and took Satan's side in the controversy.[105]
Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe that Satan lives in Hell or that he has been given responsibility to punish the wicked. Satan and his demons are said to have been cast down from heaven to the earth in 1914, marking the beginning of the "last days".[102][106] Witnesses believe that Satan and his demons influence individuals, organizations and nations, and that they are the cause of human suffering. At Armageddon, Satan is to be bound for 1,000 years, and then given a brief opportunity to mislead perfect humanity before being destroyed.[107]
Writers including James Beckford and former members James Penton and Barbara Grizzuti Harrison have stated that Jehovah's Witnesses' have a fear of demons, which Penton says is "sometimes so extreme that it becomes quite superstitious". However, Penton also notes that avoidance of "demonistic practices" has released many people in Africa and Latin America from fear of spirits.[108][109][110][111] Watch Tower Society publications state that Witnesses need not harbor dread or superstitious fear of demons, because their power over humans is limited.[112][113]
God's Messianic Kingdom[edit]
Publications of Jehovah's Witnesses teach that God's kingdom is a literal government in heaven, established in 1914,[114] ruled by Jesus Christ and 144,000 humans raised to heaven.[115] The kingdom is viewed as the means by which God will accomplish his original purpose for the earth,[116][117] bringing about a world free of crime, sickness, death and poverty, and ultimately transforming the earth into a paradise.[118] The kingdom is said to have been the focus of Jesus' ministry.[119]
Death[edit]



 Jehovah's Witnesses believe the soul is mortal, with a hope of resurrection
Witnesses regard the soul as mortal, based on the statement at Ezekiel 18:4 that "the soul that sins, it shall die" (MKJV)[120] and thus believe the soul does not continue to live after one dies.[121] Death is considered a state of non-existence, based on their understanding of Ecclesiastes 9:5: "For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all." Witnesses believe that the only hope for life after death is in the resurrection, which they say involves re-creation by God of the same individual with a new body.[122] They believe that 144,000 people will be resurrected to life as spirit creatures in heaven to be priestly rulers under Christ, but the vast majority, to physical life on earth.[123]
Watch Tower publications teach that hell (hades or sheol) is not a place of fiery torment, but rather the "common grave of mankind", a place of unconscious non-existence.[124] Gehenna, the Bible word commonly translated "hellfire", is said to describe a judgment of complete destruction,[125] from which resurrection is not possible.[126] They reason that complete destruction does not allow for literal "torture" of the wicked, as the deceased person is not conscious.[127] Based on this, they believe that parables such as that of "the rich man and Lazarus" should not be interpreted literally, and that such references are speaking of symbolic death, not the physical death of actual individuals.[128]
Witnesses teach that wicked angels (demons) sometimes pretend to be spirits of the dead, and that their deception is the basis for many beliefs about ghosts.[129][130]
Salvation[edit]
Main article: Jehovah's Witnesses and salvation
Jehovah's Witnesses' believe that faith in Jesus' ransom sacrifice is essential for salvation. They reject the concept of universal salvation[131] and the concept of predestination. They believe that all intelligent creatures are endowed with free will, and that salvation is dependent on God's "undeserved kindness", but also requires faith in God and in the "ransom sacrifice" of Jesus Christ,[132] demonstrated by "zealous" preaching activity.[133][134][135] According to Watch Tower Society theology, salvation requires Christ's mediation as part of God's purpose to grant humans everlasting life, either in heaven (for 144,000 "anointed" Christians, or the "little flock") or on earth (for the "other sheep", the remainder of faithful humanity).[136] For anointed Witnesses, salvation is said to be achieved through their death and subsequent resurrection to heavenly life to share with Christ as a co-ruler of God's kingdom;[137] for others, it is gained through preservation during the battle of Armageddon.[138][139] Watch Tower Society publications state that salvation at Armageddon is also contingent on baptism, accurate knowledge of Bible truth, adherence to God's standards of conduct and morality, use of the divine name "Jehovah" in worship,[140] membership of God's "organization",[6] and active support of anointed Christians.[141]
144,000 anointed[edit]
Based on a literal interpretation of scriptures such as Revelation 14:1–4, Jehovah's Witnesses believe that exactly 144,000 faithful Christians go to heaven as spirit creatures to rule with Christ in the kingdom of God. They believe that most of those are already in heaven, and that the "remnant" at Revelation 12:17 (KJV) refers to those remaining alive on earth who will be immediately resurrected to heaven when they die. The Witnesses understand Jesus’ words at John 3:3—"except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God"—to apply to the 144,000 who are "born again" as "anointed" sons of God in heaven.[142] They associate the terms "Israel of God" (Galatians 6:16), "little flock" (Luke 12:32), and "the bride, the Lamb's wife" (Revelation 21:9) in the New Testament with the "anointed".[143][144]
Members who claim to be anointed are not given special treatment by other congregation members.[145] Jehovah's Witnesses believe that being "anointed" involves a personal revelation by God's spirit which "gives positive assurance of adoption" to the individual alone.[146] Only those claiming to be anointed partake of the unleavened bread and wine at the yearly commemoration of Christ's death, or Memorial. According to The Watchtower, "the Governing Body does not keep a list of all partakers, for it does not maintain a global network of anointed ones."[21]
Other sheep[edit]
Watch Tower Society literature states that Jesus' use of the term "other sheep" at John 10:16 indicates a separate class with an earthly hope.[147] Those of the "other sheep" who die faithful to God will receive the "resurrection of the righteous" ("just" KJV) mentioned at Acts 24:15.[148] Those who die without faithfully serving God will receive the "resurrection of the ... unrighteous" ("unjust" KJV). They will be given the opportunity to join Jesus' "other sheep" and live forever on a paradise earth.[149][150] Those destroyed at Armageddon and other specific judgments by God are not resurrected.[151] Those of the "other sheep" who survive Armageddon without needing a resurrection, are referred to as the "great crowd".[152]
Eschatology[edit]
Main article: Eschatology of Jehovah's Witnesses
Watch Tower Society publications teach that Jesus Christ began to rule in heaven invisibly as king in October 1914.[153] They assert that the Greek word parousia (translated in most English Bible translations as coming when referring to Christ) is more accurately rendered presence, perceived only by a composite "sign".[154] As such, the Second Coming is considered an invisible presence, lasting for an extended period of time, and ending with Jesus' "coming" to separate the Sheep and the Goats.[155][156] They believe that when Jesus became king, Satan was ousted from heaven to the earth, bringing a period of "woe" to mankind.[157]
Witnesses base their beliefs about the significance of 1914 on the Watch Tower Society's interpretation of biblical chronology,[158] based on their belief that the destruction of Jerusalem and the beginning of the Babylonian captivity both occurred in 607 BCE. (The secularly accepted date for the fall of Jerusalem is within a year of 587 BCE; exiles were taken in various years, with most Jews exiled to Babylon following the siege of Jerusalem of 597 BCE.) They believe that Daniel chapter 4 prophesied a period of 2,520 years starting with 607 BCE and ending at 1914 CE.[159][160] They equate this period with the "Gentile Times" or "the appointed times of the nations", a phrase taken from Luke 21:24. They believe that when the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, the line of kings descended from David was interrupted, and that God's throne was "trampled on" from then until Jesus began ruling in October 1914.[161] Witnesses believe their doctrine is confirmed by world events since 1914, including wars, famine, earthquakes and increasing lawlessness, which they see as fulfillment of the "sign" of Christ's presence.[162][163] They believe that their preaching is also part of that sign, citing Matthew 24:14.[164][165][166] Witnesses teach that in 1918, Jesus resurrected those of the 144,000 (the "anointed") who had already died to heavenly life; since 1918, any "anointed" are individually resurrected to heavenly life at the time of their death to serve as kings alongside Christ in his heavenly government.[167]
The current world era, or "system of things", is considered to be in its "last days",[168] facing imminent destruction through intervention by God and Jesus Christ, leading to deliverance for those who worship God acceptably. This judgment will begin with the destruction by the United Nations of false religion, which they identify as "Babylon the Great", or the "harlot", of Revelation 17.[169] This will mark the beginning of the great tribulation.[170] Satan will subsequently 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", or true followers, will be destroyed.[171] The Society's publications make no explicit claim about whether small children or the mentally ill will survive, but say God's judgment will be righteous and merciful.[172] After Armageddon, Satan will be abyssed and unable to influence humanity, then God will extend his heavenly kingdom to include earth,[173][174] which will be transformed into a paradise similar to the Garden of Eden.[175]
Most of those who had died prior to God's intervention will gradually be resurrected to a "day of judgment" lasting for the thousand years referred to in Revelation 20.[176][177] This judgment will be based on their actions after resurrection rather than past deeds.[178] At the end of the thousand years a final test will take place when Satan is released to mislead perfect mankind;[179] Satan and any who fail the test will be destroyed, leaving a fully tested, perfect human race who will live forever.[177][180] Christ will then hand all authority back to God.[181]
Defection[edit]
Watch Tower Society publications assert that members of the religion are not compelled to remain part of the congregation.[182] However, Jehovah's Witness doctrines provide no method for baptized members to leave the religion on good terms.[183] Those who choose to depart and announce their decision to terminate their membership are regarded as abandoning God's organization and protection and voluntarily entering the world of Satan,[183][184] becoming part of the antichrist.[185] Watch Tower publications define such individuals as being "more reprehensible than those in the world"[185] and direct that they are to be shunned by other Witnesses, including close relatives, with no social or religious contact and no greeting given.[182][184] Sociologist Andrew Holden claims his research indicated many Witnesses who would otherwise defect because of disillusionment with the organization and its teachings remain affiliated out of fear of being shunned and losing contact with friends and family members.[183]
Apostasy[edit]
Watch Tower Society publications define apostasy as the abandonment of the worship and service of God by members of the Christian congregation, and equate it with rebellion against God.[186] Apostate behavior is said to include the rejection of biblical teachings or requirements, the rejection of Jehovah’s organization, association with or support for another religion[185] and celebration of religious holidays.[187] It is grounds for expulsion from the religion and subsequent shunning. Promotion of personal doctrinal views that deviate from official teachings is also regarded as apostasy. The "identifying marks" of apostates are said to include attempts to gain followers, disregard for the Witnesses’ preaching activity, rejection of God's visible organization, public criticism of other Witnesses and attempts to hinder their work.[186] Other identifying behavior is said to include deviation from the truth, twisted, empty speech, hypocrisy and involvement in deeper forms of ungodliness.[188] Watch Tower Society literature says apostates are motivated by vitriolic bitterness and that their writings are poisonous, distorted and false, display the characteristics of "cunning, contrived error, prideful intelligence, lack of love and dishonesty" and are designed to undermine the faith of Jehovah’s Witnesses.[189] Apostates are described as proud, independent, ungrateful and presumptuous,[188] mentally diseased,[190][191] displaying jealousy, fits of anger and other unchristian conduct and are said to often fall victim to drunken bouts, loose conduct and fornication.[188]
Witnesses who are defined as apostates are said to have become part of the antichrist and are regarded as more reprehensible than non-Witnesses.[185] They are described as "anti-God" and doomed to destruction.[192] Witnesses are told they must loathe and hate in the "biblical sense of the word" those who are defined as apostates and show no curiosity about their ideas.[193] Apostates must be shunned and Witnesses are warned that those who greet one become "a sharer in his wicked works".[185]
Education[edit]



 Jehovah's Witnesses are directed to study the Bible using Watch Tower Society publications
Jehovah's Witnesses are encouraged to make their preaching work the top priority in their life. Higher education is discouraged,[194][195] based on their belief that it is futile to plan for secular advancement in a world that faces imminent destruction, as well as fears about succumbing to "worldly thinking" and concerns that advanced education might lead to a lack of humility or involvement in immorality.[196][197][198] Because evangelistic activities take priority over educational success, young Witnesses rarely progress to college or university,[199] which Holden cites as a source of regret in subsequent years among those who are raised in the organization and later choose to leave.[199] Watch Tower Society publications advise parents to recommend alternatives to university education for their children, suggesting associate degrees from community or technical colleges or short courses in subjects such as office administration, automotive repair, computing, or hairdressing. They urge young Witnesses to pursue higher education only to gain skills to obtain a reasonable living while maintaining flexibility to pursue their "true" vocation, serving God.[200] Author James Penton's major study of the Witnesses, Apocalypse Delayed, noted that of those Witnesses who do progress to university, few are likely to take studies in such areas as the humanities and the social sciences, "disciplines that are most threatening to the Witness world-view".[201]
Jehovah's Witnesses provide standardized religious training programs for their members, focusing on improving skills for their ministry. These include the congregational Theocratic Ministry School, literacy classes, Pioneer Service School, Bible School for Single Brothers and Gilead School. Some of these programs are by invitation only.[202] Holden observed: "Despite the fact that Witnesses claim to reason from the scriptures, their theology is taught in a highly mechanistic fashion, and written publications encourage the members to learn almost by rote."[203]
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, pp. 13.
2.Jump up ^ Franz 2002, p. 106.
3.Jump up ^ "5". Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom. p. 42.
4.Jump up ^ "United in Love—Annual Meeting Report". The Watchtower: 3. 15 June 2010. "In 1976, all activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses were brought under the supervision of the six committees of the Governing Body."
5.Jump up ^ Keep Yourselves in God’s Love, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 2008, page 43, "The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses represents the slave class. ... elders today receive instructions and counsel from the Governing Body, either directly or through its representatives, such as traveling overseers."
6.^ Jump up to: a b "Remaining Organized for Survival Into the Millennium", The Watchtower, September 1, 1989, page 19, "Only Jehovah's Witnesses, those of the anointed remnant and the 'great crowd,' as a united organization under the protection of the Supreme Organizer, have any Scriptural hope of surviving the impending end of this doomed system dominated by Satan the Devil."
7.Jump up ^ Worship the Only True God, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 2002, page 179.
8.Jump up ^ Garbe, Detlef (2008). Between Resistance and Martyrdom: Jehovah's Witnesses in the Third Reich. University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 37, 38. ISBN 0-299-20794-3. "In their opinion, only people who have accepted Jehovah and subsequently submit to his requirements will survive Armageddon and enter into the New World ... Jehovah's Witnesses also believe that a person confessing to worship God has to be associated with the true Christian denomination. Since they claim to be the only true religious denomination, they also claim to have the only means for salvation."
9.Jump up ^ "All True Christians Are Evangelizers", The Watchtower, January 1, 2002, pages 11-12, "Proselytize or Evangelize? The Greek language has the word pro·se’ly·tos, which means a “convert.” From this has come the English word “proselytism,” which basically means “the act of making converts.” Nowadays, some say that proselytism is harmful. ... Pressuring people to change their religion is wrong. Certainly, Jehovah’s Witnesses do not act in such a way. Hence, they do not proselytize in the modern meaning of the word. Rather ... they preach the good news to everyone. Any who respond voluntarily are invited to take in more knowledge by means of a Bible study."
10.Jump up ^ Holden 2002, p. 7.
11.Jump up ^ Holden, Andrew (2002). Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement. Routledge. pp. 71–76. ISBN 0-415-26609-2.
12.Jump up ^ Holden 2002, p. 71.
13.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, May 15, 2008, page 29
14.^ Jump up to: a b "Seek God's guidance in all things", The Watchtower, April 15, 2008, page 11.
15.^ Jump up to: a b "The faithful steward and its governing body", The Watchtower, June 15, 2009, page 20.
16.Jump up ^ "How the Governing Body Is Organized", The Watchtower, May 15, 2008, p. 29.
17.Jump up ^ You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth. Watchtower Society. 1989. p. 195.
18.Jump up ^ Organized to Do Jehovah's Will, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 2005, page 16.
19.Jump up ^ "Jehovah, the God of Progressive Revelation", Watchtower, June 15, 1964, p. 365, "The abundance of spiritual food and the amazing details of Jehovah’s purposes that have been revealed to Jehovah’s anointed witnesses are clear evidence that they are the ones mentioned by Jesus when he foretold a 'faithful and discreet slave' class that would be used to dispense God’s progressive revelations in these last days...How thankful we should be for the provision God has made of this slave class, the modern spiritual remnant, as they faithfully dispense the revealed truths of Jehovah! ...Jehovah’s faithful witnesses have been progressively brought to an understanding of Jehovah’s purposes, which are clearer now than ever before in history."
20.Jump up ^ Watchtower August 1, 2001 p. 14 paragraph 8, "A mature Christian...does not advocate or insist on personal opinions or harbor private ideas when it comes to Bible understanding. Rather, he has complete confidence in the truth as it is revealed by Jehovah God through his Son, Jesus Christ, and 'the faithful and discreet slave.'"
21.^ Jump up to: a b "Question From Readers", "The Watchtower", August 15, 2011, page 22
22.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). In Search of Christian Freedom. Commentary Press. pp. 152–164. ISBN 0-914675-16-8.
23.Jump up ^ "Annual Meeting Report".
24.Jump up ^ Osamu Muramoto, "Bioethics of the Refusal of Blood by Jehovah's Witnesses, Part 1", Journal of Medical Ethics, August 1998, Vol 24, Issue 4, pp. 223-230.
25.Jump up ^ "The Path of the Righteous Does Keep Getting Brighter", The Watchtower, December 1, 1981, pp. 26-31.
26.Jump up ^ Franz 2007, pp. 132–133.
27.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, pp. 165–171.
28.Jump up ^ "The Spirit Searches into the Deep Things of God", The Watchtower, July 15, 2010, p. 23, "When the time comes to clarify a spiritual matter in our day, holy spirit helps responsible representatives of 'the faithful and discreet slave' at world headquarters to discern deep truths that were not previously understood. The Governing Body as a whole considers adjusted explanations. What they learn, they publish for the benefit of all."
29.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 165.
30.Jump up ^ J. F. Rutherdford, Preparation, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1933, page 64, 67, "Enlightenment proceeds from Jehovah by and through Christ Jesus and is given to the faithful anointed on earth at the temple, and brings great peace and consolation to them. Again Zechariah talked with the angel of the Lord, which shows that the remnant are instructed by the angels of the Lord. The remnant do not hear audible sounds, because such is not necessary. Jehovah has provided his own good way to convey thoughts to the minds of his anointed ones...Those of the remnant, being honest and true, must say, We do not know; and the Lord enlightens them, sending his angels for that very purpose."
31.Jump up ^ "To Whom Shall We Go but Jesus Christ?", The Watchtower, March 1, 1979, pp. 23-24.
32.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers", The Watchtower, October 15, 1954, page 638.
33.Jump up ^ "Name and Purpose of The Watchtower", The Watchtower, August 15, 1950, page 263.
34.Jump up ^ Beckford, James A. (1975). The Trumpet of Prophecy: A Sociological Study of Jehovah's Witnesses. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. pp. 84, 89, 92, 119–120. ISBN 0-631-16310-7.
35.Jump up ^ Holden 2002, p. 22.
36.^ Jump up to: a b "Questions From Readers", The Watchtower April 1, 1986 pp. 30-31.
37.Jump up ^ "Make Your Advancement Manifest", The Watchtower, August 1, 2001, page 14, "Since oneness is to be observed, a mature Christian must be in unity and full harmony with fellow believers as far as faith and knowledge are concerned. He does not advocate or insist on personal opinions or harbor private ideas when it comes to Bible understanding. Rather, he has complete confidence in the truth as it is revealed by Jehovah God through his Son, Jesus Christ, and the faithful and discreet slave."
38.Jump up ^ "Jehovah’s Theocratic Organization Today", Watchtower, February 1, 1952, pp. 79–80.
39.Jump up ^ Testimony by Fred Franz, Transcript, Lord Strachan vs. Douglas Walsh, 1954. p. 123, as reproduced in R. Franz In Search of Christian Freedom, Q: "Did you imply that the individual member has the right of reading the books and the Bible and forming his own view as to the proper interpretation of Holy Writ?" A: "No".
40.Jump up ^ Ronald Lawson, "Sect-State Relations: Accounting for the Differing Trajectories of Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses", Sociology of Religion, 1995, 56:4 p. 371.
41.Jump up ^ Botting, Heather; Gary Botting (1984). The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 143, 153–165. ISBN 0-8020-6545-7.
42.Jump up ^ "Do You Appreciate Jehovah’s Organization?", The Watchtower, June 15, 1998.
43.Jump up ^ "The Visible Part of God’s Organization", The Watchtower, May 1, 1981.
44.Jump up ^ "Theocratic Organization with Which to Move Forward Now", The Watchtower, December 15, 1971, page 754.
45.Jump up ^ "Directing Interest to the Organization", Our Kingdom Ministry, March 1987, page 3.
46.Jump up ^ "Restoration of True Religion Today", The Watchtower, March 1, 1954, page 151.
47.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, October 1, 1967; cited in Penton 1997, p. 163.
48.Jump up ^ Franz 2007, p. 118.
49.Jump up ^ Holden 2002, p. 33.
50.Jump up ^ "Meeting the Challenge of Loyalty", The Watchtower, March 15, 1996, page 16.
51.Jump up ^ "Building Disciples Having the Quality of Endurance", The Watchtower, April 1, 1970, page 213.
52.Jump up ^ "Do Not Resist Jehovah’s Counsel", The Watchtower, July 15, 1965, page 435.
53.Jump up ^ "Loyalty to theocratic organization", Our Kingdom Ministry, November 1, 1953.
54.Jump up ^ "Serve Jehovah Loyally", The Watchtower, November 15, 1992, page 21.
55.Jump up ^ Franz 2002, p. 316.
56.Jump up ^ Franz 2007, p. 449.
57.Jump up ^ Franz 2007, pp. 449–464, "Loyalty to the organization becomes the touchstone, the criterion, the "bottom line", when it comes to determining whether one is a faithful Christian or not ... to make any organizational loyalty the criterion for judging anyone's Christianity is, then, clearly a perversion of Scripture ... Read the whole of those Scriptures ,,, nowehere are we taught to put faith in men or in an earthly organization, unquestioningly following its lead ... the entire Bible record is a continual reminder of the danger inherent in that kind of trust."
58.Jump up ^ Franz 2007, p. 458.
59.Jump up ^ Holden 2002, p. 121.
60.Jump up ^ Botting, Heather; Gary Botting (1984). The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 156. ISBN 0-8020-6545-7.
61.Jump up ^ Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, December 1, 1916, R6010: page 371.
62.Jump up ^ "Religion’s Future in View of Its Past", Awake!, October 22, 1989, p. 17.
63.Jump up ^ "Is religion at the root of Mankind's problem?", The Watchtower, February 15, 2004, page 5.
64.Jump up ^ Franz 2002, pp. 183–184.
65.Jump up ^ Reasoning from the Scriptures, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1989, p. 203.
66.Jump up ^ Holden 2002, p. 1.
67.Jump up ^ "Take Refuge in the Name of Jehovah". The Watchtower: 3. January 15, 2011.
68.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 172.
69.Jump up ^ All Scripture is Inspired of God, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1990, page 336.
70.Jump up ^ "Obedience to the Good News a Way of Life", The Watchtower, October 15, 1977, page 618.
71.Jump up ^ Reasoning From The Scriptures, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1989, p. 199-208.
72.Jump up ^ "Old Testament or Hebrew Scriptures—Which?", The Watchtower March 1, 1995, p. 19.
73.Jump up ^ "We Have Found the Messiah"!, The Watchtower, October 1, 1992, p. 10.
74.Jump up ^ United In Worship of the Only True God, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1983, p. 111.
75.^ Jump up to: a b Holden 2002, p. 24.
76.Jump up ^ Should You Believe in the Trinity?, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1989, pages 14, 20.
77.Jump up ^ Insight In The Scriptures volume 1, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1988, p. 969.
78.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, February 15, 1981, page 6, "Jehovah God truly is a person and has a body as well as a certain location. ... He has a location in the highest heavens"
79.Jump up ^ "Is God Everywhere?", Awake! March 8, 1995, p. 21.
80.Jump up ^ "Eternal Torment — Why a Disturbing Doctrine?", The Watchtower, April 15, 1993, p. 5.
81.Jump up ^ "God’s Wisdom in Dealing with Mankind", Awake!, June 8, 1971, page 12.
82.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 184.
83.Jump up ^ "Who Are Giving God Glory Today?", The Watchtower, October 1, 2004, page 12.
84.^ Jump up to: a b Franz, Raymond (2007). In Search of Christian Freedom. Commentary Press. p. 494. ISBN 0-914675-16-8. "The fact remains that today no religious group of any size uses the name "Jehovah" with such intense frequency as does that of Jehovah's Witnesses. That name predominates throughout their literature. Among Jehovah's Witnesses it has become almost strange to speak of "God" without prefacing the term by saying "Jehovah God", while the term "Lord" is quite rare in their expressions. They read "Lord" in the Bible but hardly ever use it in their own speech extemporaneously. It is almost a liturgical form for them in most prayers to initially address these to "Jehovah" or "Jehovah God"."
85.Jump up ^ Franz 2007, p. 489
86.Jump up ^ Insight On The Scriptures volume 2, p. 52 Jesus Christ
87.Jump up ^ Worship the Only True God, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 2002, p. 184
88.Jump up ^ "What Do the Scriptures Say About 'the Divinity of Christ'?, The Watchtower January 15, 1992 p. 20-23.
89.Jump up ^ "Jehovah’s Word Is Alive Highlights From the Book of Revelation", The Watchtower, February 15, 2009 p. 3.
90.Jump up ^ Jesus? The Ruler "Whose Origin Is From Early Times", The Watchtower, June 15, 1998, p. 22.
91.Jump up ^ Worldwide Security Under the “Prince of Peace”, chap. 20 p. 163 par. 8 A Happy Human Family Under a New Fatherhood
92.Jump up ^ "Appreciate Jesus’ Unique Role in God’s Purpose", pages 13-14, The Watchtower, December 15, 2008, "The original-language word translated “mediator” is a legal term. It refers to Jesus as a legal Mediator (or, in a sense, an attorney) of the new covenant... What about those who are not in the new covenant, those who hope to live forever on earth, not in heaven? While not participants in the new covenant, these are beneficiaries of it. ... Whether we have a heavenly hope or an earthly hope, each one of us has good reason to appreciate Jesus’ role as the Mediator of the new covenant."
93.Jump up ^ Insight on the Scriptures, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, Vol 2, page 360.
94.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, pp. 188–189.
95.Jump up ^ Questions From Readers, The Watchtower, August 15, 1989, p. 30.
96.Jump up ^ "Is Jesus God Almighty?". The Watchtower: 7. September 15, 2005.
97.Jump up ^ Jesus' Family—Who Were They? The Watchtower December 15, 2003, p. 3
98.Jump up ^ "They Are No Part of the World". Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom. p. 200.
99.Jump up ^ What Does the Bible Really Teach?. Jehovah's Witnesses. 2005. pp. 51,201–204.
100.Jump up ^ "European High Court Upholds Right to Preach in Greece". The Watchtower (Watchtower): 28–29. 1 September 1993.
101.Jump up ^ "Poland". 1994 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. Watchtower. p. 206.
102.^ Jump up to: a b c Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom. Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society. 1993. pp. 144–145.
103.^ Jump up to: a b What Does the Bible Really Teach?. Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society. 2005. p. 32.
104.^ Jump up to: a b "Declaration and resolution", The Watchtower, December 1, 1973, page 724.
105.Jump up ^ "Angels—How They Affect Us". The Watchtower: 7. January 15, 2006.
106.Jump up ^ What Does the Bible Really Teach?. Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society. 2005. pp. 87,216.
107.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, 15 March 2009, p. 15, “Be Vigilant”
108.Jump up ^ Penton, M.J. (1997). Apocalypse Delayed. University of Toronto Press. pp. 189, 190. ISBN 978-0-8020-7973-2.
109.Jump up ^ Beckford, James A. (1975). The Trumpet of Prophecy: A Sociological Study of Jehovah's Witnesses. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. p. 106. ISBN 0-631-16310-7. "God is believed to have banished from heaven a number of 'wicked spirit creatures' who are understood to be the main source of human frustration on earth. Consequently, Jehovah's witnesses learn to cultivate a very noticeable fear of phenomena connected with the occult; they 'believe in' ghosts, for example, to the extent of shunning conversation about them and of refusing to listen to ghost-stories."
110.Jump up ^ Havor Montague, "The Pessimistic Sect's Influence on the Mental Health of Its Members", Social Compass, 1977/1, page 144.
111.Jump up ^ Grizzuti Harrison, Barbara (1978), "8", Visions of Glory, Robert Hale, ISBN 0-7091-8013-6, "The Watchtower concludes, from this bizarre account, that "one can see from this that one need not live in fear of the demons". But of course the result of all this misbegotten advice is to keep the Witnesses in constant fear of "demon harassment". Their demons are never exorcised."
112.Jump up ^ "Angels-How They Affect Us", The Watchtower, January 15, 2006 pg. 7, "Demons are dangerous, but we do not dread them."
113.Jump up ^ "True Religion Dispels Fear–How?" The Watchtower, November 1, 1987, pg. 6, "True, demons are powerful. But ... demons shudder out of dread of Jehovah. But the Almighty God offers you his protection if you ask for it. Bible writer James further says: "Subject yourselves, therefore, to God; but oppose the Devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7) Your superstitious fear will likewise flee."
114.Jump up ^ "What Has God’s Kingdom Been Doing Since 1914?", The Watchtower, October 15, 1966, page 617.
115.Jump up ^ The Government That Will Bring Paradise, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1993, page 3.
116.Jump up ^ Insight on the Scriptures,, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, Vol 1, page 310.
117.Jump up ^ Worship the Only True God, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 2002, page 6.
118.Jump up ^ Reasoning from the Scriptures, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, pages 225-234.
119.Jump up ^ "God’s Kingdom—Earth’s New Rulership", The Watchtower, October 15, 2000, page 10.
120.Jump up ^ You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1989, p. 77.
121.Jump up ^ "Is There LIFE After Death?", The Watchtower July 15, 2001.
122.Jump up ^ Reasoning From The Scriptures, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1989, p. 333.
123.Jump up ^ "The Only Remedy!", The Watchtower March 15, 2006, p. 6.
124.Jump up ^ "Hell—Eternal Torture or Common Grave?" The Watchtower, April 15, 1993, p. 6.
125.Jump up ^ "Comfort for Those Who Mourn", Awake! May 8, 2002, p. 19.
126.Jump up ^ Questions From Readers, The Watchtower, July 15, 2005, p. 31.
127.Jump up ^ Insight On The Scriptures, Vol 1, p. 906.
128.Jump up ^ "The Dead Who Are in Line for Resurrection", The Watchtower, February 1, 1965, p.76.
129.Jump up ^ "Satan Worship in Our Time", The Watchtower, September 1, 1988, p. 5.
130.Jump up ^ "What Is the Bible’s View? Mourning for the Dead", Awake!, December 8, 1974, pp. 26-28.
131.Jump up ^ The Watchtower 4/15/60 p. 229 Does the Bible Teach What You Believe?
132.Jump up ^ "Is Your Life Predestined?", Awake!, May 2007, p. 13.
133.Jump up ^ "Preaching in a Lawless World", The Watchtower, July 15, 1979, page 13, paragraph 4; cited in James Penton, ‘’Apocalypse Delayed”, pg. 206.
134.Jump up ^ Botting, Heather; Gary Botting (1984). The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 107. ISBN 0-8020-6545-7.
135.Jump up ^ Keeping “Clean from the Blood of All Men”, The Watchtower, October 1, 1960, page 608.
136.Jump up ^ The terms "little flock" and "other sheep" are drawn from Luke 12:32 and John 10:16 respectively.
137.Jump up ^ ”Keep Your Hope of Salvation Bright!”, The Watchtower, June 1, 2000, pages 9-14.
138.Jump up ^ Beckford, James A. (1975). The Trumpet of Prophecy: A Sociological Study of Jehovah's Witnesses. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. p. 110. ISBN 0-631-16310-7.
139.Jump up ^ Hoekema, Anthony A. (1963). The Four Major Cults. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans. p. 285. ISBN 0-8028-3117-6.
140.Jump up ^ ”Salvation – What It Really Means,” The Watchtower, August 15, 1997, pgs 4-7.
141.Jump up ^ ”Rejoicing in Our Hope”, The Watchtower, March 15, 2012, page 20.
142.Jump up ^ The Watchtower 11/1/96 p. 10 Look to Jehovah for Comfort: “One of the main operations of God’s spirit upon first-century Christians was to anoint them as adopted spiritual sons of God and brothers of Jesus. (2 Corinthians 1:21, 22) This is reserved for only 144,000 disciples of Christ. (Revelation 14:1, 3)”
143.Jump up ^ Survivors Out of All the Nations, ©1984 Watch Tower, page 65
144.Jump up ^ "Congregation of God", Watchtower Publications Index 1930–1985, "CONGREGATION OF GOD (Also called 144,000; Anointed; Body of Christ; Bride of Christ; Chosen Ones; Elect; Holy Nation; Israel of God; Kingdom Class; Little Flock; New Creation; New Nation; Royal House; Royal Priesthood; Sanctuary Class; Sons of Levi; Spirit Begotten; Spiritual Israel; Spiritual Sons)"
145.Jump up ^ The Watchtower 5/1/07 p. 31: “They do not believe that they necessarily have more holy spirit than their companions of the other sheep have; nor do they expect special treatment or claim that their partaking of the emblems places them above the appointed elders in the congregation”
146.Jump up ^ “United In Worship Of The Only True God” chap. 14 pp. 112-113 ‘I Make a Covenant With You for a Kingdom’: “Spiritual Sons—How Do They Know? ... God’s spirit gives positive assurance of adoption as spiritual sons to baptized Christians who have received the heavenly calling.
147.Jump up ^ The Watchtower 2/1/98 p. 20 par. 7 The Other Sheep and the New Covenant
148.Jump up ^ The Watchtower 2/15/95 p. 11 par. 12 'There Will Be a Resurrection of the Righteous: “Men and women of old who exercised strong faith in Jehovah and his promises and remained faithful to the death were declared righteous by Jehovah on the basis of their faith, and they will without doubt share in the ‘resurrection of the righteous.’
149.Jump up ^ The Watchtower 6/15/06 p. 6 A Sure Guide to Happiness: “Acts 24:15 ... “There is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.” So even “the unrighteous,” many individuals who did not know and serve Jehovah, will get a future opportunity to gain God’s favor.”
150.Jump up ^ You Can Believe in a Paradise Earth The Watchtower November 15, 2003, p. 4.
151.Jump up ^ The Watchtower 3/15/06 p. 6 The Only Remedy!: “Some committed sins for which there is no forgiveness. They are not in Hades (mankind’s common grave) but in Gehenna, a symbolic place of eternal destruction. (Matthew 23:33)
152.Jump up ^ The Watchtower 4/15/95 p. 31 Questions From Readers: “In summary, we might remember “other sheep” as the broader term, encompassing all of God’s servants having the hope of living forever on earth. It includes the more limited category of sheeplike ones today who are being gathered as a “great crowd” with the hope of living right through the impending great tribulation”.
153.Jump up ^ "Christ’s Presence—What Does It Mean to You?", The Watchtower, February 15, 2008, page 21.
154.Jump up ^ "Maintain Your Sense of Urgency", The Watchtower, March 15, 2012, p. 18.
155.Jump up ^ "Jesus’ Coming or Jesus’ Presence—Which?", The Watchtower, August 15, 1996, p. 12.
156.Jump up ^ "Tell Us, When Will These Things Be?", The Watchtower, July 15, 2013, p. 6.
157.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, February 1, 1996, p6.
158.Jump up ^ "Why do Jehovah’s Witnesses say that God’s Kingdom was established in 1914?", Reasoning From the Scriptures, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1989, p. 95-96.
159.Jump up ^ Gruss, Edmond C. (1972). The Jehovah's Witnesses and Prophetic Speculation. Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co. pp. 20–58. ISBN 0-87552-306-4.
160.Jump up ^ Let Your Kingdom Come, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, 1981, pp. 186-189 Appendix to Chapter 14.
161.Jump up ^ What Does The Bible Really Teach?, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 2005, pp. 217-218.
162.Jump up ^ The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1981, pg 86.
163.Jump up ^ True Peace and Security—How Can You Find It?, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1986, pp 81-84.
164.Jump up ^ "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in all the world as a witness to all nations. And then the end shall come." - Matthew 24:14.
165.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, October 15, 2000, p11.
166.Jump up ^ Awake!, October 22, 1993, p. 11.
167.Jump up ^ Revelation—Its Grand Climax At Hand!, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1988, page 102-104.
168.Jump up ^ "Deliverance by God’s Kingdom Is at Hand!", The Watchtower, May 15, 2008, page 15.
169.Jump up ^ Revelation – Its Grand Climax at Hand, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1988, pages 235-236.
170.Jump up ^ "Apocalypse—When?", The Watchtower, February 15, 1986, page 6.
171.Jump up ^ Revelation – Its Grand Climax at Hand, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1988, page 286.
172.Jump up ^ "Strengthening Our Confidence in God's Righteousness", The Watchtower, August 15, 1998 p. 20
173.Jump up ^ The Watchtower: 530–531. September 1, 1959. Missing or empty |title= (help)
174.Jump up ^ "Armageddon—A Happy Beginning". The Watchtower: 4–6. December 1, 2005.
175.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, p. 180.
176.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, May 15, 2006, p 6.
177.^ Jump up to: a b Penton, M.J. (1997). Apocalypse Delayed. University of Toronto Press. pp. 186–187. ISBN 978-0-8020-7973-2. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
178.Jump up ^ Insight on the Scriptures, Vol. 2, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1988,p. 788.
179.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, May 1, 2005, p. 20.
180.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, August 15, 2006, p. 31
181.Jump up ^ Pay Attention to Daniel’s Prophecy!, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, 2006, pp. 94,95.
182.^ Jump up to: a b Questions From Readers, The Watchtower, July 1, 1984, page 31.
183.^ Jump up to: a b c Holden 2002, pp. 150–170.
184.^ Jump up to: a b "Disfellowshiping—How to View It", The Watchtower, September 15, 1981, page 23.
185.^ Jump up to: a b c d e Questions From Readers, The Watchtower, July 15, 1985, page 31, "Such ones willfully abandoning the Christian congregation thereby become part of the ‘antichrist.’ A person who had willfully and formally disassociated himself from the congregation would have matched that description. By deliberately repudiating God’s congregation and by renouncing the Christian way, he would have made himself an apostate. A loyal Christian would not have wanted to fellowship with an apostate ... Scripturally, a person who repudiated God’s congregation became more reprehensible than those in the world."
186.^ Jump up to: a b Reasoning From the Scriptures, pages 34-35.
187.Jump up ^ Pay Attention To Yourselves and to All the Flock, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, pages 94-95.
188.^ Jump up to: a b c "Remain Solid in the Faith", The Watchtower, August 1, 1980, pages 17-21.
189.Jump up ^ "At Which Table Are You Feeding", The Watchtower, July 1, 1994, pages 11-12.
190.Jump up ^ "Will You Heed Jehovah's Clear Warnings?", The Watchtower, July 15, 2011, page 16.
191.Jump up ^ Jerome Taylor, "War of words breaks out among Jehovah's Witnesses", The Independent, September 27, 2011.
192.Jump up ^ "Why So Many Christian Sects?" The Watchtower, March 15, 1975, page 167.
193.Jump up ^ "Search Through Me, Oh God," The Watchtower, October 1, 1993, page 19.
194.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, pp. 271–273
195.Jump up ^ Ronald Lawson, "Sect-State Relations: Accounting for the Differing Trajectories of Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses", Sociology of Religion, 1995, 56:4 pg 369
196.Jump up ^ "Remain Without Spot From the World", The Watchtower, October 1, 1984, p. 17 par. 10.
197.Jump up ^ "Repudiate Valueless Things", The Watchtower, April 15, 2008, page 4.
198.Jump up ^ "Parents—What Future Do You Want for Your Children?", The Watchtower, October 1, 2005, pages 26-29.
199.^ Jump up to: a b Holden 2002, p. 135.
200.Jump up ^ "Parents—What Future Do You Want for Your Children?", The Watchtower, October 1, 2005, p. 26-31.
201.Jump up ^ Penton 1997, pp. 314–315.
202.Jump up ^ "Some Educational Opportunities Available", Our Kingdom Ministry, October 2011, Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, Inc., pages 5-6
203.Jump up ^ Holden 2002, p. 67.
Bibliography[edit]
##Holden, Andrew (2002). Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-26610-6.
##Penton, James M. (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses (2nd ed.). University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
##Franz, Raymond (2002). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
##Franz, Raymond (2007). In Search of Christian Freedom. Commentary Press. ISBN 0-914675-16-8.
##Botting, Gary and Heather (1984). The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press.
##Botting, Gary (1993). Fundamental Freedoms and Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Calgary Press.
External links[edit]
##What Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Believe?
  



Categories: Beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses






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Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses

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Part of a series on
Jehovah's Witnesses

Overview

Organizational structure
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History
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Leadership dispute
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Doctrinal development
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Demographics
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The 144,000
Faithful and discreet slave
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Watch Tower presidents

W. H. Conley ·
 C. T. Russell

J. F. Rutherford ·
 N. H. Knorr

F. W. Franz ·
 M. G. Henschel

D. A. Adams

Formative influences

William Miller ·
 Henry Grew

George Storrs ·
 N. H. Barbour

John Nelson Darby


Notable former members

Raymond Franz ·
 Olin Moyle


Opposition

Criticism ·
 Persecution

Supreme Court cases
 by country

v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Jehovah's Witnesses are organized hierarchically,[1] and are led by the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses from the Watch Tower Society's headquarters in Brooklyn, New York. The Governing Body, along with other "helpers", are organized into six committees responsible for various administrative functions within the global Witness community, including publication, assembly programs and evangelizing activity.[2]
The Governing Body and its committees supervise operations of nearly one hundred branch offices worldwide. Each branch office oversees the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses in a particular country or region, and may include facilities for the publication and distribution of Watch Tower Society literature. Directly appointed by the Governing Body, branch committees supervise administrative functions for congregations in their jurisdiction. Congregations are further organized into circuits of about twenty congregations each. The Governing Body directly appoints circuit overseers as its representatives to supervise activities within circuits. Headquarters representatives visit groups of branch offices to provide instruction and report the branch's activities to the Governing Body.
Each congregation is served by a group of locally recommended male elders and ministerial servants, appointed by the circuit overseer. Elders take responsibility for congregational governance, pastoral work, setting meeting times, selecting speakers, conducting meetings, directing the public preaching work, and forming judicial committees to investigate and decide disciplinary action in cases where members are believed to have committed serious sins. Ministerial servants fulfill clerical and attendant duties, but may also teach and conduct meetings.[2]



Contents  [hide]
1 Governing Body
2 Branch offices
3 Traveling overseers
4 Congregations 4.1 Elders
4.2 Ministerial servants
4.3 Baptized publishers 4.3.1 Children
4.4 Unbaptized publishers
4.5 Students
4.6 Associates
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

Governing Body[edit]
Main article: Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses
The organization is directed by the Governing Body—an all-male group that varies in size, but since March 2014 has comprised seven members,[3]—based in the Watchtower Society's Brooklyn, New York headquarters. Each of the Governing Body members claims to be of the "anointed class" with a hope of heavenly life (whereas most Jehovah's Witnesses hope to be resurrected in an earthly paradise).[4][5] There are no elections for membership; new members are selected by the existing body.[6] Each of its members serves as chairman, with the position rotating among members alphabetically each year.[7] Until late 2012, the Governing Body described itself as the representative[8] and "spokesman"[9] of God's "faithful and discreet slave class" (approximately 10,000 Jehovah's Witnesses who profess to be "anointed"),[10][11] providing "spiritual food" for Witnesses worldwide on behalf of the "faithful and discreet slave class". In practice it sought neither advice nor approval from other "anointed" Witnesses when formulating policies and doctrines, or when producing material for publications and conventions.[12][13] At the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Watch Tower Society, the "faithful and discreet slave" was re-defined as referring to the Governing Body only.[14]
From 1944, Watch Tower publications had made occasional references to a governing body,[15] identifying it with the board of directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.[16] In October 1971, four additional men joined the seven members of the Society's board of directors on what became known as a separate, expanded Governing Body. The Governing Body was then for the first time formally defined, indicating that it provided the religion with direction, guidance and regulation,[17][18] although all doctrinal and publishing decisions continued to be made by, or were subject to, the approval of the Society's president.[19] Organizational changes at the highest levels of the Watchtower Society in 1976 significantly increased the powers and authority of the Governing Body and reduced those of the Watch Tower Society president.[20]
The Governing Body directs six committees comprising its members along with its "helpers"; the six committees are responsible for various administrative functions including personnel, publishing, evangelizing activity, school and assembly programs, writing, and coordination.[2] The Governing Body directly appoints all headquarters representatives, circuit overseers, collectively referred to as "traveling overseers", and also appoints branch office committee members.[21] Only branch committee members and traveling overseers are referred to as "representatives of the Governing Body".
In the last decade, the Governing Body has reiterated its overall oversight role but has delegated other Witnesses, typically branch committee members, to serve as corporate executives and directors of Watch Tower and other incorporated entities.[22][23]
See also: Corporations of Jehovah's Witnesses
Branch offices[edit]
Jehovah's Witnesses operate 91 branch offices worldwide,[24] grouped into thirty global "zones", each under the oversight of a headquarters representative who visits each of his assigned branches every few years, auditing operations, counseling branch committee members, department heads and missionaries, and reporting back to the Governing Body.[25][26] Each branch office is referred to as Bethel.[27] The United States branch office, spread across three New York State locations with a staff of more than 5000,[28] also serves as the international headquarters.
Branch offices, operated by Witness volunteers known as Bethel families, produce and distribute Bible-based literature and communicate with congregations within their jurisdiction.[29] Full-time staff at branch offices take a vow of poverty and are members of a religious order.[30] Each branch is overseen by a committee of three or more elders, which is appointed by the Governing Body. A Service Department in each branch corresponds with congregations and supervises the work of traveling overseers. Branch offices may also have departments responsible for printing, translation and legal representation.



 New York headquarters of Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
Each branch office appoints various committees in its jurisdiction's communities, with local elders as members. Committees may include:
##Hospital Liaison Committee
##Patient Visitation Group
##Regional Building Committee
##Assembly Hall Committee
##District Convention Committee[31]
##Disaster Relief Committee[32]
Traveling overseers[edit]
Jehovah's Witnesses use the term traveling overseer to refer to headquarters representatives and circuit overseers, all of whom are elders . All traveling overseers are directly appointed by the Governing Body.[33][34] A branch may appoint qualified local elders as "substitute" circuit overseers. Additional training is provided at their School for Traveling Overseers, and ongoing pastoral care and instruction is provided to them by senior branch office representatives. In 1995, Witnesses reported that 4374 traveling overseers cared for 78,620 congregations, an average of about 18 congregations each.[35]
The majority of traveling overseers are circuit overseers; they oversee circuits of about twenty congregations, performing twice-yearly week-long visits with each.[36][37][38] During his visit, the circuit overseer delivers talks to the congregation and meets with the elders, ministerial servants and pioneers. He is responsible for appointing new elders and ministerial servants, based on recommendations by elders.[39] He typically works with various members of the congregation in the house-to-house preaching work, and may also conduct personal Bible studies and pastoral calls.
Jehovah's Witnesses are instructed to "participate in a joyful interchange of encouragement" with traveling overseers,[40] and to render them "double honor", a biblical term[41] they believe includes cooperation and hospitality.[42][43] Traveling overseers are generally members of a religious order who have taken a vow of poverty; they are provided with vehicles, healthcare, and lodging, and their basic expenses are reimbursed by the congregations they visit.[44]
Congregations[edit]
Congregations are usually based on geographical area or language spoken, and may have as few as ten or as many as two hundred members.[45][46][47] Congregations meet for religious services at Kingdom Halls, which may be shared by two or more congregations. If a small group of Witnesses is isolated by geography or language, it may have some or all of its meetings at a different time and place to the rest of the congregation, under the supervision of that congregation's body of elders. If a group intends to become a new congregation, the area's circuit overseer submits an application to the branch office.[48]
Each congregation is assigned a territory; members are requested to attend the congregation of the territory in which they reside.[49] Members also meet in smaller "field service groups", often at private homes, prior to engaging in organized door-to-door preaching. Each field service group has an appointed "group overseer" (an elder) or "group servant" (a ministerial servant).[50] Witnesses are instructed to devote as much time as possible to preaching activities ("witnessing" or "field service"), and to provide a monthly report to their congregation summarizing their preaching activity.[51] Jehovah's Witnesses consider all baptized Witnesses to be ministers.[52] Participants in organized preaching activity are referred to as publishers.[53] Only individuals who are approved and active as publishers are officially counted as members.[54]
Congregations are governed by local elders,[55][56] who are assisted by ministerial servants. Elders and ministerial servants are appointed in each congregation for handling various religious and administrative duties. Only male members may serve in the capacity of elder or ministerial servant. In smaller congregations, one man may handle multiple positions until another qualified candidate is available. Baptized female members may perform some of their duties only if a baptized male is unavailable; female Witnesses leading in prayer or teaching are required to wear a head covering.[57]
Elders[edit]
Each congregation has a body of elders, who are responsible for congregational governance, pastoral work, selecting speakers and conducting meetings, directing the public preaching work and creating "judicial committees" to investigate and decide disciplinary action for cases that are seen to breach scriptural laws.
There are no secular educational requirements for elders; however, training programs are offered for elders within the organization. Elders are considered "overseers" based on the biblical Greek term, ἐπίσκοπος (episkopos, typically translated "bishop"). Prospective elders are recommended from among ministerial servants and former elders by the local elder body for appointment by the circuit overseer.
Particular roles within the body of elders include:
##Coordinator of the Body of Elders: chairs elders' meetings, assigns duties and speakers for most congregation meetings, and cares for certain financial matters.
##Service Overseer: organizes matters related to public preaching, and oversees those handling Witness literature and territories.[58]
##Congregation Secretary: maintains congregation records, reports congregation activity to the branch office, advises the congregation about conventions and assemblies, and oversees those handling accounts.[59]
##Watchtower Study Conductor: leads the weekly study of The Watchtower.[60]
##Theocratic Ministry School Overseer: conducts the Theocratic Ministry School, assigns student assignments, counsels students with a goal to improving their preaching skills, and conducts bi-monthly question-and-answer reviews.[61][62]
##Auxiliary Counselor: responsible for providing private counsel, as needed, to elders or ministerial servants that handle meeting parts.
##Operating Committee Members: responsible for the care of the building and property of Kingdom Halls that are shared by two or more congregations.
##Group Overseers: oversees groups for public preaching and pastoral care.[63]
##Public Talk Coordinator: schedules speakers and talks for public meetings and co-ordinates traveling speakers from his congregation.
Ministerial servants[edit]
Ministerial servants, equivalent to deacons, are appointed to assist the elders with routine work, including the supply of literature to the congregation, accounts, maintaining the Kingdom Hall, and operating audio equipment. They also present various parts at the meetings. Ministerial servants are appointed in a similar manner to elders.[2]
The following roles are normally filled by ministerial servants:
##Accounts Servant: collects donations from contribution boxes after each meeting, deposits moneys, pays bills.
##Sound Servant:[64] coordinates and schedules others to run microphones, handle the stage and podium and operate audio equipment; in large congregations, a separate Platform Servant may also be assigned.
##Literature Servant: distributes literature in stock, takes requests for special items, or yearly items for use by congregation members. May place special request orders for publishers in their own Kingdom Hall.
##Literature Coordinator: orders and receives stock and bulk literature for multiple congregations meeting at a single Kingdom Hall.
##Magazine Servant: arranges orders of study, simplified, foreign language, and non-print editions of The Watchtower and Awake! magazines.
##Magazine Coordinator: orders and receives all magazines for congregations meeting at a single Kingdom Hall, and stocks them in a designated magazine pickup area.
##Territory Servant: distributes territory maps for preaching and keeps records of all territories within the local congregation's area.
##Attendant Servant: greets visitors, seats latecomers, takes attendance count, and is responsible for climate control of the Kingdom Hall and parking lot security.
##Theocratic Ministry School Assistant: distributes assignments to Ministry School students, times student talks; may make reminder phone calls to students with upcoming talks and conduct auxiliary schools.
##Group Servant: assumes role of Group Overseer when a sufficient number of elders is not available, under supervision of the body of elders.
Baptized publishers[edit]
Baptized publishers are members who have been publicly baptized following conversion to the faith. Jehovah's Witnesses do not practice infant baptism,[65] and previous baptisms performed by other denominations are not considered valid.[66] Prior to baptism, they are required to respond to a series of questions to assess their suitability, and to make a personal dedication to serve God.[67] Baptisms are typically performed at assemblies and conventions. From the moment of baptism, the organization officially considers the person to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and an ordained minister.[68]
Regular publishers do not have a specific quota of hours for preaching each month, although publishers are requested to "set goals such as reaching [the] national average of hours for publishers".[69] Publishers are typically each required to report at least one hour per month to be counted as a 'regular publisher'. Only whole hours are reported; incomplete hours are carried over to the next month.[70] Elders may allow certain publishers to count fifteen-minute increments if limited by special circumstances such as advanced age or serious health conditions. Publishers who fail to report for one month are termed "irregular";[71] those who do not report for six consecutive months are classed as "inactive".[72] The terms irregular and inactive are used to indicate members in need of 'spiritual assistance' from the local congregation elders. Yearly reports of congregation activity are compiled and published annually in a Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. Those habitually 'irregular' or 'inactive' are usually restricted from serving in any special capacity.
Baptized publishers in 'good standing' may serve in various special preaching capacities:
##Auxiliary pioneers: make a commitment of thirty or fifty hours of preaching activities for a given month. This can be performed on a per month or ongoing basis.
##Regular pioneers: make a commitment of an average of seventy hours of preaching activity each month, totaling 840 hours for the year.[73] For congregation elders to recommend appointment of a regular pioneer, a publisher must be baptized for at least six months and be considered an exemplary member of the congregation. Members who have been reproved or reinstated in the last year may not serve as regular pioneers.[74]
##Special pioneers: assigned by a branch to perform special activity, such as preaching in remote areas, which may require at least 130 hours per month. Special pioneers receive a stipend for basic living expenses.
##Missionaries: sent to foreign countries to preach. They spend at least 130 hours per month in preaching. Before assignment to a location, missionaries may receive training at Gilead School. Missionaries receive a stipend for basic living expenses.
Children[edit]
When accompanied by adults, children of baptized Witnesses may participate in organized preaching without formally qualifying. However, only those recognized as publishers are counted in the religion's official membership statistics.[75] Children of Witness parents may be asked to participate in demonstrations at congregation meetings and assemblies, or as models and actors in materials published by the Watch Tower Society.[76]
Unbaptized publishers[edit]
Unbaptized publishers are persons who are not yet baptized, but who have requested and been granted approval to join in the congregation's formal ministry. They must demonstrate a basic knowledge of Jehovah's Witnesses' doctrines to the elders, state their desire to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and conform to the organization's moral standards.[77] To qualify as an unbaptized publisher, an individual must already be "an active associate of Jehovah's Witnesses", regularly attending congregation meetings.[78]
Prior to 1988, unbaptized publishers were referred to as "approved associates", "unbaptized associates" or "regularly associating".[79][80] The terms were discontinued on the basis that meeting attendance on its own does not constitute approval of or commitment to the faith.[78][81][82]
Students[edit]
The term Bible student, sometimes informally referred to as a "Bible study",[83] is generally used by Witnesses to refer to an individual who takes part in their religious study program. The purpose of the Bible study program is for the student to become baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses.[84]
Students usually have their study with the same Witness for the duration of the study program, often being the member who first encounters them while preaching. Interested individuals initially contacted by a member of the opposite sex are typically assigned a study conductor of their own gender.[85] A student typically meets with his or her study conductor once each week at the student's home or other suitable location. The study program involves consideration of a Bible-based publication that addresses Jehovah's Witnesses' core beliefs. Each paragraph is read aloud by the conductor or student, and the student answers pre-printed questions from the material in the paragraph. Students are encouraged to look up cited scriptures in the Bible and include them in their responses.[86] Each Bible study is typically conducted with an individual or family,[87][88] though in some cases many people may take part.[89]
Students are invited to attend and even comment at congregation meetings.[90][91][92] If they attend meetings regularly and are considered to demonstrate progress toward becoming an unbaptized publisher, they may receive a copy of the monthly newsletter Our Kingdom Ministry,[93] and may also qualify to join the congregation's Theocratic Ministry School. Students may also attend reading-improvement or literacy classes in congregations where these additional courses are held.[94][95][96]
Associates[edit]
Individuals who attend meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses but are not involved in preaching are occasionally referred to in Watch Tower Society publications as "associates" or as being "associated with the congregation".[97][98][99] Attendance figures for Witness events include "Jehovah's Witnesses and associates";[100][101] such statistics may be cited for comparison of Witness numbers with membership figures of other religions,[102][103][104] but only those sharing in their ministry are counted by Jehovah's Witnesses when reporting their official statistics.
Unbaptized individuals who attend meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses are not subject to congregation discipline, though elders may privately warn members of the congregation about individuals considered to constitute "an unusual threat to the flock."[105]
See also[edit]
##Jehovah's Witnesses beliefs
##Jehovah's Witnesses practices
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "Court Trial Testimony Redwood City" (PDF). Superior Court of the State of California. February 22, 2012. "I am general counsel for the National Organization of Jehovah's Witnesses out of Brooklyn, New York. ... We are a hierarchical religion structured just like the Catholic Church."
2.^ Jump up to: a b c d Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 211–252. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
3.Jump up ^ Twelve members as of September 2005 (The Watchtower, March 15, 2006, page 26)
 Schroeder died March 8, 2006 (The Watchtower, September 15, 2006, page 31)
 Sydlik died April 18, 2006 (The Watchtower, January 1, 2007, page 8)
 Barber died April 8, 2007 (The Watchtower, October 15, 2007, page 31)
 Jaracz died June 9, 2010 (The Watchtower, November 15, 2010, page 23)
 Barr died December 4, 2010 (The Watchtower, May 15, 2011, page 6)
 Pierce died March 18, 2014 ("Guy H. Pierce, Member of the Governing Body, Dies at 79")
4.Jump up ^ Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. 2007 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. pp. 4, 6.
5.Jump up ^ Botting, Heather & Gary (1984). The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 178. ISBN 0-8020-6545-7.
6.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). In Search of Christian Freedom. Commentary Press. p. 123. ISBN 0-914675-17-6.
7.Jump up ^ Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. 1975. p. 250.
8.Jump up ^ "Seek God's guidance in all things", The Watchtower, April 15, 2008, page 11.
9.Jump up ^ "How the Governing Body Is Organized", The Watchtower, May 15, 2008, page 29.
10.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). In Search of Christian Freedom. Commentary Press. p. 153. ISBN 0-914675-17-6.
11.Jump up ^ 2011 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide Report 2010 Grand Totals, page 31
12.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). In Search of Christian Freedom. Commentary Press. pp. 154–164. ISBN 0-914675-17-6.
13.Jump up ^ "The faithful steward and its governing body", The Watchtower, June 15, 2009, page 24.
14.Jump up ^ "Annual Meeting Report".
15.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, November 1, 1944, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, p.74 footnote.
16.Jump up ^ 1970 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, Watchtower Society, page 65
17.Jump up ^ "A Governing Body as Different from a Legal Corporation". The Watchtower: 755. 15 December 1971. Article discusses formal definition of Governing Body, and makes first use of capitalized term.
18.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower: 703. November 15, 1972.
19.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2000). "3-4". Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press, Third edition, Second printing. pp. 42–108. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
20.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 44–110. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
21.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, January 15, 2001, pages 14-15
22.Jump up ^ "Jehovah’s Glory Shines on His People", The Watchtower, July 1, 2002, page 17
23.Jump up ^ "New Corporations Formed", Our Kingdom Ministry, January 2002, page 7
24.Jump up ^ 2014 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. 2014. p. 176.
25.Jump up ^ 1978 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses p. 20
26.Jump up ^ "Declaring the Good News Without Letup", Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, page 101.
27.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, 1 August 1997, p. 9
28.Jump up ^ 2003 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 24; "In all, the United States Bethel family numbers 5,465."
29.Jump up ^ Jehovah’s Witnesses—Unitedly Doing God’s Will Worldwide, p. 25-27
30.Jump up ^ "Trust in Jehovah!", The Watchtower, December 15, 1993, page 13.
31.Jump up ^ "Positions of Responsibility in the Organization", Organized to Do Jehovah's Will, ©2005 Watch Tower, page 45
32.Jump up ^ "“God Is Not Partial”", Bearing Witness, ©2009 Watch Tower, page 76, "Branch Committees quickly organize the formation of relief committees to look after our brothers who may be affected by natural disasters, including hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis."
33.Jump up ^ The Watchtower: 20. 15 March 1990. Missing or empty |title= (help)
34.Jump up ^ African American Religious Cultures: A-R by Stephen C. Finley, Torin Alexander, Greenwood Publishing, ABC-CLIO, 2009, page 201
35.Jump up ^ "Jehovah’s Witnesses—1996 Yearbook Report", 1996 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, ©1995 Watch Tower, page 9, "4,374 care for assignments that require them to travel from one assembly to another in an assigned district or from one congregation to another in a circuit"
36.Jump up ^ "Traveling Overseers—Gifts in Men", The Watchtower, November 15, 1996, page 10
37.Jump up ^ Jehovah’s Witnesses—Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom p. 19.
38.Jump up ^ "Development of the Organization Structure", Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, page 223.
39.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower: 28–30. 15 November 2014.
40.Jump up ^ "An Interchange of Encouragement for All", Our Kingdom Ministry, October 2007, ©CCJW, page 8
41.Jump up ^ (1 Timothy 5:17-18, NWT) "Let the older men who preside in a fine way be reckoned worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard in speaking and teaching. 18 For the scripture says: “You must not muzzle a bull when it threshes out the grain”".
42.Jump up ^ "The “Divine Peace” District Convention—Just What We Needed!", The Watchtower, January 15, 1987, page 29, "[T]raveling overseers...are, indeed, worthy of double honor because of their many duties. These include giving talks, helping out with problems, training brothers in witnessing, and visiting the physically or spiritually sick. Truly, all traveling overseers deserve our full cooperation and Lydialike hospitality."
43.Jump up ^ "Honor", Insight on the Scriptures, Vol 1, ©1988 Watch Tower, page 1136, "Elders who worked hard in teaching were to be given “double honor,” which evidently included material aid. (1Ti 5:17, 18)"
44.Jump up ^ "Traveling Overseers—Fellow Workers in the Truth", Doing God's Will, ©1986 Watch Tower, page 21
45.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses in the Twentieth Century, page 25
46.Jump up ^ 1983 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, p. 118, "Australia"
47.Jump up ^ It is recommended but not required that members attend the congregation of the territory in which they reside. See "What are the advantages of attending the congregation that holds the territory where we live?", Our Kingdom Ministry, November 2002, page 7
48.Jump up ^ "Methods of Preaching the Good News", Organized to Do Jehovah's Will, ©2005 Watch Tower, page 106-107
49.Jump up ^ "What are the advantages of attending the congregation that holds the territory where we live?", Our Kingdom Ministry, November 2002, page 7
50.Jump up ^ "New Congregation Meeting Schedule", Our Kingdom Ministry, October 2008, page 1.
51.Jump up ^ Botting, Heather; Botting, Gary (1984). The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 52. ISBN 0-8020-2537-4.
52.Jump up ^ Watchtower 10/15/62 p. 626 "Is Every Witness a Minister?"
53.Jump up ^ True Worship Means Action The Watchtower September 1, 1965, p. 533.
54.Jump up ^ Our Kingdom Ministry 2/02 p. 5 par. 18 “Preach the Word of God Fully”
55.Jump up ^ Watchtower 1/1/72 p. 9 par. 1
56.Jump up ^ Watchtower 10/15/74 p. 630 How Are Jehovah’s Witnesses Different?
57.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers", The Watchtower, July 15, 2002, page 27, "While sharing in certain congregation activities, Christian women may need to wear a head covering. At a midweek meeting for field service, for example, there may only be Christian sisters present, no baptized males. There may be other occasions when no baptized males are present at a congregation meeting. If a sister has to handle duties usually performed by a brother at a congregationally arranged meeting or meeting for field service, she should wear a head covering."
58.Jump up ^ Our Kingdom Ministry 9/98 p. 3 pars. 1-4 Overseers Taking the Lead
59.Jump up ^ Our Kingdom Ministry 10/98 p. 7 par. 1-2 Overseers Taking the Lead—The Secretary, "As a member of the Congregation Service Committee, he cares for the congregation’s communications and important records. ... He directly oversees those handling accounts and subscriptions as well as all convention-related matters."
60.Jump up ^ Our Kingdom Ministry 12/98 p. 8 Overseers Taking the Lead—The Watchtower Study Conductor
61.Jump up ^ Our Kingdom Ministry 11/98 p. 8 Overseers Taking the Lead—The Theocratic Ministry School Overseer
62.Jump up ^ Our Kingdom Ministry, 10/07 p. 3 Theocratic Ministry School Schedule for 2008'
63.Jump up ^ The Congregation Book Study—Why We Need It, Our Kingdom Ministry June 2004, p. 4 pars. 4-5.
64.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, September 1, 2000 page 26; and September 1, 1997, page 26
65.Jump up ^ "Should Babies Be Baptized?". The Watchtower. March 15, 1986, page=4–7. Check date values in: |date= (help)
66.Jump up ^ "Why One Must Be Baptized". The Watchtower: 406. July 1, 1956.
67.Jump up ^ "Why Be Baptized?", The Watchtower, April 1, 2002, p. 13.
68.Jump up ^ "Overseers and Ministerial Servants Theocratically Appointed", The Watchtower, January 15, 2001, page 12, "At their baptism, new disciples are ordained as ministers of Jehovah God. Who ordains them? ...Jehovah God himself!"
69.Jump up ^ "Meetings to Help Us Make Disciples", Our Kingdom Ministry, November 1987, page 2, "...set goals such as reaching national average of hours for publishers"
70.Jump up ^ Our Kingdom Ministry 9/88 p. 3 Report Field Service Accurately'
71.Jump up ^ Our Kingdom Ministry December 1987, p. 7.
72.Jump up ^ Our Kingdom Ministry October 1982, p. 1.
73.Jump up ^ Our Kingdom Ministry 8/99 p. 3 par. 3 " regular pioneers need to devote 70 hours to the ministry each month for a total of 840 hours per service year."
74.Jump up ^ "Continued Increase Calls for Simplification of Procedures", Our Kingdom Ministry, August 1986, page 6, "A full year must have passed from the time a judicial reproof was given or since reinstatement following disfellowshipping before one could be considered for auxiliary or regular pioneer service. Furthermore, a person who is currently under any restrictions by a judicial committee would not qualify for such pioneer service privileges until all restrictions are removed."
75.Jump up ^ "Question Box: To what extent may young children of Christian parents share in the field ministry before they are recognized as unbaptized publishers?", Our Kingdom Ministry, October 1992, page 7, "[Witness] parents can decide to what extent a child can share in giving a witness as they work together. Children who are not yet recognized as unbaptized publishers should not make calls on their own or accompany other children in field service."
76.Jump up ^ "Meetings that Incite to Love and Fine Works", Organized to Do Jehovah's Will, ©2005 Watch Tower, page 66
77.Jump up ^ Questions From Readers, The Watchtower, December 1, 1989, p. 31.
78.^ Jump up to: a b "Ministers of the Good News", Organized to Do Jehovah's Will, ©2005 Watch Tower, page 81
79.Jump up ^ "Subheading: Approved Associates", Organized to Accomplish Our Ministry, ©1983 Watch Tower, pages 97-100
80.Jump up ^ "Question Box", Our Kingdom Ministry, October 1975, page 8, "Rather, the persons referred to as "regularly associating" are those who have made some progress in the way of truth and who have been attending meetings regularly over a period of time."
81.Jump up ^ "Helping Others to Worship God", The Watchtower, November 15, 1988, page 17, "Previously, an unbaptized person who qualified to share in the field ministry was termed an "approved associate." However, "unbaptized publisher" is a more accurate designation"
82.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers", The Watchtower, February 15, 1989, page 29
83.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, November 1, 1992, page 26, "See What Jehovah Has Done for Us!"
84.Jump up ^ "Conduct Progressive Doorstep and Telephone Bible Studies", Our Kingdom Ministry, April 2006, page 3
85.Jump up ^ "Question Box". Our Kingdom Ministry: 2. May 1997.
86.Jump up ^ What Does The Bible Really Teach? © Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania 2005. | p. 7 Is This What God Purposed?”
87.Jump up ^ "FAQ: What Is a Bible Study?", JW.org, Retrieved 2012-09-06
88.Jump up ^ Our Ministry: Person-to-person ministry, JW-Media.org, Retrieved 2012-09-06, "If a Witness finds someone who is interested in learning more about the Bible, further discussions can be arranged, or an appointment for a weekly home Bible study can be made."
89.Jump up ^ "Russia", 2008 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 231
90.Jump up ^ Our Kingdom Ministry, October 1986, page 7
91.Jump up ^ Our Kingdom Ministry, April 1997, page 3-4
92.Jump up ^ "Pay Attention to Your “Art of Teaching”", The Watchtower, January 15, 2008, page 11
93.Jump up ^ "Question Box", Our Kingdom Ministry, February 1987, page 8, "All baptized publishers and approved associates should receive a copy. Those who regularly attend the Service Meeting and who are making progress toward sharing in the field ministry should also receive a copy."
94.Jump up ^ "Chapter 7 Meetings that 'Incite to Love and Fine Works'", Organized to Do Jehovah's Will, ©2005 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, subheading "Theocratic Ministry School", page 68
95.Jump up ^ "Guidelines for School Overseers", Benefit From Theocratic Ministry School Education, ©2002 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, page 282
96.Jump up ^ "Apply Yourself to Reading", Benefit From Theocratic Ministry School Education, ©2002 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, page 21
97.Jump up ^ "Do Not Forget Those Who Are Inactive", Our Kingdom Ministry, February 2007, page 8
98.Jump up ^ "Unitedly Building to Praise God", The Watchtower, November 1, 2006, page 20
99.Jump up ^ "Are You Ready to Attend?", Awake!, May 8, 1986, page 24
100.Jump up ^ "Press release June 24, 2000", JW-Media.org Jehovah's Witnesses Official Media Web Site, As Retrieved 2010-08-12, "Jehovah’s Witnesses, who have more than 14 million members and associates worldwide"
101.Jump up ^ "‘Blessings Are for the Righteous One’", The Watchtower, July 15, 2001, page 25, "In the year 2000, over 14 million attended the Memorial of Jesus’ death [as commemorated by Jehovah's Witnesses]"
102.Jump up ^ "Note about JW adherent/member/publisher statistics", Adherents.com, Retrieved 2010-08-12, "[Their own] standard for being counted as a "member" means the Jehovah's Witness statistics are perhaps the most conservative figures presented by any religious group. A more realistic measure of how many "adherents" the group has can probably be obtained by looking at their Memorial attendance figures. These figures are simply the count of people at their yearly communion meeting. Attendance at a yearly meeting may not seem like a high standard for being counted as an adherent, but it is actually the standard used by groups such as Anglicans to issue estimates of "active" membership."
103.Jump up ^ Only about half the number who self-identified as Jehovah's Witnesses in independent demographic studies are considered "active" by the faith itself. See The Association of Religion Data Archives
104.Jump up ^ "U.S. Religious Landscape Survey Religious Affiliation: Diverse and Dynamic". Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. February 2008. pp. 9, 30.
105.Jump up ^ "Helping Others to Worship God", The Watchtower, November 15, 1988, page 19
External links[edit]
##Official Website of Jehovah's Witnesses
##Watchtower Online Library, searchable editions of most current Jehovah's Witnesses publications
##BBC: Jehovah's Witnesses - Structure
  



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Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses

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Part of a series on
Jehovah's Witnesses

Overview

Organizational structure
Governing Body
Watch Tower Bible
 and Tract Society
Corporations

History
Bible Student movement
Leadership dispute
Splinter groups
Doctrinal development
Unfulfilled predictions

Demographics
By country


Beliefs ·
 Practices
 
Salvation ·
 Eschatology

The 144,000
Faithful and discreet slave
Hymns ·
 God's name

Blood ·
 Discipline


Literature

The Watchtower ·
 Awake!

New World Translation
List of publications
Bibliography

Teaching programs

Kingdom Hall ·
 Gilead School


People

Watch Tower presidents

W. H. Conley ·
 C. T. Russell

J. F. Rutherford ·
 N. H. Knorr

F. W. Franz ·
 M. G. Henschel

D. A. Adams

Formative influences

William Miller ·
 Henry Grew

George Storrs ·
 N. H. Barbour

John Nelson Darby


Notable former members

Raymond Franz ·
 Olin Moyle


Opposition

Criticism ·
 Persecution

Supreme Court cases
 by country

v ·
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 e
   
Jehovah's Witnesses are organized hierarchically,[1] and are led by the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses from the Watch Tower Society's headquarters in Brooklyn, New York. The Governing Body, along with other "helpers", are organized into six committees responsible for various administrative functions within the global Witness community, including publication, assembly programs and evangelizing activity.[2]
The Governing Body and its committees supervise operations of nearly one hundred branch offices worldwide. Each branch office oversees the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses in a particular country or region, and may include facilities for the publication and distribution of Watch Tower Society literature. Directly appointed by the Governing Body, branch committees supervise administrative functions for congregations in their jurisdiction. Congregations are further organized into circuits of about twenty congregations each. The Governing Body directly appoints circuit overseers as its representatives to supervise activities within circuits. Headquarters representatives visit groups of branch offices to provide instruction and report the branch's activities to the Governing Body.
Each congregation is served by a group of locally recommended male elders and ministerial servants, appointed by the circuit overseer. Elders take responsibility for congregational governance, pastoral work, setting meeting times, selecting speakers, conducting meetings, directing the public preaching work, and forming judicial committees to investigate and decide disciplinary action in cases where members are believed to have committed serious sins. Ministerial servants fulfill clerical and attendant duties, but may also teach and conduct meetings.[2]



Contents  [hide]
1 Governing Body
2 Branch offices
3 Traveling overseers
4 Congregations 4.1 Elders
4.2 Ministerial servants
4.3 Baptized publishers 4.3.1 Children
4.4 Unbaptized publishers
4.5 Students
4.6 Associates
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

Governing Body[edit]
Main article: Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses
The organization is directed by the Governing Body—an all-male group that varies in size, but since March 2014 has comprised seven members,[3]—based in the Watchtower Society's Brooklyn, New York headquarters. Each of the Governing Body members claims to be of the "anointed class" with a hope of heavenly life (whereas most Jehovah's Witnesses hope to be resurrected in an earthly paradise).[4][5] There are no elections for membership; new members are selected by the existing body.[6] Each of its members serves as chairman, with the position rotating among members alphabetically each year.[7] Until late 2012, the Governing Body described itself as the representative[8] and "spokesman"[9] of God's "faithful and discreet slave class" (approximately 10,000 Jehovah's Witnesses who profess to be "anointed"),[10][11] providing "spiritual food" for Witnesses worldwide on behalf of the "faithful and discreet slave class". In practice it sought neither advice nor approval from other "anointed" Witnesses when formulating policies and doctrines, or when producing material for publications and conventions.[12][13] At the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Watch Tower Society, the "faithful and discreet slave" was re-defined as referring to the Governing Body only.[14]
From 1944, Watch Tower publications had made occasional references to a governing body,[15] identifying it with the board of directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.[16] In October 1971, four additional men joined the seven members of the Society's board of directors on what became known as a separate, expanded Governing Body. The Governing Body was then for the first time formally defined, indicating that it provided the religion with direction, guidance and regulation,[17][18] although all doctrinal and publishing decisions continued to be made by, or were subject to, the approval of the Society's president.[19] Organizational changes at the highest levels of the Watchtower Society in 1976 significantly increased the powers and authority of the Governing Body and reduced those of the Watch Tower Society president.[20]
The Governing Body directs six committees comprising its members along with its "helpers"; the six committees are responsible for various administrative functions including personnel, publishing, evangelizing activity, school and assembly programs, writing, and coordination.[2] The Governing Body directly appoints all headquarters representatives, circuit overseers, collectively referred to as "traveling overseers", and also appoints branch office committee members.[21] Only branch committee members and traveling overseers are referred to as "representatives of the Governing Body".
In the last decade, the Governing Body has reiterated its overall oversight role but has delegated other Witnesses, typically branch committee members, to serve as corporate executives and directors of Watch Tower and other incorporated entities.[22][23]
See also: Corporations of Jehovah's Witnesses
Branch offices[edit]
Jehovah's Witnesses operate 91 branch offices worldwide,[24] grouped into thirty global "zones", each under the oversight of a headquarters representative who visits each of his assigned branches every few years, auditing operations, counseling branch committee members, department heads and missionaries, and reporting back to the Governing Body.[25][26] Each branch office is referred to as Bethel.[27] The United States branch office, spread across three New York State locations with a staff of more than 5000,[28] also serves as the international headquarters.
Branch offices, operated by Witness volunteers known as Bethel families, produce and distribute Bible-based literature and communicate with congregations within their jurisdiction.[29] Full-time staff at branch offices take a vow of poverty and are members of a religious order.[30] Each branch is overseen by a committee of three or more elders, which is appointed by the Governing Body. A Service Department in each branch corresponds with congregations and supervises the work of traveling overseers. Branch offices may also have departments responsible for printing, translation and legal representation.



 New York headquarters of Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
Each branch office appoints various committees in its jurisdiction's communities, with local elders as members. Committees may include:
##Hospital Liaison Committee
##Patient Visitation Group
##Regional Building Committee
##Assembly Hall Committee
##District Convention Committee[31]
##Disaster Relief Committee[32]
Traveling overseers[edit]
Jehovah's Witnesses use the term traveling overseer to refer to headquarters representatives and circuit overseers, all of whom are elders . All traveling overseers are directly appointed by the Governing Body.[33][34] A branch may appoint qualified local elders as "substitute" circuit overseers. Additional training is provided at their School for Traveling Overseers, and ongoing pastoral care and instruction is provided to them by senior branch office representatives. In 1995, Witnesses reported that 4374 traveling overseers cared for 78,620 congregations, an average of about 18 congregations each.[35]
The majority of traveling overseers are circuit overseers; they oversee circuits of about twenty congregations, performing twice-yearly week-long visits with each.[36][37][38] During his visit, the circuit overseer delivers talks to the congregation and meets with the elders, ministerial servants and pioneers. He is responsible for appointing new elders and ministerial servants, based on recommendations by elders.[39] He typically works with various members of the congregation in the house-to-house preaching work, and may also conduct personal Bible studies and pastoral calls.
Jehovah's Witnesses are instructed to "participate in a joyful interchange of encouragement" with traveling overseers,[40] and to render them "double honor", a biblical term[41] they believe includes cooperation and hospitality.[42][43] Traveling overseers are generally members of a religious order who have taken a vow of poverty; they are provided with vehicles, healthcare, and lodging, and their basic expenses are reimbursed by the congregations they visit.[44]
Congregations[edit]
Congregations are usually based on geographical area or language spoken, and may have as few as ten or as many as two hundred members.[45][46][47] Congregations meet for religious services at Kingdom Halls, which may be shared by two or more congregations. If a small group of Witnesses is isolated by geography or language, it may have some or all of its meetings at a different time and place to the rest of the congregation, under the supervision of that congregation's body of elders. If a group intends to become a new congregation, the area's circuit overseer submits an application to the branch office.[48]
Each congregation is assigned a territory; members are requested to attend the congregation of the territory in which they reside.[49] Members also meet in smaller "field service groups", often at private homes, prior to engaging in organized door-to-door preaching. Each field service group has an appointed "group overseer" (an elder) or "group servant" (a ministerial servant).[50] Witnesses are instructed to devote as much time as possible to preaching activities ("witnessing" or "field service"), and to provide a monthly report to their congregation summarizing their preaching activity.[51] Jehovah's Witnesses consider all baptized Witnesses to be ministers.[52] Participants in organized preaching activity are referred to as publishers.[53] Only individuals who are approved and active as publishers are officially counted as members.[54]
Congregations are governed by local elders,[55][56] who are assisted by ministerial servants. Elders and ministerial servants are appointed in each congregation for handling various religious and administrative duties. Only male members may serve in the capacity of elder or ministerial servant. In smaller congregations, one man may handle multiple positions until another qualified candidate is available. Baptized female members may perform some of their duties only if a baptized male is unavailable; female Witnesses leading in prayer or teaching are required to wear a head covering.[57]
Elders[edit]
Each congregation has a body of elders, who are responsible for congregational governance, pastoral work, selecting speakers and conducting meetings, directing the public preaching work and creating "judicial committees" to investigate and decide disciplinary action for cases that are seen to breach scriptural laws.
There are no secular educational requirements for elders; however, training programs are offered for elders within the organization. Elders are considered "overseers" based on the biblical Greek term, ἐπίσκοπος (episkopos, typically translated "bishop"). Prospective elders are recommended from among ministerial servants and former elders by the local elder body for appointment by the circuit overseer.
Particular roles within the body of elders include:
##Coordinator of the Body of Elders: chairs elders' meetings, assigns duties and speakers for most congregation meetings, and cares for certain financial matters.
##Service Overseer: organizes matters related to public preaching, and oversees those handling Witness literature and territories.[58]
##Congregation Secretary: maintains congregation records, reports congregation activity to the branch office, advises the congregation about conventions and assemblies, and oversees those handling accounts.[59]
##Watchtower Study Conductor: leads the weekly study of The Watchtower.[60]
##Theocratic Ministry School Overseer: conducts the Theocratic Ministry School, assigns student assignments, counsels students with a goal to improving their preaching skills, and conducts bi-monthly question-and-answer reviews.[61][62]
##Auxiliary Counselor: responsible for providing private counsel, as needed, to elders or ministerial servants that handle meeting parts.
##Operating Committee Members: responsible for the care of the building and property of Kingdom Halls that are shared by two or more congregations.
##Group Overseers: oversees groups for public preaching and pastoral care.[63]
##Public Talk Coordinator: schedules speakers and talks for public meetings and co-ordinates traveling speakers from his congregation.
Ministerial servants[edit]
Ministerial servants, equivalent to deacons, are appointed to assist the elders with routine work, including the supply of literature to the congregation, accounts, maintaining the Kingdom Hall, and operating audio equipment. They also present various parts at the meetings. Ministerial servants are appointed in a similar manner to elders.[2]
The following roles are normally filled by ministerial servants:
##Accounts Servant: collects donations from contribution boxes after each meeting, deposits moneys, pays bills.
##Sound Servant:[64] coordinates and schedules others to run microphones, handle the stage and podium and operate audio equipment; in large congregations, a separate Platform Servant may also be assigned.
##Literature Servant: distributes literature in stock, takes requests for special items, or yearly items for use by congregation members. May place special request orders for publishers in their own Kingdom Hall.
##Literature Coordinator: orders and receives stock and bulk literature for multiple congregations meeting at a single Kingdom Hall.
##Magazine Servant: arranges orders of study, simplified, foreign language, and non-print editions of The Watchtower and Awake! magazines.
##Magazine Coordinator: orders and receives all magazines for congregations meeting at a single Kingdom Hall, and stocks them in a designated magazine pickup area.
##Territory Servant: distributes territory maps for preaching and keeps records of all territories within the local congregation's area.
##Attendant Servant: greets visitors, seats latecomers, takes attendance count, and is responsible for climate control of the Kingdom Hall and parking lot security.
##Theocratic Ministry School Assistant: distributes assignments to Ministry School students, times student talks; may make reminder phone calls to students with upcoming talks and conduct auxiliary schools.
##Group Servant: assumes role of Group Overseer when a sufficient number of elders is not available, under supervision of the body of elders.
Baptized publishers[edit]
Baptized publishers are members who have been publicly baptized following conversion to the faith. Jehovah's Witnesses do not practice infant baptism,[65] and previous baptisms performed by other denominations are not considered valid.[66] Prior to baptism, they are required to respond to a series of questions to assess their suitability, and to make a personal dedication to serve God.[67] Baptisms are typically performed at assemblies and conventions. From the moment of baptism, the organization officially considers the person to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and an ordained minister.[68]
Regular publishers do not have a specific quota of hours for preaching each month, although publishers are requested to "set goals such as reaching [the] national average of hours for publishers".[69] Publishers are typically each required to report at least one hour per month to be counted as a 'regular publisher'. Only whole hours are reported; incomplete hours are carried over to the next month.[70] Elders may allow certain publishers to count fifteen-minute increments if limited by special circumstances such as advanced age or serious health conditions. Publishers who fail to report for one month are termed "irregular";[71] those who do not report for six consecutive months are classed as "inactive".[72] The terms irregular and inactive are used to indicate members in need of 'spiritual assistance' from the local congregation elders. Yearly reports of congregation activity are compiled and published annually in a Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. Those habitually 'irregular' or 'inactive' are usually restricted from serving in any special capacity.
Baptized publishers in 'good standing' may serve in various special preaching capacities:
##Auxiliary pioneers: make a commitment of thirty or fifty hours of preaching activities for a given month. This can be performed on a per month or ongoing basis.
##Regular pioneers: make a commitment of an average of seventy hours of preaching activity each month, totaling 840 hours for the year.[73] For congregation elders to recommend appointment of a regular pioneer, a publisher must be baptized for at least six months and be considered an exemplary member of the congregation. Members who have been reproved or reinstated in the last year may not serve as regular pioneers.[74]
##Special pioneers: assigned by a branch to perform special activity, such as preaching in remote areas, which may require at least 130 hours per month. Special pioneers receive a stipend for basic living expenses.
##Missionaries: sent to foreign countries to preach. They spend at least 130 hours per month in preaching. Before assignment to a location, missionaries may receive training at Gilead School. Missionaries receive a stipend for basic living expenses.
Children[edit]
When accompanied by adults, children of baptized Witnesses may participate in organized preaching without formally qualifying. However, only those recognized as publishers are counted in the religion's official membership statistics.[75] Children of Witness parents may be asked to participate in demonstrations at congregation meetings and assemblies, or as models and actors in materials published by the Watch Tower Society.[76]
Unbaptized publishers[edit]
Unbaptized publishers are persons who are not yet baptized, but who have requested and been granted approval to join in the congregation's formal ministry. They must demonstrate a basic knowledge of Jehovah's Witnesses' doctrines to the elders, state their desire to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and conform to the organization's moral standards.[77] To qualify as an unbaptized publisher, an individual must already be "an active associate of Jehovah's Witnesses", regularly attending congregation meetings.[78]
Prior to 1988, unbaptized publishers were referred to as "approved associates", "unbaptized associates" or "regularly associating".[79][80] The terms were discontinued on the basis that meeting attendance on its own does not constitute approval of or commitment to the faith.[78][81][82]
Students[edit]
The term Bible student, sometimes informally referred to as a "Bible study",[83] is generally used by Witnesses to refer to an individual who takes part in their religious study program. The purpose of the Bible study program is for the student to become baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses.[84]
Students usually have their study with the same Witness for the duration of the study program, often being the member who first encounters them while preaching. Interested individuals initially contacted by a member of the opposite sex are typically assigned a study conductor of their own gender.[85] A student typically meets with his or her study conductor once each week at the student's home or other suitable location. The study program involves consideration of a Bible-based publication that addresses Jehovah's Witnesses' core beliefs. Each paragraph is read aloud by the conductor or student, and the student answers pre-printed questions from the material in the paragraph. Students are encouraged to look up cited scriptures in the Bible and include them in their responses.[86] Each Bible study is typically conducted with an individual or family,[87][88] though in some cases many people may take part.[89]
Students are invited to attend and even comment at congregation meetings.[90][91][92] If they attend meetings regularly and are considered to demonstrate progress toward becoming an unbaptized publisher, they may receive a copy of the monthly newsletter Our Kingdom Ministry,[93] and may also qualify to join the congregation's Theocratic Ministry School. Students may also attend reading-improvement or literacy classes in congregations where these additional courses are held.[94][95][96]
Associates[edit]
Individuals who attend meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses but are not involved in preaching are occasionally referred to in Watch Tower Society publications as "associates" or as being "associated with the congregation".[97][98][99] Attendance figures for Witness events include "Jehovah's Witnesses and associates";[100][101] such statistics may be cited for comparison of Witness numbers with membership figures of other religions,[102][103][104] but only those sharing in their ministry are counted by Jehovah's Witnesses when reporting their official statistics.
Unbaptized individuals who attend meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses are not subject to congregation discipline, though elders may privately warn members of the congregation about individuals considered to constitute "an unusual threat to the flock."[105]
See also[edit]
##Jehovah's Witnesses beliefs
##Jehovah's Witnesses practices
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "Court Trial Testimony Redwood City" (PDF). Superior Court of the State of California. February 22, 2012. "I am general counsel for the National Organization of Jehovah's Witnesses out of Brooklyn, New York. ... We are a hierarchical religion structured just like the Catholic Church."
2.^ Jump up to: a b c d Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 211–252. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
3.Jump up ^ Twelve members as of September 2005 (The Watchtower, March 15, 2006, page 26)
 Schroeder died March 8, 2006 (The Watchtower, September 15, 2006, page 31)
 Sydlik died April 18, 2006 (The Watchtower, January 1, 2007, page 8)
 Barber died April 8, 2007 (The Watchtower, October 15, 2007, page 31)
 Jaracz died June 9, 2010 (The Watchtower, November 15, 2010, page 23)
 Barr died December 4, 2010 (The Watchtower, May 15, 2011, page 6)
 Pierce died March 18, 2014 ("Guy H. Pierce, Member of the Governing Body, Dies at 79")
4.Jump up ^ Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. 2007 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. pp. 4, 6.
5.Jump up ^ Botting, Heather & Gary (1984). The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 178. ISBN 0-8020-6545-7.
6.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). In Search of Christian Freedom. Commentary Press. p. 123. ISBN 0-914675-17-6.
7.Jump up ^ Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. 1975. p. 250.
8.Jump up ^ "Seek God's guidance in all things", The Watchtower, April 15, 2008, page 11.
9.Jump up ^ "How the Governing Body Is Organized", The Watchtower, May 15, 2008, page 29.
10.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). In Search of Christian Freedom. Commentary Press. p. 153. ISBN 0-914675-17-6.
11.Jump up ^ 2011 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide Report 2010 Grand Totals, page 31
12.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). In Search of Christian Freedom. Commentary Press. pp. 154–164. ISBN 0-914675-17-6.
13.Jump up ^ "The faithful steward and its governing body", The Watchtower, June 15, 2009, page 24.
14.Jump up ^ "Annual Meeting Report".
15.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, November 1, 1944, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, p.74 footnote.
16.Jump up ^ 1970 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, Watchtower Society, page 65
17.Jump up ^ "A Governing Body as Different from a Legal Corporation". The Watchtower: 755. 15 December 1971. Article discusses formal definition of Governing Body, and makes first use of capitalized term.
18.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower: 703. November 15, 1972.
19.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2000). "3-4". Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press, Third edition, Second printing. pp. 42–108. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
20.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 44–110. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
21.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, January 15, 2001, pages 14-15
22.Jump up ^ "Jehovah’s Glory Shines on His People", The Watchtower, July 1, 2002, page 17
23.Jump up ^ "New Corporations Formed", Our Kingdom Ministry, January 2002, page 7
24.Jump up ^ 2014 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. 2014. p. 176.
25.Jump up ^ 1978 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses p. 20
26.Jump up ^ "Declaring the Good News Without Letup", Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, page 101.
27.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, 1 August 1997, p. 9
28.Jump up ^ 2003 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 24; "In all, the United States Bethel family numbers 5,465."
29.Jump up ^ Jehovah’s Witnesses—Unitedly Doing God’s Will Worldwide, p. 25-27
30.Jump up ^ "Trust in Jehovah!", The Watchtower, December 15, 1993, page 13.
31.Jump up ^ "Positions of Responsibility in the Organization", Organized to Do Jehovah's Will, ©2005 Watch Tower, page 45
32.Jump up ^ "“God Is Not Partial”", Bearing Witness, ©2009 Watch Tower, page 76, "Branch Committees quickly organize the formation of relief committees to look after our brothers who may be affected by natural disasters, including hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis."
33.Jump up ^ The Watchtower: 20. 15 March 1990. Missing or empty |title= (help)
34.Jump up ^ African American Religious Cultures: A-R by Stephen C. Finley, Torin Alexander, Greenwood Publishing, ABC-CLIO, 2009, page 201
35.Jump up ^ "Jehovah’s Witnesses—1996 Yearbook Report", 1996 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, ©1995 Watch Tower, page 9, "4,374 care for assignments that require them to travel from one assembly to another in an assigned district or from one congregation to another in a circuit"
36.Jump up ^ "Traveling Overseers—Gifts in Men", The Watchtower, November 15, 1996, page 10
37.Jump up ^ Jehovah’s Witnesses—Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom p. 19.
38.Jump up ^ "Development of the Organization Structure", Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, page 223.
39.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower: 28–30. 15 November 2014.
40.Jump up ^ "An Interchange of Encouragement for All", Our Kingdom Ministry, October 2007, ©CCJW, page 8
41.Jump up ^ (1 Timothy 5:17-18, NWT) "Let the older men who preside in a fine way be reckoned worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard in speaking and teaching. 18 For the scripture says: “You must not muzzle a bull when it threshes out the grain”".
42.Jump up ^ "The “Divine Peace” District Convention—Just What We Needed!", The Watchtower, January 15, 1987, page 29, "[T]raveling overseers...are, indeed, worthy of double honor because of their many duties. These include giving talks, helping out with problems, training brothers in witnessing, and visiting the physically or spiritually sick. Truly, all traveling overseers deserve our full cooperation and Lydialike hospitality."
43.Jump up ^ "Honor", Insight on the Scriptures, Vol 1, ©1988 Watch Tower, page 1136, "Elders who worked hard in teaching were to be given “double honor,” which evidently included material aid. (1Ti 5:17, 18)"
44.Jump up ^ "Traveling Overseers—Fellow Workers in the Truth", Doing God's Will, ©1986 Watch Tower, page 21
45.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses in the Twentieth Century, page 25
46.Jump up ^ 1983 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, p. 118, "Australia"
47.Jump up ^ It is recommended but not required that members attend the congregation of the territory in which they reside. See "What are the advantages of attending the congregation that holds the territory where we live?", Our Kingdom Ministry, November 2002, page 7
48.Jump up ^ "Methods of Preaching the Good News", Organized to Do Jehovah's Will, ©2005 Watch Tower, page 106-107
49.Jump up ^ "What are the advantages of attending the congregation that holds the territory where we live?", Our Kingdom Ministry, November 2002, page 7
50.Jump up ^ "New Congregation Meeting Schedule", Our Kingdom Ministry, October 2008, page 1.
51.Jump up ^ Botting, Heather; Botting, Gary (1984). The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 52. ISBN 0-8020-2537-4.
52.Jump up ^ Watchtower 10/15/62 p. 626 "Is Every Witness a Minister?"
53.Jump up ^ True Worship Means Action The Watchtower September 1, 1965, p. 533.
54.Jump up ^ Our Kingdom Ministry 2/02 p. 5 par. 18 “Preach the Word of God Fully”
55.Jump up ^ Watchtower 1/1/72 p. 9 par. 1
56.Jump up ^ Watchtower 10/15/74 p. 630 How Are Jehovah’s Witnesses Different?
57.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers", The Watchtower, July 15, 2002, page 27, "While sharing in certain congregation activities, Christian women may need to wear a head covering. At a midweek meeting for field service, for example, there may only be Christian sisters present, no baptized males. There may be other occasions when no baptized males are present at a congregation meeting. If a sister has to handle duties usually performed by a brother at a congregationally arranged meeting or meeting for field service, she should wear a head covering."
58.Jump up ^ Our Kingdom Ministry 9/98 p. 3 pars. 1-4 Overseers Taking the Lead
59.Jump up ^ Our Kingdom Ministry 10/98 p. 7 par. 1-2 Overseers Taking the Lead—The Secretary, "As a member of the Congregation Service Committee, he cares for the congregation’s communications and important records. ... He directly oversees those handling accounts and subscriptions as well as all convention-related matters."
60.Jump up ^ Our Kingdom Ministry 12/98 p. 8 Overseers Taking the Lead—The Watchtower Study Conductor
61.Jump up ^ Our Kingdom Ministry 11/98 p. 8 Overseers Taking the Lead—The Theocratic Ministry School Overseer
62.Jump up ^ Our Kingdom Ministry, 10/07 p. 3 Theocratic Ministry School Schedule for 2008'
63.Jump up ^ The Congregation Book Study—Why We Need It, Our Kingdom Ministry June 2004, p. 4 pars. 4-5.
64.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, September 1, 2000 page 26; and September 1, 1997, page 26
65.Jump up ^ "Should Babies Be Baptized?". The Watchtower. March 15, 1986, page=4–7. Check date values in: |date= (help)
66.Jump up ^ "Why One Must Be Baptized". The Watchtower: 406. July 1, 1956.
67.Jump up ^ "Why Be Baptized?", The Watchtower, April 1, 2002, p. 13.
68.Jump up ^ "Overseers and Ministerial Servants Theocratically Appointed", The Watchtower, January 15, 2001, page 12, "At their baptism, new disciples are ordained as ministers of Jehovah God. Who ordains them? ...Jehovah God himself!"
69.Jump up ^ "Meetings to Help Us Make Disciples", Our Kingdom Ministry, November 1987, page 2, "...set goals such as reaching national average of hours for publishers"
70.Jump up ^ Our Kingdom Ministry 9/88 p. 3 Report Field Service Accurately'
71.Jump up ^ Our Kingdom Ministry December 1987, p. 7.
72.Jump up ^ Our Kingdom Ministry October 1982, p. 1.
73.Jump up ^ Our Kingdom Ministry 8/99 p. 3 par. 3 " regular pioneers need to devote 70 hours to the ministry each month for a total of 840 hours per service year."
74.Jump up ^ "Continued Increase Calls for Simplification of Procedures", Our Kingdom Ministry, August 1986, page 6, "A full year must have passed from the time a judicial reproof was given or since reinstatement following disfellowshipping before one could be considered for auxiliary or regular pioneer service. Furthermore, a person who is currently under any restrictions by a judicial committee would not qualify for such pioneer service privileges until all restrictions are removed."
75.Jump up ^ "Question Box: To what extent may young children of Christian parents share in the field ministry before they are recognized as unbaptized publishers?", Our Kingdom Ministry, October 1992, page 7, "[Witness] parents can decide to what extent a child can share in giving a witness as they work together. Children who are not yet recognized as unbaptized publishers should not make calls on their own or accompany other children in field service."
76.Jump up ^ "Meetings that Incite to Love and Fine Works", Organized to Do Jehovah's Will, ©2005 Watch Tower, page 66
77.Jump up ^ Questions From Readers, The Watchtower, December 1, 1989, p. 31.
78.^ Jump up to: a b "Ministers of the Good News", Organized to Do Jehovah's Will, ©2005 Watch Tower, page 81
79.Jump up ^ "Subheading: Approved Associates", Organized to Accomplish Our Ministry, ©1983 Watch Tower, pages 97-100
80.Jump up ^ "Question Box", Our Kingdom Ministry, October 1975, page 8, "Rather, the persons referred to as "regularly associating" are those who have made some progress in the way of truth and who have been attending meetings regularly over a period of time."
81.Jump up ^ "Helping Others to Worship God", The Watchtower, November 15, 1988, page 17, "Previously, an unbaptized person who qualified to share in the field ministry was termed an "approved associate." However, "unbaptized publisher" is a more accurate designation"
82.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers", The Watchtower, February 15, 1989, page 29
83.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, November 1, 1992, page 26, "See What Jehovah Has Done for Us!"
84.Jump up ^ "Conduct Progressive Doorstep and Telephone Bible Studies", Our Kingdom Ministry, April 2006, page 3
85.Jump up ^ "Question Box". Our Kingdom Ministry: 2. May 1997.
86.Jump up ^ What Does The Bible Really Teach? © Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania 2005. | p. 7 Is This What God Purposed?”
87.Jump up ^ "FAQ: What Is a Bible Study?", JW.org, Retrieved 2012-09-06
88.Jump up ^ Our Ministry: Person-to-person ministry, JW-Media.org, Retrieved 2012-09-06, "If a Witness finds someone who is interested in learning more about the Bible, further discussions can be arranged, or an appointment for a weekly home Bible study can be made."
89.Jump up ^ "Russia", 2008 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 231
90.Jump up ^ Our Kingdom Ministry, October 1986, page 7
91.Jump up ^ Our Kingdom Ministry, April 1997, page 3-4
92.Jump up ^ "Pay Attention to Your “Art of Teaching”", The Watchtower, January 15, 2008, page 11
93.Jump up ^ "Question Box", Our Kingdom Ministry, February 1987, page 8, "All baptized publishers and approved associates should receive a copy. Those who regularly attend the Service Meeting and who are making progress toward sharing in the field ministry should also receive a copy."
94.Jump up ^ "Chapter 7 Meetings that 'Incite to Love and Fine Works'", Organized to Do Jehovah's Will, ©2005 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, subheading "Theocratic Ministry School", page 68
95.Jump up ^ "Guidelines for School Overseers", Benefit From Theocratic Ministry School Education, ©2002 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, page 282
96.Jump up ^ "Apply Yourself to Reading", Benefit From Theocratic Ministry School Education, ©2002 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, page 21
97.Jump up ^ "Do Not Forget Those Who Are Inactive", Our Kingdom Ministry, February 2007, page 8
98.Jump up ^ "Unitedly Building to Praise God", The Watchtower, November 1, 2006, page 20
99.Jump up ^ "Are You Ready to Attend?", Awake!, May 8, 1986, page 24
100.Jump up ^ "Press release June 24, 2000", JW-Media.org Jehovah's Witnesses Official Media Web Site, As Retrieved 2010-08-12, "Jehovah’s Witnesses, who have more than 14 million members and associates worldwide"
101.Jump up ^ "‘Blessings Are for the Righteous One’", The Watchtower, July 15, 2001, page 25, "In the year 2000, over 14 million attended the Memorial of Jesus’ death [as commemorated by Jehovah's Witnesses]"
102.Jump up ^ "Note about JW adherent/member/publisher statistics", Adherents.com, Retrieved 2010-08-12, "[Their own] standard for being counted as a "member" means the Jehovah's Witness statistics are perhaps the most conservative figures presented by any religious group. A more realistic measure of how many "adherents" the group has can probably be obtained by looking at their Memorial attendance figures. These figures are simply the count of people at their yearly communion meeting. Attendance at a yearly meeting may not seem like a high standard for being counted as an adherent, but it is actually the standard used by groups such as Anglicans to issue estimates of "active" membership."
103.Jump up ^ Only about half the number who self-identified as Jehovah's Witnesses in independent demographic studies are considered "active" by the faith itself. See The Association of Religion Data Archives
104.Jump up ^ "U.S. Religious Landscape Survey Religious Affiliation: Diverse and Dynamic". Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. February 2008. pp. 9, 30.
105.Jump up ^ "Helping Others to Worship God", The Watchtower, November 15, 1988, page 19
External links[edit]
##Official Website of Jehovah's Witnesses
##Watchtower Online Library, searchable editions of most current Jehovah's Witnesses publications
##BBC: Jehovah's Witnesses - Structure
  



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Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

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Part of a series on
Jehovah's Witnesses

Overview

Organizational structure
Governing Body
Watch Tower Bible
 and Tract Society
Corporations

History
Bible Student movement
Leadership dispute
Splinter groups
Doctrinal development
Unfulfilled predictions

Demographics
By country


Beliefs ·
 Practices
 
Salvation ·
 Eschatology

The 144,000
Faithful and discreet slave
Hymns ·
 God's name

Blood ·
 Discipline


Literature

The Watchtower ·
 Awake!

New World Translation
List of publications
Bibliography

Teaching programs

Kingdom Hall ·
 Gilead School


People

Watch Tower presidents

W. H. Conley ·
 C. T. Russell

J. F. Rutherford ·
 N. H. Knorr

F. W. Franz ·
 M. G. Henschel

D. A. Adams

Formative influences

William Miller ·
 Henry Grew

George Storrs ·
 N. H. Barbour

John Nelson Darby


Notable former members

Raymond Franz ·
 Olin Moyle


Opposition

Criticism ·
 Persecution

Supreme Court cases
 by country

v ·
 t ·
 e
   
The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses is the ruling council of Jehovah's Witnesses[1] based in Brooklyn, New York. The body formulates doctrines, oversees the production of written material for publications and conventions, and administers the group's worldwide operations.[2][3] Official publications refer to members of the Governing Body as followers of Christ rather than religious leaders.[4]
Its size has varied, from seven (2014–present)[5] to eighteen (1974–1980)[6] members.[7][8] As of March 2014, there are seven members.[5][9] New members of the Governing Body are selected by existing members.[10]



Contents  [hide]
1 History 1.1 Reorganization
1.2 Headquarters purge
1.3 Helpers
1.4 2000 and beyond
2 Committees
3 Representatives
4 Relationship with "faithful and discreet slave"
5 Governing Body members 5.1 Current
5.2 Former
6 See also
7 References

History
Since its incorporation in 1884, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania has been directed by a president and board of directors. Until January 1976, the president exercised complete control of doctrines, publications and activities of the Watch Tower Society and the religious denominations with which it was connected—the Bible Students and Jehovah's Witnesses.[11][12][13] When the Society's second president, J.F. Rutherford, encountered opposition from directors in 1917, he dismissed them. In 1925 he overruled the Watch Tower Society's editorial committee when it opposed publication of an article about disputed doctrines regarding the year 1914. In 1931, the editorial committee was dissolved.[14][15]
In 1943 The Watchtower described the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society as the "legal governing body" of anointed Jehovah's Witnesses.[16] A year later, in an article opposing the democratic election of congregation elders, the magazine said the appointment of such ones was the duty of "a visible governing body under Jehovah God and his Christ."[17] For several years, the role and specific identity of the governing body remained otherwise undefined. A 1955 organizational handbook stated that "the visible governing body has been closely identified with the board of directors of this corporation."[18] Referring to events related to their 1957 convention, a 1959 publication said "the spiritual governing body of Jehovah’s witnesses watched the developments [then] the president of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society [acted]."[19] The 1970 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses noted that the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania was the organization used to plan the activity of Jehovah's Witnesses and provide them with "spiritual food", then declared: "So really the governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses is the board of directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania."[20]



Frederick Franz at Watch Tower Society headquarters in Brooklyn.
On October 1, 1971, Watch Tower Society vice-president Frederick Franz addressed the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania corporation in Buckingham, Pennsylvania, stating that the legal corporation of the Watch Tower Society was an "agency" or "temporary instrument" used by the Governing Body on behalf of the "faithful and discreet slave".[21] Three weeks later, on October 20, four additional men joined the seven members of the Society's board of directors on what became known as a separate, expanded Governing Body.[22] The board of directors had until then met only sporadically, usually to discuss the purchase of property or new equipment, leaving decisions about Watch Tower Society literature to the president and vice-president, Nathan Knorr and Fred Franz.[21][23] The Watchtower of December 15, 1971 was the first to unambiguously capitalize the term "Governing Body of Jehovah's witnesses" as the defined group leading the religion, with a series of articles explaining its role and its relationship with the Watch Tower Society.[2][24]
The focus on the new concept of "theocratic" leadership was accompanied by statements that the structure was not actually new: The Watch Tower declared that "a governing body made its appearance" some time after the formation of Zion's Watch Tower Society in 1884,[25] though it had not been referred to as such at the time.[11] The article stated that Watch Tower Society president Charles Taze Russell had been a member of the governing body.[25] The 1972 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses stated that following Rutherford's death in 1942 "one of the first things that the governing body decided upon was the inauguration of the Theocratic Ministry School" and added that the "governing body" had published millions of books and Bibles in the previous thirty years.[26] Former member of the Governing Body, Raymond Franz, stated that the actions of presidents Russell, Rutherford and Knorr in overriding and failing to consult with directors proved the Bible Students and Jehovah's Witnesses had been under a monarchical rule until 1976, leaving no decisions to any "governing body".[27]
In 1972, a Question From Readers article in The Watchtower further reinforced the concept of the "Governing Body"; the magazine said the term referred to an agency that administers policy and provides organizational direction, guidance and regulation and was therefore "appropriate, fitting and Scriptural."[24][28] Organizational changes at the highest levels of the Watch Tower Society in 1976 significantly increased the powers and authority of the Governing Body.[29] The body has never had a legal corporate existence and operates through the Watch Tower Society and its board of directors.[30]
Reorganization
After its formal establishment in 1971, the Governing Body met regularly but, according to Raymond Franz, only briefly; Franz claims meetings were sometimes as short as seven minutes,[31] to make decisions about branch appointments and conduct that should be considered disfellowshipping offenses.[32][33] Franz claims that in 1971 and again in 1975, the Governing Body debated the extent of the authority it should be given.[34] The Governing Body voted in December 1975 to establish six operating committees to oversee the various administrative requirement of the organization's worldwide activities that formerly had been under the direction of the president; furthermore, each branch overseer was to be replaced by a branch committee of at least three members.[35] The change, which took effect on January 1, 1976, was described in the Watch Tower Society's 1993 history book, Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, as "one of the most significant organizational readjustments in the modern-day history of Jehovah's Witnesses."[36]
Headquarters purge
In 1980, dissent arose among members of the Governing Body regarding the significance of 1914 in Jehovah's Witnesses' doctrines. According to former Witnesses James Penton and Heather and Gary Botting, internal dissatisfaction with official doctrines continued to grow, leading to a series of secret investigations and judicial hearings. Consequently, dissenting members were expelled from the Brooklyn headquarters staff in the same year.[37][38][39] Raymond Franz claimed he was forced to resign from the Governing Body, and he was later disfellowshipped from the religion.
The Watch Tower Society responded to the dissent with a more severe attitude regarding the treatment of expelled Witnesses.[37][38][40] In his 1997 study of the religion, Penton concluded that since Raymond Franz's expulsion in 1980, the Governing Body displayed an increased level of conservatism, sturdy resistance to changes of policy and doctrines, and an increased tendency to isolate dissidents within the organization by means of disfellowshipping.[41]
Helpers
The April 15, 1992 issue of The Watchtower carried an article entitled Jehovah’s Provision, the “Given Ones” which drew a parallel between ancient non-Israelites who had been assigned temple duties (the "Nethinim" and "sons of the servants of Solomon") and Witness elders in positions of responsibility immediately under the oversight of the Governing Body who did not profess to be "anointed".[42]
Both that issue of The Watchtower and the 1993 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses carried the same announcement:

In view of the tremendous increase worldwide, it seems appropriate at this time to provide the Governing Body with some additional assistance. Therefore it has been decided to invite several helpers, mainly from among the great crowd, to share in the meetings of each of the Governing Body Committees, that is, the Personnel, Publishing, Service, Teaching, and Writing Committees. Thus, the number attending the meetings of each of these committees will be increased to seven or eight. Under the direction of the Governing Body committee members, these assistants will take part in discussions and will carry out various assignments given them by the committee. This new arrangement goes into effect May 1, 1992. For many years now, the number of the remnant of anointed Witnesses has been decreasing, while the number of the great crowd has increased beyond our grandest expectations.[43][44]
Each of the current Governing Body members served as a committee "helper" before being appointed to the Governing Body itself.[45][46][47] The appointment of helpers to the Governing Body committees was described in 2006 as "still another refinement."[48]
2000 and beyond
Until 2000, the directors and officers of the Watch Tower Society were members of the Governing Body. Since then, members of the ecclesiastical Governing Body have not served as directors of any of the various corporations used by Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Governing Body has delegated such administrative responsibilities to other members of the religion.[49]
Committees
The Governing Body functions by means of its six committees, which carry out various administrative functions.[50] Each committee is assisted by "helpers," who do not necessarily profess to be of the "anointed". Governing Body meetings are held weekly in closed session.[51] According to Raymond Franz, decisions of the body were required to be unanimous until 1975, after which a two-thirds majority of the full body was required, regardless of the number present.[52][53]
The Personnel Committee arranges for volunteers to serve in the organization's headquarters and worldwide branch offices, which are each referred to as Bethel. It oversees arrangements for the personal and spiritual assistance of Bethel staff, as well as the selection and invitation of new Bethel members.
The Publishing Committee supervises the printing, publishing and shipping of literature, as well as legal matters involved in printing, such as obtaining property for printing facilities. It is responsible for overseeing factories, properties, and financial operations of corporations used by Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The Service Committee supervises the evangelical activity of Jehovah's Witnesses, which includes traveling overseers, pioneers, and the activities of congregation publishers. It oversees communication between the international headquarters, branch offices, and the congregations. It examines annual reports of preaching activity from the branches. It is responsible for inviting members to attend the Gilead school, the Bible School for Single Brothers,[54] and the Traveling Overseers’ School, and for assigning postgraduate students of these schools to their places of service.[55][56]
The Teaching Committee arranges congregation meetings, special assembly days, circuit assemblies, and district and international conventions as well as various schools for elders, ministerial servants, pioneers and missionaries, such as Gilead school. It supervises preparation of material to be used in teaching, and oversees the development of new audio and video programs.
The Writing Committee supervises the writing and translation of all material published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, including scripts for dramas and talk outlines. It responds to questions about scriptural, doctrinal, and moral issues, specific problems in the congregations, and the standing of members in congregations.
The Coordinator's Committee deals with emergencies, disaster relief and other matters, such as investigations. It comprises the coordinators, or a representative, from each of the other Governing Body committees and a secretary who is also a member of the Governing Body. It is responsible for the efficient operation of the other committees.
Representatives
Initially, the Governing Body directly appointed all congregation elders.[57] By 1975, the appointment of elders and ministerial servants was said to be "made directly by a governing body of spirit-anointed elders or by them through other elders representing this body."[58] In 2001, The Watchtower, stated that recommendations for such appointments were submitted to branch offices.[59] As of September 2014, circuit overseers appoint elders and ministerial servants after discussion with congregation elders, without consulting with the branch office.[60]
The Governing Body continues to directly appoint branch office committee members and traveling overseers,[60][61] and only such direct appointees are described as "representatives of the Governing Body."[62][63]
Relationship with "faithful and discreet slave"
Main article: Faithful and discreet slave
The Governing Body is said to provide "spiritual food" for Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide.[64][65][66] Until late 2012, the Governing Body described itself as the representative[50][67] and "spokesman" for God's "faithful and discreet slave class" (approximately 11,800 Witnesses who profess to be anointed) who are collectively said to be God's "prophet"[68] and "channel for new spiritual light".[69][70] The Governing Body does not consult with the other anointed Witnesses whom it was said to represent when formulating policy and doctrines or approving material for publications and conventions; the authority of the Governing Body was presumed to be analogous to that of the older men of Jerusalem in cases such as the first-century circumcision issue.[71] The majority of Witnesses who profess to be anointed have no authority to contribute to the development or change of doctrines.[72][73][74] Anointed Witnesses are instructed to remain modest and avoid "wildly speculating about things that are still unclear," instead waiting for God to reveal his purposes[74] in The Watchtower.[75]
In 2009, The Watchtower indicated that the dissemination of "new spiritual light" is the responsibility of only "a limited number" of the "slave class", asking: "Are all these anointed ones throughout the earth part of a global network that is somehow involved in revealing new spiritual truths? No."[76] In 2010 the society said that "deep truths" were discerned by "responsible representatives" of the "faithful and discreet slave class" at the religion's headquarters, and then considered by the entire Governing Body before making doctrinal decisions.[77] In August 2011, the Governing Body cast doubt on other members' claims of being anointed, stating that "A number of factors—including past religious beliefs or even mental or emotional imbalance—might cause some to assume mistakenly that they have the heavenly calling." The Governing Body also stated that "we have no way of knowing the exact number of anointed ones on earth; nor do we need to know", and that it "does not maintain a global network of anointed ones."[78] At the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Watch Tower Society, the "faithful and discreet slave" was redefined as referring to the Governing Body only and the terms are now synonymous.[79]
Governing Body members
Current
As of March 2014, the following people are members of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses[7] (year appointed in parentheses):
Samuel Herd (1999)[80]
Geoffrey Jackson (2005)[81]
M. Stephen Lett (1999)[80]
Gerrit Lösch (1994)[82][83]
Anthony Morris III (2005)[81]
Mark Sanderson (2012)[84][85]
David H. Splane (1999)[80]
Former
Prior to 1971, various Watch Tower Society directors were informally identified as members of the "governing body". Jehovah's Witnesses publications began capitalizing Governing Body as a proper noun in 1971; The Watchtower that year announced "The present Governing Body comprises eleven anointed witnesses of Jehovah." These eleven members are indicated in italics in the list below.[86][87] Years active are shown in parentheses. All members served until their deaths unless specified.
Thomas J. Sullivan (1932–1974)[88][89][90]
Grant Suiter (1938–1983)[91][92]
Nathan Homer Knorr (1940–1977)—4th President of Watch Tower Society[93][94]
Frederick William Franz (1944–1992)—5th President of Watch Tower Society[95][96]
Lyman Alexander Swingle (1945–2001)[97]
Milton George Henschel (1947–2003)—6th President of Watch Tower Society[88]
John O. Groh (1965–1975)[88]
Raymond Franz (1971–1980)[39][88][98][99][100] – Resigned
George D. Gangas (1971–1994)[101]
Leo K. Greenlees (1971–1984)[102][103] – Resigned
William K. Jackson (1971–1981)[88]
William Lloyd Barry (1974–1999)[104][105]
John C. Booth (1974–1996)[106]
Ewart Chitty (1974–1979)[107][108] – Resigned
Charles J. Fekel (1974–1977)[109]
Theodore Jaracz (1974–2010)[110][111][112]
Karl F. Klein (1974–2001)[113]
Albert D. Schroeder (1974–2006)[114]
Daniel Sydlik (1974–2006)[115]
Carey W. Barber (1977–2007)[116]
John E. Barr (1977–2010)[117][118]
Martin Pötzinger (1977–1988)[119]
Guy Hollis Pierce (1999–2014) [9][120]
See also
Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses
References
1.Jump up ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 216. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
2.^ Jump up to: a b "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower: 703. November 15, 1972.
3.Jump up ^ "Our active leader today", The Watchtower, September 15, 2010, page 27, "They recognize, however, that Christ is using a small group of anointed Christian men as a Governing Body to lead and direct his disciples on earth."
4.Jump up ^ "Bearing Thorough Witness" About God's Kingdom. Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. 2009. p. 110.
5.^ Jump up to: a b As of September 2005, twelve members listed (See The Watchtower, March 15, 2006, page 26)
 Schroeder died March 8, 2006. (See The Watchtower, September 15, 2006, page 31)
 Sydlik died April 18, 2006. (See The Watchtower, January 1, 2007, page 8)
 Barber died April 8, 2007. (See The Watchtower, October 15, 2007, page 31)
 Jaracz died June 9, 2010. (See The Watchtower, November 15, 2010, page 23)
 Barr died December 4, 2010. (See The Watchtower, May 15, 2011, page 6)
 Mark Sanderson appointed in September 2012 "A New Member of the Governing Body", The Watchtower, July 15, 2013, page 26.[1]
6.Jump up ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 217. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
7.^ Jump up to: a b Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania (2007). Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. pp. 4, 6.
8.Jump up ^ Botting, Heather & Gary (1984). The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 178. ISBN 0-8020-6545-7.
9.^ Jump up to: a b "Guy H. Pierce, Member of the Governing Body, Dies at 79"
10.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). In Search of Christian Freedom. Commentary Press. p. 123. ISBN 0-914675-17-6.
11.^ Jump up to: a b Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. p. 58. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
12.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). In Search of Christian Freedom. Commentary Press. pp. 186, footnote. ISBN 0-914675-17-6.
13.Jump up ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 162–163, 214. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
14.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 61–62. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
15.Jump up ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 59. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
16.Jump up ^ The Watchtower: 216, paragraph 24. July 15, 1943. Missing or empty |title= (help)
17.Jump up ^ The Watchtower: 328, paragraph 32. November 1, 1944. Missing or empty |title= (help)
18.Jump up ^ Qualified to be Ministers. Watch Tower Society. 1955. p. 381. cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 74
19.Jump up ^ "Divine Will International Assembly of Jehovah’s Witnesses", The Watchtower, February 15, 1959, page 115, "So with intense interest the spiritual governing body of Jehovah’s witnesses watched the developments... Without delay the president of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society closed a contract with the owners to use the Polo Grounds simultaneously with Yankee Stadium."
20.Jump up ^ Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. Watch Tower Society. 1970. p. 65.
21.^ Jump up to: a b Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. p. 57. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
22.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond. Crisis of Conscience. p. 44. The seven directors at October 20 were Nathan Knorr, Fred Franz, Grant Suiter, Thomas Sullivan, Milton Henschel, Lyman Swingle and John Groh. The additional four to form the Governing Body were William Jackson, Leo Greenlees, George Gangas and Raymond Franz.
23.Jump up ^ Testimony by Fred Franz, Lord Strachan vs. Douglas Walsh Transcript, Lord Strachan vs. Douglas Walsh, 1954, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, 2007, page 75-76.
24.^ Jump up to: a b "Theocratic Organization with Which to Move Forward Now; A Governing Body as Different from a Legal Corporation". The Watchtower. December 15, 1971.
25.^ Jump up to: a b "A Governing Body as Different from a Legal Corporation". The Watchtower: 761. December 15, 1971.
26.Jump up ^ Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. 1972. pp. 254–257.
27.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. p. 78. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
28.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower: 703. November 15, 1972.
29.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 44–110. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
30.Jump up ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 228. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
31.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. p. 45. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
32.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. p. 46. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
33.Jump up ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 215. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
34.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 81–105. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
35.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 80–107. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
36.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses–Proclaimers of God's Kingdom. Watch Tower Society. 1993. pp. 108–109.
37.^ Jump up to: a b Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 117–123. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
38.^ Jump up to: a b Botting, Heather & Gary (1984). The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 158–165. ISBN 0-8020-6545-7.
39.^ Jump up to: a b "Witness Under Prosecution", Richard H. Ostling, Anne Constable, Time Magazine, February 22, 1982.
40.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). "11-12". Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press.
41.Jump up ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 219, 297–302, 319. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
42.Jump up ^ "Jehovah’s Provision, the “Given Ones”", The Watchtower, April 15, 1992, pages 16-17
43.Jump up ^ "Announcement", The Watchtower, April 15, 1992, page 31
44.Jump up ^ "Organizing for Further Expansion", 1993 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, ©Watch Tower, pages 253-254
45.Jump up ^ "Governing Body Addition", The Watchtower, November 1, 1994, page 29, "The new member is Gerrit Lösch. ... Lösch has served in the Executive Offices and as an assistant to the Service Committee."
46.Jump up ^ "New Members of the Governing Body", The Watchtower, January 1, 2000, page 29, "The new members, all anointed Christians, are Samuel F. Herd; M. Stephen Lett; Guy H. Pierce; and David H. Splane. Samuel Herd ... was also serving as a helper to the Service Committee. Stephen Lett ... was a helper to the Teaching Committee. Guy Pierce ... had been serving as a helper to the Personnel Committee. David Splane ... had been a helper to the Writing Committee."
47.Jump up ^ "New Members of the Governing Body", The Watchtower, March 15, 2006, page 26, "Geoffrey W. Jackson and Anthony Morris III—would be added to the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses. ... In April 2003, [Jackson] became part of the United States Bethel family and began to work in the Translation Services Department. Soon thereafter, Brother Jackson was made a helper to the Teaching Committee of the Governing Body ... 2002 [Morris] worked in the Service Department at Patterson and later as a helper to the Service Committee of the Governing Body."
48.Jump up ^ "Walking in the Path of Increasing Light", The Watchtower, February 15, 2006, page 28
49.Jump up ^ "How the Governing Body Differs From a Legal Corporation". The Watchtower: 29. 15 January 2001.
50.^ Jump up to: a b The Watchtower, May 15, 2008, page 29
51.Jump up ^ "How the Governing Body is Organized", The Watchtower, May 15, 2008, page 29.
52.Jump up ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 218. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
53.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 85, 115. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
54.Jump up ^ "A History-Making Meeting", The Watchtower, Aug. 15, 2011, page 21.
55.Jump up ^ "Schools That Teach Jehovah's Ways", 2012 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 13-17.
56.Jump up ^ "Theocratic Schools-Evidence of Jehovah's Love", The Watchtower, September 15, 2012, page 13-17.
57.Jump up ^ "A “Body of Elders” with Rotating Chairmanship", The Watchtower, November 15, 1971, pages 699,700, "how will the “body of elders” in each congregation be selected? The governing body through the Watch Tower Society will send out a letter asking the committee that now looks after each congregation’s activity to...prayerfully consider who within your congregation really meets the qualifications of an elder or overseer. ...Then recommendations will be made to the governing body. ...After the governing body receives recommendations from the congregation, then proper appointments will be made. The governing body will do the appointing of elders in every congregation and this information will be sent out by the governing body through the various offices of the Society throughout the world."
58.Jump up ^ Hope Based on the Unfolding Purpose of God", The Watchtower, February 1, 1975, page 86
59.Jump up ^ "Overseers and Ministerial Servants Theocratically Appointed", The Watchtower, January 15, 2001, page 15
60.^ Jump up to: a b "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower: 28–30. 15 November 2014.
61.Jump up ^ "Overseers and Ministerial Servants Theocratically Appointed", The Watchtower, January 15, 2001, page 15, "In addition to appointing Branch Committee members, the Governing Body appoints Bethel elders and traveling overseers. However, they do commission responsible brothers to act for them in making certain other appointments."
62.Jump up ^ "“Keep Holding Men of That Sort Dear”", The Watchtower, October 1, 1988, page 18-19, "[The] traveling overseers sent forth by the Governing Body to preach the good news and help the congregations should be received hospitably and with respect. ...Elders, in particular, should show proper respect for these visiting representatives of the Governing Body. They are sent to the congregations because of their spiritual qualities and their experience, which is usually more extensive than that of many local elders." [emph added]
63.Jump up ^ "Cooperating With the Governing Body Today", The Watchtower, March 15, 1990, pages 19-20, "Since February 1, 1976, each of the branches of the Watch Tower Society has had a Branch Committee made up of capable men appointed by the Governing Body. As representatives of the Governing Body for the country or countries under the supervision of their branch, these brothers must be faithful, loyal men. ...Branch Committees recommend mature, spiritual men to serve as circuit and district overseers. After being appointed directly by the Governing Body, they serve as traveling overseers. These brothers visit circuits and congregations in order to build them up spiritually and help them apply instructions received from the Governing Body." [emph added]
64.Jump up ^ "The Watchtower and Awake!—Timely Journals of Truth". The Watchtower: 21. January 1, 1994.
65.Jump up ^ "Building for an Eternal Future". The Watchtower: 25. January 1, 1986.
66.Jump up ^ 2012 Annual Meeting Program (Gov. Body is "Faithful & Discreet Slave" explained in 8 minute clip)
67.Jump up ^ "Seek God's guidance in all things", The Watchtower, April 15, 2008, page 11.
68.Jump up ^ "‘They Shall Know that a Prophet Was Among Them’". The Watchtower: 200. April 1, 1972. "the modern-day “prophet,” the spirit-begotten, anointed ones who are the nucleus of Jehovah’s witnesses today"
69.Jump up ^ "The Things Revealed Belong to Us", The Watchtower, May 15, 1986, page 13.
70.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). In Search of Christian Freedom. Commentary Press. p. 153. ISBN 0-914675-17-6.
71.Jump up ^ The Faithful Steward and Its Governing Body, The Watchtower, June 15, 2009, page 24 ¶18
72.Jump up ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 211. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
73.Jump up ^ "The faithful slave and its governing body", The Watchtower, June 15, 2009, pages 23-24, "They do not believe that their being of the anointed gives them special insights beyond what even some experienced members of the "great crowd" may have. They do not believe that they necessarily have more holy spirit than their companions of the 'other sheep' have. They do not expect special treatment; nor do they claim that their partaking of the emblems places them above the appointed elders in the congregation."
74.^ Jump up to: a b "A Secret Christians Dare Not Keep!", The Watchtower, June 1, 1997, page 14.
75.Jump up ^ "Insight That Jehovah Has Given", The Watchtower, March 15, 1989, page 22, "It is through the columns of The Watchtower that explanations of vital Scriptural truths have been provided for us by Jehovah’s 'faithful and discreet slave.' The Watchtower is the principal instrument used by the 'slave' class for dispensing spiritual food."
76.Jump up ^ "The faithful slave and its governing body", The Watchtower, June 15, 2009, pages 23-24.
77.Jump up ^ "The Spirit Searches into the Deep Things of God", The Watchtower, July 15, 2010, page 23, "When the time comes to clarify a spiritual matter in our day, holy spirit helps responsible representatives of 'the faithful and discreet slave' at world headquarters to discern deep truths that were not previously understood. The Governing Body as a whole considers adjusted explanations. What they learn, they publish for the benefit of all."
78.Jump up ^ "Question From Readers", "The Watchtower", August 15, 2011, page 22
79.Jump up ^ "Annual Meeting Report".
80.^ Jump up to: a b c "New Members of the Governing Body", The Watchtower, January 1, 2000, page 29
81.^ Jump up to: a b "New Members of the Governing Body", The Watchtower, March 15, 2006, page 26
82.Jump up ^ "Governing Body Addition", The Watchtower, November 1, 1994, page 29
83.Jump up ^ "Losing a Father—Finding a Father", The Watchtower, July 15, 2014, page 17-22
84.Jump up ^ "A New Member of the Governing Body", The Watchtower, July 15, 2013, page 26.
85.Jump up ^ Interviews - 133rd Gilead Class (stated at video b. Mark Sanderson of Gov. Body)
86.Jump up ^ "A Governing Body as Different from a Legal Corporation", The Watchtower, December 15, 1971, page 762
87.Jump up ^ "The Governing Body", 1973 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, ©Watch Tower, page 257, "The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses consists of eleven brothers, all anointed of God. They are as follows: Frederick W. Franz, Raymond V. Franz, George D. Gangas, Leo K. Greenlees, John O. Groh, Milton G. Henschel, William K. Jackson, Nathan H. Knorr, Grant Suiter, Thomas J. Sullivan and Lyman A. Swingle."
88.^ Jump up to: a b c d e Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 273–336. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
89.Jump up ^ "He Ran for “The Prize of the Upward Call” and Won!", The Watchtower, September 15, 1974, page 554, "On October 31, 1932, he [Sullivan] was made a member of the board of directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania; he was also one of the eleven-member governing body of Jehovah’s witnesses."
90.Jump up ^ "A Time of Testing (1914-1918)", Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, ©1993 Watch Tower, page 71, "Thomas (Bud) Sullivan, who later served as a member of the Governing Body, recalled: “It was my privilege to visit Brooklyn Bethel in the late summer of 1918 during the brothers’ incarceration."
91.Jump up ^ "The corporation, the WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY, pursuant to its charter and by-laws, and the laws of the State of Pennsylvania, held its annual meeting at Pittsburgh, North Side, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on the first day of October, A.D. 1938, at which annual meeting a Board of Directors was elected as follows, to wit: J. F. Rutherford, C. A. Wise, W. E. Van Amburgh, H. H. Riemer, T. J. Sullivan, Wm. P. Heath, Jr., and Grant Suiter, to hold office for a period of three years, or until their successors are duly elected." - 1939 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, "Election", page 195
92.Jump up ^ "A Loyal Fighter Passes On", The Watchtower, February 1, 1984, page 9.
93.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, "Background of N. H. Knorr", page 91: "On June 10, 1940, he became the vice-president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (Pennsylvania corporation)."
94.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, July 15, 1977, "Firm to the End", page 441.
95.Jump up ^ "Service Assembly and Annual Meeting—Pittsburg", The Watchtower, November 1, 1944, page 334.
96.Jump up ^ "How the Governing Body Differs From a Legal Corporation", The Watchtower, January 15, 2001, page 28.
97.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses–Proclaimers of God's Kingdom. Watch Tower Society. 1993. p. 91.
98.Jump up ^ "Announcements", Our Kingdom Ministry, August 1980, page 2, "Raymond Victor Franz is no longer a member of the Governing Body and of the Brooklyn Bethel family as of May 22, 1980."
99.Jump up ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 120. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
100.Jump up ^ Beverley, James A. (1986). Crisis of Allegiance. Burlington, Ontario: Welch Publishing Company. p. 71. ISBN 0-920413-37-4.
101.Jump up ^ "His Deeds Follow Him", The Watchtower, December 1, 1994, page 31.
102.Jump up ^ 1986 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, ©Watch Tower, page 255
103.Jump up ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 322, 393. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
104.Jump up ^ "Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses Enlarged", The Watchtower, January 15, 1975, page 60
105.Jump up ^ "We Were a Team", The Watchtower, April 1, 2001, page 24.
106.Jump up ^ "He Humbly Served Jehovah", The Watchtower, June 15, 1996, page 32.
107.Jump up ^ "Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses Enlarged", 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, ©Watch Tower, page 60
108.Jump up ^ Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. 1980. pp. 257–258.
109.Jump up ^ "A Joyful Perseverer in Good Work", The Watchtower, July 1, 1977, page 399.
110.Jump up ^ "Gilead Sends Missionaries “to the Most Distant Part of the Earth”", The Watchtower, December 15, 1999, page 28, "Theodore Jaracz, a member of the Governing Body, who himself graduated with Gilead’s seventh class in 1946"
111.Jump up ^ "Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses Enlarged", The Watchtower, January 15, 1975, page 60
112.Jump up ^ Theodore Jaracz Memorial Service Brochure (1.4MB)
113.Jump up ^ "Jehovah Has Dealt Rewardingly With Me", The Watchtower, October 1, 1984, page 21.
114.Jump up ^ "His Delight Was in the Law of Jehovah", The Watchtower, September 15, 2006, page 31.
115.Jump up ^ "How Priceless Your Friendship, O God!", The Watchtower, June 1, 1985, page 27.
116.Jump up ^ "Rejoicing Over "Victory With the Lamb", The Watchtower, October 15, 2007, page 31.
117.Jump up ^ "Britain", 2000 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, ©Watch Tower, page 130
118.Jump up ^ "New Members of the Governing Body", The Watchtower, November 15, 1977, page 680
119.Jump up ^ "A Staunch Fighter for the Truth", The Watchtower, September 15, 1988, page 31.
120.Jump up ^ "He ‘Knew the Way’", The Watchtower, December 15, 2014, page 3.
  



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Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

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Part of a series on
Jehovah's Witnesses

Overview

Organizational structure
Governing Body
Watch Tower Bible
 and Tract Society
Corporations

History
Bible Student movement
Leadership dispute
Splinter groups
Doctrinal development
Unfulfilled predictions

Demographics
By country


Beliefs ·
 Practices
 
Salvation ·
 Eschatology

The 144,000
Faithful and discreet slave
Hymns ·
 God's name

Blood ·
 Discipline


Literature

The Watchtower ·
 Awake!

New World Translation
List of publications
Bibliography

Teaching programs

Kingdom Hall ·
 Gilead School


People

Watch Tower presidents

W. H. Conley ·
 C. T. Russell

J. F. Rutherford ·
 N. H. Knorr

F. W. Franz ·
 M. G. Henschel

D. A. Adams

Formative influences

William Miller ·
 Henry Grew

George Storrs ·
 N. H. Barbour

John Nelson Darby


Notable former members

Raymond Franz ·
 Olin Moyle


Opposition

Criticism ·
 Persecution

Supreme Court cases
 by country

v ·
 t ·
 e
   
The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses is the ruling council of Jehovah's Witnesses[1] based in Brooklyn, New York. The body formulates doctrines, oversees the production of written material for publications and conventions, and administers the group's worldwide operations.[2][3] Official publications refer to members of the Governing Body as followers of Christ rather than religious leaders.[4]
Its size has varied, from seven (2014–present)[5] to eighteen (1974–1980)[6] members.[7][8] As of March 2014, there are seven members.[5][9] New members of the Governing Body are selected by existing members.[10]



Contents  [hide]
1 History 1.1 Reorganization
1.2 Headquarters purge
1.3 Helpers
1.4 2000 and beyond
2 Committees
3 Representatives
4 Relationship with "faithful and discreet slave"
5 Governing Body members 5.1 Current
5.2 Former
6 See also
7 References

History
Since its incorporation in 1884, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania has been directed by a president and board of directors. Until January 1976, the president exercised complete control of doctrines, publications and activities of the Watch Tower Society and the religious denominations with which it was connected—the Bible Students and Jehovah's Witnesses.[11][12][13] When the Society's second president, J.F. Rutherford, encountered opposition from directors in 1917, he dismissed them. In 1925 he overruled the Watch Tower Society's editorial committee when it opposed publication of an article about disputed doctrines regarding the year 1914. In 1931, the editorial committee was dissolved.[14][15]
In 1943 The Watchtower described the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society as the "legal governing body" of anointed Jehovah's Witnesses.[16] A year later, in an article opposing the democratic election of congregation elders, the magazine said the appointment of such ones was the duty of "a visible governing body under Jehovah God and his Christ."[17] For several years, the role and specific identity of the governing body remained otherwise undefined. A 1955 organizational handbook stated that "the visible governing body has been closely identified with the board of directors of this corporation."[18] Referring to events related to their 1957 convention, a 1959 publication said "the spiritual governing body of Jehovah’s witnesses watched the developments [then] the president of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society [acted]."[19] The 1970 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses noted that the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania was the organization used to plan the activity of Jehovah's Witnesses and provide them with "spiritual food", then declared: "So really the governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses is the board of directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania."[20]



Frederick Franz at Watch Tower Society headquarters in Brooklyn.
On October 1, 1971, Watch Tower Society vice-president Frederick Franz addressed the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania corporation in Buckingham, Pennsylvania, stating that the legal corporation of the Watch Tower Society was an "agency" or "temporary instrument" used by the Governing Body on behalf of the "faithful and discreet slave".[21] Three weeks later, on October 20, four additional men joined the seven members of the Society's board of directors on what became known as a separate, expanded Governing Body.[22] The board of directors had until then met only sporadically, usually to discuss the purchase of property or new equipment, leaving decisions about Watch Tower Society literature to the president and vice-president, Nathan Knorr and Fred Franz.[21][23] The Watchtower of December 15, 1971 was the first to unambiguously capitalize the term "Governing Body of Jehovah's witnesses" as the defined group leading the religion, with a series of articles explaining its role and its relationship with the Watch Tower Society.[2][24]
The focus on the new concept of "theocratic" leadership was accompanied by statements that the structure was not actually new: The Watch Tower declared that "a governing body made its appearance" some time after the formation of Zion's Watch Tower Society in 1884,[25] though it had not been referred to as such at the time.[11] The article stated that Watch Tower Society president Charles Taze Russell had been a member of the governing body.[25] The 1972 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses stated that following Rutherford's death in 1942 "one of the first things that the governing body decided upon was the inauguration of the Theocratic Ministry School" and added that the "governing body" had published millions of books and Bibles in the previous thirty years.[26] Former member of the Governing Body, Raymond Franz, stated that the actions of presidents Russell, Rutherford and Knorr in overriding and failing to consult with directors proved the Bible Students and Jehovah's Witnesses had been under a monarchical rule until 1976, leaving no decisions to any "governing body".[27]
In 1972, a Question From Readers article in The Watchtower further reinforced the concept of the "Governing Body"; the magazine said the term referred to an agency that administers policy and provides organizational direction, guidance and regulation and was therefore "appropriate, fitting and Scriptural."[24][28] Organizational changes at the highest levels of the Watch Tower Society in 1976 significantly increased the powers and authority of the Governing Body.[29] The body has never had a legal corporate existence and operates through the Watch Tower Society and its board of directors.[30]
Reorganization
After its formal establishment in 1971, the Governing Body met regularly but, according to Raymond Franz, only briefly; Franz claims meetings were sometimes as short as seven minutes,[31] to make decisions about branch appointments and conduct that should be considered disfellowshipping offenses.[32][33] Franz claims that in 1971 and again in 1975, the Governing Body debated the extent of the authority it should be given.[34] The Governing Body voted in December 1975 to establish six operating committees to oversee the various administrative requirement of the organization's worldwide activities that formerly had been under the direction of the president; furthermore, each branch overseer was to be replaced by a branch committee of at least three members.[35] The change, which took effect on January 1, 1976, was described in the Watch Tower Society's 1993 history book, Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, as "one of the most significant organizational readjustments in the modern-day history of Jehovah's Witnesses."[36]
Headquarters purge
In 1980, dissent arose among members of the Governing Body regarding the significance of 1914 in Jehovah's Witnesses' doctrines. According to former Witnesses James Penton and Heather and Gary Botting, internal dissatisfaction with official doctrines continued to grow, leading to a series of secret investigations and judicial hearings. Consequently, dissenting members were expelled from the Brooklyn headquarters staff in the same year.[37][38][39] Raymond Franz claimed he was forced to resign from the Governing Body, and he was later disfellowshipped from the religion.
The Watch Tower Society responded to the dissent with a more severe attitude regarding the treatment of expelled Witnesses.[37][38][40] In his 1997 study of the religion, Penton concluded that since Raymond Franz's expulsion in 1980, the Governing Body displayed an increased level of conservatism, sturdy resistance to changes of policy and doctrines, and an increased tendency to isolate dissidents within the organization by means of disfellowshipping.[41]
Helpers
The April 15, 1992 issue of The Watchtower carried an article entitled Jehovah’s Provision, the “Given Ones” which drew a parallel between ancient non-Israelites who had been assigned temple duties (the "Nethinim" and "sons of the servants of Solomon") and Witness elders in positions of responsibility immediately under the oversight of the Governing Body who did not profess to be "anointed".[42]
Both that issue of The Watchtower and the 1993 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses carried the same announcement:

In view of the tremendous increase worldwide, it seems appropriate at this time to provide the Governing Body with some additional assistance. Therefore it has been decided to invite several helpers, mainly from among the great crowd, to share in the meetings of each of the Governing Body Committees, that is, the Personnel, Publishing, Service, Teaching, and Writing Committees. Thus, the number attending the meetings of each of these committees will be increased to seven or eight. Under the direction of the Governing Body committee members, these assistants will take part in discussions and will carry out various assignments given them by the committee. This new arrangement goes into effect May 1, 1992. For many years now, the number of the remnant of anointed Witnesses has been decreasing, while the number of the great crowd has increased beyond our grandest expectations.[43][44]
Each of the current Governing Body members served as a committee "helper" before being appointed to the Governing Body itself.[45][46][47] The appointment of helpers to the Governing Body committees was described in 2006 as "still another refinement."[48]
2000 and beyond
Until 2000, the directors and officers of the Watch Tower Society were members of the Governing Body. Since then, members of the ecclesiastical Governing Body have not served as directors of any of the various corporations used by Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Governing Body has delegated such administrative responsibilities to other members of the religion.[49]
Committees
The Governing Body functions by means of its six committees, which carry out various administrative functions.[50] Each committee is assisted by "helpers," who do not necessarily profess to be of the "anointed". Governing Body meetings are held weekly in closed session.[51] According to Raymond Franz, decisions of the body were required to be unanimous until 1975, after which a two-thirds majority of the full body was required, regardless of the number present.[52][53]
The Personnel Committee arranges for volunteers to serve in the organization's headquarters and worldwide branch offices, which are each referred to as Bethel. It oversees arrangements for the personal and spiritual assistance of Bethel staff, as well as the selection and invitation of new Bethel members.
The Publishing Committee supervises the printing, publishing and shipping of literature, as well as legal matters involved in printing, such as obtaining property for printing facilities. It is responsible for overseeing factories, properties, and financial operations of corporations used by Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The Service Committee supervises the evangelical activity of Jehovah's Witnesses, which includes traveling overseers, pioneers, and the activities of congregation publishers. It oversees communication between the international headquarters, branch offices, and the congregations. It examines annual reports of preaching activity from the branches. It is responsible for inviting members to attend the Gilead school, the Bible School for Single Brothers,[54] and the Traveling Overseers’ School, and for assigning postgraduate students of these schools to their places of service.[55][56]
The Teaching Committee arranges congregation meetings, special assembly days, circuit assemblies, and district and international conventions as well as various schools for elders, ministerial servants, pioneers and missionaries, such as Gilead school. It supervises preparation of material to be used in teaching, and oversees the development of new audio and video programs.
The Writing Committee supervises the writing and translation of all material published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, including scripts for dramas and talk outlines. It responds to questions about scriptural, doctrinal, and moral issues, specific problems in the congregations, and the standing of members in congregations.
The Coordinator's Committee deals with emergencies, disaster relief and other matters, such as investigations. It comprises the coordinators, or a representative, from each of the other Governing Body committees and a secretary who is also a member of the Governing Body. It is responsible for the efficient operation of the other committees.
Representatives
Initially, the Governing Body directly appointed all congregation elders.[57] By 1975, the appointment of elders and ministerial servants was said to be "made directly by a governing body of spirit-anointed elders or by them through other elders representing this body."[58] In 2001, The Watchtower, stated that recommendations for such appointments were submitted to branch offices.[59] As of September 2014, circuit overseers appoint elders and ministerial servants after discussion with congregation elders, without consulting with the branch office.[60]
The Governing Body continues to directly appoint branch office committee members and traveling overseers,[60][61] and only such direct appointees are described as "representatives of the Governing Body."[62][63]
Relationship with "faithful and discreet slave"
Main article: Faithful and discreet slave
The Governing Body is said to provide "spiritual food" for Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide.[64][65][66] Until late 2012, the Governing Body described itself as the representative[50][67] and "spokesman" for God's "faithful and discreet slave class" (approximately 11,800 Witnesses who profess to be anointed) who are collectively said to be God's "prophet"[68] and "channel for new spiritual light".[69][70] The Governing Body does not consult with the other anointed Witnesses whom it was said to represent when formulating policy and doctrines or approving material for publications and conventions; the authority of the Governing Body was presumed to be analogous to that of the older men of Jerusalem in cases such as the first-century circumcision issue.[71] The majority of Witnesses who profess to be anointed have no authority to contribute to the development or change of doctrines.[72][73][74] Anointed Witnesses are instructed to remain modest and avoid "wildly speculating about things that are still unclear," instead waiting for God to reveal his purposes[74] in The Watchtower.[75]
In 2009, The Watchtower indicated that the dissemination of "new spiritual light" is the responsibility of only "a limited number" of the "slave class", asking: "Are all these anointed ones throughout the earth part of a global network that is somehow involved in revealing new spiritual truths? No."[76] In 2010 the society said that "deep truths" were discerned by "responsible representatives" of the "faithful and discreet slave class" at the religion's headquarters, and then considered by the entire Governing Body before making doctrinal decisions.[77] In August 2011, the Governing Body cast doubt on other members' claims of being anointed, stating that "A number of factors—including past religious beliefs or even mental or emotional imbalance—might cause some to assume mistakenly that they have the heavenly calling." The Governing Body also stated that "we have no way of knowing the exact number of anointed ones on earth; nor do we need to know", and that it "does not maintain a global network of anointed ones."[78] At the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Watch Tower Society, the "faithful and discreet slave" was redefined as referring to the Governing Body only and the terms are now synonymous.[79]
Governing Body members
Current
As of March 2014, the following people are members of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses[7] (year appointed in parentheses):
Samuel Herd (1999)[80]
Geoffrey Jackson (2005)[81]
M. Stephen Lett (1999)[80]
Gerrit Lösch (1994)[82][83]
Anthony Morris III (2005)[81]
Mark Sanderson (2012)[84][85]
David H. Splane (1999)[80]
Former
Prior to 1971, various Watch Tower Society directors were informally identified as members of the "governing body". Jehovah's Witnesses publications began capitalizing Governing Body as a proper noun in 1971; The Watchtower that year announced "The present Governing Body comprises eleven anointed witnesses of Jehovah." These eleven members are indicated in italics in the list below.[86][87] Years active are shown in parentheses. All members served until their deaths unless specified.
Thomas J. Sullivan (1932–1974)[88][89][90]
Grant Suiter (1938–1983)[91][92]
Nathan Homer Knorr (1940–1977)—4th President of Watch Tower Society[93][94]
Frederick William Franz (1944–1992)—5th President of Watch Tower Society[95][96]
Lyman Alexander Swingle (1945–2001)[97]
Milton George Henschel (1947–2003)—6th President of Watch Tower Society[88]
John O. Groh (1965–1975)[88]
Raymond Franz (1971–1980)[39][88][98][99][100] – Resigned
George D. Gangas (1971–1994)[101]
Leo K. Greenlees (1971–1984)[102][103] – Resigned
William K. Jackson (1971–1981)[88]
William Lloyd Barry (1974–1999)[104][105]
John C. Booth (1974–1996)[106]
Ewart Chitty (1974–1979)[107][108] – Resigned
Charles J. Fekel (1974–1977)[109]
Theodore Jaracz (1974–2010)[110][111][112]
Karl F. Klein (1974–2001)[113]
Albert D. Schroeder (1974–2006)[114]
Daniel Sydlik (1974–2006)[115]
Carey W. Barber (1977–2007)[116]
John E. Barr (1977–2010)[117][118]
Martin Pötzinger (1977–1988)[119]
Guy Hollis Pierce (1999–2014) [9][120]
See also
Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses
References
1.Jump up ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 216. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
2.^ Jump up to: a b "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower: 703. November 15, 1972.
3.Jump up ^ "Our active leader today", The Watchtower, September 15, 2010, page 27, "They recognize, however, that Christ is using a small group of anointed Christian men as a Governing Body to lead and direct his disciples on earth."
4.Jump up ^ "Bearing Thorough Witness" About God's Kingdom. Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. 2009. p. 110.
5.^ Jump up to: a b As of September 2005, twelve members listed (See The Watchtower, March 15, 2006, page 26)
 Schroeder died March 8, 2006. (See The Watchtower, September 15, 2006, page 31)
 Sydlik died April 18, 2006. (See The Watchtower, January 1, 2007, page 8)
 Barber died April 8, 2007. (See The Watchtower, October 15, 2007, page 31)
 Jaracz died June 9, 2010. (See The Watchtower, November 15, 2010, page 23)
 Barr died December 4, 2010. (See The Watchtower, May 15, 2011, page 6)
 Mark Sanderson appointed in September 2012 "A New Member of the Governing Body", The Watchtower, July 15, 2013, page 26.[1]
6.Jump up ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 217. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
7.^ Jump up to: a b Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania (2007). Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. pp. 4, 6.
8.Jump up ^ Botting, Heather & Gary (1984). The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 178. ISBN 0-8020-6545-7.
9.^ Jump up to: a b "Guy H. Pierce, Member of the Governing Body, Dies at 79"
10.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). In Search of Christian Freedom. Commentary Press. p. 123. ISBN 0-914675-17-6.
11.^ Jump up to: a b Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. p. 58. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
12.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). In Search of Christian Freedom. Commentary Press. pp. 186, footnote. ISBN 0-914675-17-6.
13.Jump up ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 162–163, 214. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
14.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 61–62. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
15.Jump up ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 59. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
16.Jump up ^ The Watchtower: 216, paragraph 24. July 15, 1943. Missing or empty |title= (help)
17.Jump up ^ The Watchtower: 328, paragraph 32. November 1, 1944. Missing or empty |title= (help)
18.Jump up ^ Qualified to be Ministers. Watch Tower Society. 1955. p. 381. cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 74
19.Jump up ^ "Divine Will International Assembly of Jehovah’s Witnesses", The Watchtower, February 15, 1959, page 115, "So with intense interest the spiritual governing body of Jehovah’s witnesses watched the developments... Without delay the president of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society closed a contract with the owners to use the Polo Grounds simultaneously with Yankee Stadium."
20.Jump up ^ Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. Watch Tower Society. 1970. p. 65.
21.^ Jump up to: a b Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. p. 57. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
22.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond. Crisis of Conscience. p. 44. The seven directors at October 20 were Nathan Knorr, Fred Franz, Grant Suiter, Thomas Sullivan, Milton Henschel, Lyman Swingle and John Groh. The additional four to form the Governing Body were William Jackson, Leo Greenlees, George Gangas and Raymond Franz.
23.Jump up ^ Testimony by Fred Franz, Lord Strachan vs. Douglas Walsh Transcript, Lord Strachan vs. Douglas Walsh, 1954, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, 2007, page 75-76.
24.^ Jump up to: a b "Theocratic Organization with Which to Move Forward Now; A Governing Body as Different from a Legal Corporation". The Watchtower. December 15, 1971.
25.^ Jump up to: a b "A Governing Body as Different from a Legal Corporation". The Watchtower: 761. December 15, 1971.
26.Jump up ^ Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. 1972. pp. 254–257.
27.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. p. 78. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
28.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower: 703. November 15, 1972.
29.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 44–110. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
30.Jump up ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 228. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
31.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. p. 45. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
32.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. p. 46. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
33.Jump up ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 215. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
34.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 81–105. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
35.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 80–107. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
36.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses–Proclaimers of God's Kingdom. Watch Tower Society. 1993. pp. 108–109.
37.^ Jump up to: a b Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 117–123. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
38.^ Jump up to: a b Botting, Heather & Gary (1984). The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 158–165. ISBN 0-8020-6545-7.
39.^ Jump up to: a b "Witness Under Prosecution", Richard H. Ostling, Anne Constable, Time Magazine, February 22, 1982.
40.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). "11-12". Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press.
41.Jump up ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 219, 297–302, 319. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
42.Jump up ^ "Jehovah’s Provision, the “Given Ones”", The Watchtower, April 15, 1992, pages 16-17
43.Jump up ^ "Announcement", The Watchtower, April 15, 1992, page 31
44.Jump up ^ "Organizing for Further Expansion", 1993 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, ©Watch Tower, pages 253-254
45.Jump up ^ "Governing Body Addition", The Watchtower, November 1, 1994, page 29, "The new member is Gerrit Lösch. ... Lösch has served in the Executive Offices and as an assistant to the Service Committee."
46.Jump up ^ "New Members of the Governing Body", The Watchtower, January 1, 2000, page 29, "The new members, all anointed Christians, are Samuel F. Herd; M. Stephen Lett; Guy H. Pierce; and David H. Splane. Samuel Herd ... was also serving as a helper to the Service Committee. Stephen Lett ... was a helper to the Teaching Committee. Guy Pierce ... had been serving as a helper to the Personnel Committee. David Splane ... had been a helper to the Writing Committee."
47.Jump up ^ "New Members of the Governing Body", The Watchtower, March 15, 2006, page 26, "Geoffrey W. Jackson and Anthony Morris III—would be added to the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses. ... In April 2003, [Jackson] became part of the United States Bethel family and began to work in the Translation Services Department. Soon thereafter, Brother Jackson was made a helper to the Teaching Committee of the Governing Body ... 2002 [Morris] worked in the Service Department at Patterson and later as a helper to the Service Committee of the Governing Body."
48.Jump up ^ "Walking in the Path of Increasing Light", The Watchtower, February 15, 2006, page 28
49.Jump up ^ "How the Governing Body Differs From a Legal Corporation". The Watchtower: 29. 15 January 2001.
50.^ Jump up to: a b The Watchtower, May 15, 2008, page 29
51.Jump up ^ "How the Governing Body is Organized", The Watchtower, May 15, 2008, page 29.
52.Jump up ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 218. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
53.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 85, 115. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
54.Jump up ^ "A History-Making Meeting", The Watchtower, Aug. 15, 2011, page 21.
55.Jump up ^ "Schools That Teach Jehovah's Ways", 2012 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 13-17.
56.Jump up ^ "Theocratic Schools-Evidence of Jehovah's Love", The Watchtower, September 15, 2012, page 13-17.
57.Jump up ^ "A “Body of Elders” with Rotating Chairmanship", The Watchtower, November 15, 1971, pages 699,700, "how will the “body of elders” in each congregation be selected? The governing body through the Watch Tower Society will send out a letter asking the committee that now looks after each congregation’s activity to...prayerfully consider who within your congregation really meets the qualifications of an elder or overseer. ...Then recommendations will be made to the governing body. ...After the governing body receives recommendations from the congregation, then proper appointments will be made. The governing body will do the appointing of elders in every congregation and this information will be sent out by the governing body through the various offices of the Society throughout the world."
58.Jump up ^ Hope Based on the Unfolding Purpose of God", The Watchtower, February 1, 1975, page 86
59.Jump up ^ "Overseers and Ministerial Servants Theocratically Appointed", The Watchtower, January 15, 2001, page 15
60.^ Jump up to: a b "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower: 28–30. 15 November 2014.
61.Jump up ^ "Overseers and Ministerial Servants Theocratically Appointed", The Watchtower, January 15, 2001, page 15, "In addition to appointing Branch Committee members, the Governing Body appoints Bethel elders and traveling overseers. However, they do commission responsible brothers to act for them in making certain other appointments."
62.Jump up ^ "“Keep Holding Men of That Sort Dear”", The Watchtower, October 1, 1988, page 18-19, "[The] traveling overseers sent forth by the Governing Body to preach the good news and help the congregations should be received hospitably and with respect. ...Elders, in particular, should show proper respect for these visiting representatives of the Governing Body. They are sent to the congregations because of their spiritual qualities and their experience, which is usually more extensive than that of many local elders." [emph added]
63.Jump up ^ "Cooperating With the Governing Body Today", The Watchtower, March 15, 1990, pages 19-20, "Since February 1, 1976, each of the branches of the Watch Tower Society has had a Branch Committee made up of capable men appointed by the Governing Body. As representatives of the Governing Body for the country or countries under the supervision of their branch, these brothers must be faithful, loyal men. ...Branch Committees recommend mature, spiritual men to serve as circuit and district overseers. After being appointed directly by the Governing Body, they serve as traveling overseers. These brothers visit circuits and congregations in order to build them up spiritually and help them apply instructions received from the Governing Body." [emph added]
64.Jump up ^ "The Watchtower and Awake!—Timely Journals of Truth". The Watchtower: 21. January 1, 1994.
65.Jump up ^ "Building for an Eternal Future". The Watchtower: 25. January 1, 1986.
66.Jump up ^ 2012 Annual Meeting Program (Gov. Body is "Faithful & Discreet Slave" explained in 8 minute clip)
67.Jump up ^ "Seek God's guidance in all things", The Watchtower, April 15, 2008, page 11.
68.Jump up ^ "‘They Shall Know that a Prophet Was Among Them’". The Watchtower: 200. April 1, 1972. "the modern-day “prophet,” the spirit-begotten, anointed ones who are the nucleus of Jehovah’s witnesses today"
69.Jump up ^ "The Things Revealed Belong to Us", The Watchtower, May 15, 1986, page 13.
70.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). In Search of Christian Freedom. Commentary Press. p. 153. ISBN 0-914675-17-6.
71.Jump up ^ The Faithful Steward and Its Governing Body, The Watchtower, June 15, 2009, page 24 ¶18
72.Jump up ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 211. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
73.Jump up ^ "The faithful slave and its governing body", The Watchtower, June 15, 2009, pages 23-24, "They do not believe that their being of the anointed gives them special insights beyond what even some experienced members of the "great crowd" may have. They do not believe that they necessarily have more holy spirit than their companions of the 'other sheep' have. They do not expect special treatment; nor do they claim that their partaking of the emblems places them above the appointed elders in the congregation."
74.^ Jump up to: a b "A Secret Christians Dare Not Keep!", The Watchtower, June 1, 1997, page 14.
75.Jump up ^ "Insight That Jehovah Has Given", The Watchtower, March 15, 1989, page 22, "It is through the columns of The Watchtower that explanations of vital Scriptural truths have been provided for us by Jehovah’s 'faithful and discreet slave.' The Watchtower is the principal instrument used by the 'slave' class for dispensing spiritual food."
76.Jump up ^ "The faithful slave and its governing body", The Watchtower, June 15, 2009, pages 23-24.
77.Jump up ^ "The Spirit Searches into the Deep Things of God", The Watchtower, July 15, 2010, page 23, "When the time comes to clarify a spiritual matter in our day, holy spirit helps responsible representatives of 'the faithful and discreet slave' at world headquarters to discern deep truths that were not previously understood. The Governing Body as a whole considers adjusted explanations. What they learn, they publish for the benefit of all."
78.Jump up ^ "Question From Readers", "The Watchtower", August 15, 2011, page 22
79.Jump up ^ "Annual Meeting Report".
80.^ Jump up to: a b c "New Members of the Governing Body", The Watchtower, January 1, 2000, page 29
81.^ Jump up to: a b "New Members of the Governing Body", The Watchtower, March 15, 2006, page 26
82.Jump up ^ "Governing Body Addition", The Watchtower, November 1, 1994, page 29
83.Jump up ^ "Losing a Father—Finding a Father", The Watchtower, July 15, 2014, page 17-22
84.Jump up ^ "A New Member of the Governing Body", The Watchtower, July 15, 2013, page 26.
85.Jump up ^ Interviews - 133rd Gilead Class (stated at video b. Mark Sanderson of Gov. Body)
86.Jump up ^ "A Governing Body as Different from a Legal Corporation", The Watchtower, December 15, 1971, page 762
87.Jump up ^ "The Governing Body", 1973 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, ©Watch Tower, page 257, "The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses consists of eleven brothers, all anointed of God. They are as follows: Frederick W. Franz, Raymond V. Franz, George D. Gangas, Leo K. Greenlees, John O. Groh, Milton G. Henschel, William K. Jackson, Nathan H. Knorr, Grant Suiter, Thomas J. Sullivan and Lyman A. Swingle."
88.^ Jump up to: a b c d e Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 273–336. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
89.Jump up ^ "He Ran for “The Prize of the Upward Call” and Won!", The Watchtower, September 15, 1974, page 554, "On October 31, 1932, he [Sullivan] was made a member of the board of directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania; he was also one of the eleven-member governing body of Jehovah’s witnesses."
90.Jump up ^ "A Time of Testing (1914-1918)", Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, ©1993 Watch Tower, page 71, "Thomas (Bud) Sullivan, who later served as a member of the Governing Body, recalled: “It was my privilege to visit Brooklyn Bethel in the late summer of 1918 during the brothers’ incarceration."
91.Jump up ^ "The corporation, the WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY, pursuant to its charter and by-laws, and the laws of the State of Pennsylvania, held its annual meeting at Pittsburgh, North Side, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on the first day of October, A.D. 1938, at which annual meeting a Board of Directors was elected as follows, to wit: J. F. Rutherford, C. A. Wise, W. E. Van Amburgh, H. H. Riemer, T. J. Sullivan, Wm. P. Heath, Jr., and Grant Suiter, to hold office for a period of three years, or until their successors are duly elected." - 1939 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, "Election", page 195
92.Jump up ^ "A Loyal Fighter Passes On", The Watchtower, February 1, 1984, page 9.
93.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, "Background of N. H. Knorr", page 91: "On June 10, 1940, he became the vice-president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (Pennsylvania corporation)."
94.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, July 15, 1977, "Firm to the End", page 441.
95.Jump up ^ "Service Assembly and Annual Meeting—Pittsburg", The Watchtower, November 1, 1944, page 334.
96.Jump up ^ "How the Governing Body Differs From a Legal Corporation", The Watchtower, January 15, 2001, page 28.
97.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses–Proclaimers of God's Kingdom. Watch Tower Society. 1993. p. 91.
98.Jump up ^ "Announcements", Our Kingdom Ministry, August 1980, page 2, "Raymond Victor Franz is no longer a member of the Governing Body and of the Brooklyn Bethel family as of May 22, 1980."
99.Jump up ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 120. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
100.Jump up ^ Beverley, James A. (1986). Crisis of Allegiance. Burlington, Ontario: Welch Publishing Company. p. 71. ISBN 0-920413-37-4.
101.Jump up ^ "His Deeds Follow Him", The Watchtower, December 1, 1994, page 31.
102.Jump up ^ 1986 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, ©Watch Tower, page 255
103.Jump up ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 322, 393. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
104.Jump up ^ "Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses Enlarged", The Watchtower, January 15, 1975, page 60
105.Jump up ^ "We Were a Team", The Watchtower, April 1, 2001, page 24.
106.Jump up ^ "He Humbly Served Jehovah", The Watchtower, June 15, 1996, page 32.
107.Jump up ^ "Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses Enlarged", 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, ©Watch Tower, page 60
108.Jump up ^ Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. 1980. pp. 257–258.
109.Jump up ^ "A Joyful Perseverer in Good Work", The Watchtower, July 1, 1977, page 399.
110.Jump up ^ "Gilead Sends Missionaries “to the Most Distant Part of the Earth”", The Watchtower, December 15, 1999, page 28, "Theodore Jaracz, a member of the Governing Body, who himself graduated with Gilead’s seventh class in 1946"
111.Jump up ^ "Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses Enlarged", The Watchtower, January 15, 1975, page 60
112.Jump up ^ Theodore Jaracz Memorial Service Brochure (1.4MB)
113.Jump up ^ "Jehovah Has Dealt Rewardingly With Me", The Watchtower, October 1, 1984, page 21.
114.Jump up ^ "His Delight Was in the Law of Jehovah", The Watchtower, September 15, 2006, page 31.
115.Jump up ^ "How Priceless Your Friendship, O God!", The Watchtower, June 1, 1985, page 27.
116.Jump up ^ "Rejoicing Over "Victory With the Lamb", The Watchtower, October 15, 2007, page 31.
117.Jump up ^ "Britain", 2000 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, ©Watch Tower, page 130
118.Jump up ^ "New Members of the Governing Body", The Watchtower, November 15, 1977, page 680
119.Jump up ^ "A Staunch Fighter for the Truth", The Watchtower, September 15, 1988, page 31.
120.Jump up ^ "He ‘Knew the Way’", The Watchtower, December 15, 2014, page 3.
  



Categories: Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses
Governing assemblies of religious organizations







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Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses

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See also: Jehovah's Witnesses and governments and Supreme Court cases involving Jehovah's Witnesses by country
Throughout Jehovah's Witnesses' history, their beliefs, doctrines, and practices have engendered controversy and opposition from local governments, communities, and religious groups.
Many Christian denominations consider the interpretations and doctrines of Jehovah's Witnesses to be heretical. Some religious leaders have accused Jehovah's Witnesses of being a cult. According to law professor Archibald Cox, in the United States, Jehovah's Witnesses were "the principal victims of religious persecution … they began to attract attention and provoke repression in the 1930s, when their proselytizing and numbers rapidly increased."[1]
Political and religious animosity against Jehovah's Witnesses has at times led to mob action and government oppression in various countries, including Cuba, the United States, Canada, Singapore, and Nazi Germany. The religion's doctrine of political neutrality has led to imprisonment of members who refused conscription (for example in Britain during World War II and afterwards during the period of compulsory national service).
During the World Wars, Jehovah's Witnesses were targeted in the United States, Canada, and many other countries for their refusal to serve in the military or help with war efforts. In Canada, Jehovah's Witnesses were interned in camps[2] along with political dissidents and people of Japanese and Chinese descent. Activities of Jehovah's Witnesses have previously been banned in the Soviet Union and in Spain, partly due to their refusal to perform military service. Their religious activities are currently banned or restricted in some countries, for example in Singapore, China, Vietnam, and many Islamic states.
According to the journal, Social Compass, "Viewed globally, this persecution has been so persistent and of such an intensity that it would not be inaccurate to regard Jehovah's witnesses as the most persecuted religion of the twentieth century".[3] The claim is disputed, as deaths resulting from persecution of Christians of other denominations during the twentieth century are estimated to number 26 million.[4]



Contents  [hide]
1 Countries 1.1 Benin
1.2 Bulgaria
1.3 Cuba
1.4 Canada
1.5 Eritrea
1.6 France 1.6.1 French dependencies
1.7 Georgia
1.8 Germany
1.9 India
1.10 Malawi
1.11 Singapore
1.12 Soviet Union
1.13 Russian Federation
1.14 United States
2 Notes
3 References 3.1 Bibliography
4 Additional reading

Countries[edit]
Benin[edit]
During the first presidency of Mathieu Kérékou, activities of Jehovah's Witnesses were banned and members were forced to undergo "demystification training."[5][clarification needed]
Bulgaria[edit]
In Bulgaria, Jehovah's Witnesses have been targets of violence by right wing nationalist groups such as the Bulgarian National Movement. On April 17, 2011, a group of about sixty hooded men carrying BMPO flags besieged a Kingdom Hall in Burgas, during the annual memorial of Christ's death. Attackers threw stones, damaged furniture, and injured at least five of the people gathered inside.[6][7] The incident was recorded by a local television station.[8] Jehovah's Witnesses in Bulgaria have been fined for proselytizing without proper government permits, and some municipalities have legislation prohibiting or restricting their rights to preach.[9]
Cuba[edit]
Main article: Military Units to Aid Production
See also: Human rights in Cuba
Under Fidel Castro's communist regime, Jehovah's Witnesses were considered "social deviants", along with homosexuals, vagrants, and other groups, and were sent to forced labor concentration camps to be "reeducated".[10] Jehovah's Witnesses could not refuse blood transfusions on religious grounds, as the Cuban Healthcare system gave no right to refuse treatment (even on religious or animal rights grounds).[citation needed]
Canada[edit]
Main article: Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Canada
During both world wars, Jehovah's Witnesses were persecuted for abhorrence of patriotic exercises and conscientious objection to military service.[11]
In 1984, Canada released a number of previously classified documents which revealed that in the 1940s, "able bodied young Jehovah's Witnesses" were sent to "camps", and "entire families who practiced the religion were imprisoned."[2] The 1984 report stated, "Recently declassified wartime documents suggest [World War II] was also a time of officially sanctioned religious bigotry, political intolerance and the suppression of ideas. The federal government described Jehovah's Witnesses as subversive and offensive 'religious zealots' … in secret reports given to special parliamentarian committees in 1942." It concluded that, "probably no other organization is so offensive in its methods, working as it does under the guise of Christianity. The documents prepared by the justice department were presented to a special House of Commons committee by the government of William Lyon Mackenzie King in an attempt to justify the outlawing of the organizations during the second world war."[12]
Eritrea[edit]
In Eritrea, the government stripped Jehovah's Witnesses of their civil and political rights in 1994 after their refusal to engage in voting and military service.[13][14][15] Members of all ages have been arrested for participating in religious meetings.[16][17] Paulos Eyassu, Negede Teklemariam, and Isaac Mogos were arrested without charges, and were not allowed a trial.[18][19] International rights groups are aware of the situation of Jehovah's Witnesses in Eritrea[20] and have repeatedly called for Eritrean authorities to end the persecution.[21]
France[edit]
See also: Jehovah's Witnesses and governments (France)
Prior to World War II, the French government banned the Association of Jehovah's Witnesses in France, and ordered that the French offices of the Watch Tower Society be vacated.[Note 1] After the war, Jehovah's Witnesses in France renewed their operations. In December 1952, France's Minister of the Interior banned The Watchtower magazine, citing its position on military service.[22] The ban was lifted on November 26, 1974.[23][24]
In the 1990s and 2000s, the French government included Jehovah's Witnesses on its list of "cults", and governmental ministers made derogatory public statements about Jehovah's Witnesses.[Note 2] Despite its century of activity in the country, France's Ministry of Finance opposed official recognition of the religion; it was not until June 23, 2000 that France's highest administrative court, the Council of State, ruled that Jehovah's Witnesses qualify as a religion under French law.[25] France's Ministry of the Interior sought to collect 60% of donations made to the religion's entities; Witnesses called the taxation "confiscatory" and appealed to the European Court of Human Rights.[Note 3][Note 4] On June 30, 2011, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that France’s actions violated the religious freedom of Jehovah’s Witnesses by demanding 58 million euros in taxes.[26]
Jehovah's Witnesses in France have reported hundreds of criminal attacks against their adherents and places of worship.[Note 5]
French dependencies[edit]
During the ban of the The Watchtower in France, publication of the magazine continued in various French territories. In French Polynesia, the magazine was covertly published under the name, La Sentinelle, though it was later learned that The Watchtower had not been banned locally.[27] In Réunion, the magazine was published under the name, Bulletin intérieur.[28]
Georgia[edit]
In 1996, one year after Georgia adopted its post-USSR Constitution,[29] the country's Ministry of Internal Affairs began a campaign to detain tons of religious literature belonging to Jehovah's Witnesses.[30][31] Government officials refused permits for Jehovah's Witnesses to organize assemblies, and law enforcement officials dispersed legal assemblies. In September 2000, "Georgian police and security officials fired blank anti-tank shells and used force to disperse an outdoor gathering of some 700 Jehovah's Witnesses in the town of Natuliki in northwestern Georgia on 8 September, AP and Caucasus Press reported." [32]
In cases when the instigators were formally charged, prosecution was impeded by a lack of cooperation by government and law enforcement.[Note 6] In 2004, Forum 18 News Service referred to the period since 1999 as a "five-year reign of terror" against Jehovah's Witnesses and certain other religious minorities.[33] Amnesty International noted: "Jehovah's Witnesses have frequently been a target for violence … in Georgia … In many of the incidents police are said to have failed to protect the believers, or even to have participated in physical and verbal abuse." [34] Individual Witnesses have fled Georgia seeking religious refugee status in other nations.[Note 7]
On May 3, 2007, the European Court of Human Rights ruled against the government of Georgia for its toleration of religious violence toward Jehovah's Witnesses and ordered the victims be compensated for moral damages and legal costs.[35][36][37]
Germany[edit]
Main article: Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Nazi Germany
During 1931 and 1932, more than 2000 legal actions were instigated against Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany and members of the religion were dismissed from employment.[38] Persecution intensified following Adolf Hitler's appointment as chancellor in 1933 and continued until 1945.[39] A "Declaration of Facts" was issued at a Jehovah's Witness convention in Berlin on June 25, 1933, asserting the religion's political neutrality and calling for an end to government opposition. More than 2.1 million copies of the statement were distributed throughout Germany,[40] but its distribution prompted a new wave of persecution against German Witnesses, whose refusal to give the Hitler salute, join Nazi organizations or perform military service demonstrated their opposition to the nationalist and totalitarian ideologies of National Socialism.[41]
On October 4, 1934, congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany sent telegrams of protest and warning to Hitler. According to one eyewitness account Hitler was shown a number of telegrams protesting against the Third Reich's persecution of the Bible Students. The eyewitness, Karl Wittig, reported: "Hitler jumped to his feet and with clenched fists hysterically screamed: 'This brood will be exterminated in Germany!' Four years after this discussion I was able, by my own observations, to convince myself … that Hitler's outburst of anger was not just an idle threat. No other group of prisoners of the named concentration-camps was exposed to the sadism of the SS-soldiery in such a fashion as the Bible Students were. It was a sadism marked by an unending chain of physical and mental tortures, the likes of which no language in the world can express."[42][43]
About 10,000 Witnesses were imprisoned, including 2000 sent to concentration camps, where they were identified by purple triangles; as many as 1200 died, including 250 who were executed.[44][45] From 1935 Gestapo officers offered members a document to sign indicating renouncement of their faith, submission to state authority, and support of the German military. Historian Detlef Garbe says a "relatively high number" of people signed the statement before the war, but "extremely low numbers" of Bible Student prisoners did so in concentration camps in later years.[46]
Despite more than a century of conspicuous activity in the country, Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany were not granted legal recognition until March 25, 2005, in Berlin;[Note 8] in 2006 Germany's Federal Administrative Court (BVerwG) in Leipzig extended the local decision to apply nationwide.[47]
India[edit]
Jehovah's Witnesses' Office of Public Information has documented a number of mob attacks in India. It states that these instances of violence "reveal the country's hostility toward its own citizens who are Christians."[48][not in citation given] There have been reports that police assist mob attacks on Jehovah's Witnesses or lay charges against the Witnesses while failing to charge other participants in involved.[49] In the city of Davangere on December 20, 2010 a mob confronted two female Witnesses. The mob broke into the home of one of the Witnesses where they had taken refuge. Property was damaged and one of the Witnesses was assaulted. When the police arrived, the Witnesses were arrested and charged with blasphemy.[50]
In another incident, on December 6, 2011, three Witnesses were attacked by a mob in Madikeri, in the state of Karnataka. The male Witness "was kicked and pummeled by the mob" and then the mob dragged them towards a nearby temple; while making lewd remarks, the mob "tried to tear the clothes off of the female Witnesses." According to the report, the police came and "took the three Witnesses to the police station and filed charges against them rather than the mob."[51][not in citation given] During a July 2012 incident, a group of fifteen men assaulted four Witnesses in Madikeri. The group was taken to a police station and charged with "insulting the religion or religious beliefs of another class" before being released on bail.[52]
Malawi[edit]
In 1967, thousands of Witnesses in Malawi were beaten by police and citizens for refusing to purchase political party cards and become members of the Malawi Congress Party.[53] While their stand of not involving themselves in politics during the time of the old Colonial government was seen as an act of resistance their continued non-involvement with the new independent government was viewed as treasonous.[54] The organization was declared illegal in the penal code and the foreign members in the country were expelled. Persecution, both economic and physical, was intensified after a September 1972 Malawi Congress Party meeting which stated, in part, that "all Witnesses should be dismissed from their employment; any firm that failed to comply would have its license cancelled." By November 1973 some 21,000 Jehovah's Witness had fled to the neighboring country of Zambia.[55][56] In 1993, during the transition to a multiparty system and a change in leadership, the government's ban on the organization was lifted in the country.[57][58][59]
Singapore[edit]
In 1972 the Singapore government de-registered and banned the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses on the grounds that its members refuse to perform military service (which is obligatory for all male citizens), salute the flag, or swear oaths of allegiance to the state.[60][61] Singapore has banned all written materials (including Bibles) published by the International Bible Students Association and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, both publishing arms of the Jehovah's Witnesses. A person in possession of banned literature can be fined up to S$2,000 (US$1,333) and jailed up to 12 months for a first conviction.[62]
In February 1995, Singapore police raided private homes where group members were holding religious meetings, in an operation codenamed "Operation Hope". Officers seized Bibles, religious literature, documents and computers, and eventually brought charges against 69 Jehovah's Witnesses, many of whom went to jail.[63][64] In March 1995, 74-year-old Yu Nguk Ding was arrested for carrying two "undesirable publications"—one of them a Bible printed by the Watch Tower Society.[65]
In 1996, eighteen Jehovah's Witnesses were convicted for unlawfully meeting in a Singapore apartment and were given sentences from one to four weeks in jail.[66] Canadian Queen's Counsel Glen How flew to Singapore to defend the Jehovah's Witnesses and argued that the restrictions against the Jehovah's Witnesses violated their constitutional rights. Then-Chief Justice Yong Pung How questioned How's sanity, accused him of "living in a cartoon world" and referred to "funny, cranky religious groups" before denying the appeal.[63] In 1998, two Jehovah's Witnesses were charged in a Singapore court for possessing and distributing banned religious publications.[67]
In 1998 a Jehovah's Witness lost a law suit against a government school for wrongful dismissal for refusing to sing the national anthem or salute the flag. In March 1999, the Court of Appeals denied his appeal.[60] In 2000, public secondary schools indefinitely suspended at least fifteen Jehovah's Witness students for refusing to sing the national anthem or participate in the flag ceremony.[68] In April 2001, one public school teacher, also a member of Jehovah's Witnesses, resigned after being threatened with dismissal for refusing to participate in singing the national anthem.[60]
Singapore authorities have seized Jehovah's Witnesses' literature on various occasions from individuals attempting to cross the Malaysia-Singapore border. In thirteen cases, authorities warned the Jehovah's Witnesses, but did not press charges.[68][69][70]
As of 2008, there were 23 members of Jehovah's Witnesses incarcerated in the armed forces detention barracks for refusal to carry out mandatory military service. The initial sentence for failure to comply is 15 months' imprisonment, with an additional 24 months for a second refusal. All of the Jehovah's Witnesses in detention were incarcerated for failing to perform their initial military obligations and expect to serve a total of 39 months.[70] Failure to perform annual military reserve duty, which is required of all those who have completed their initial 2-year obligation, results in a 40-day sentence, with a 12-month sentence after four refusals.[70][71] There is no alternative civilian service for Jehovah's Witnesses.
In 2008–2009, the Singapore government declined to make data available to the public concerning arrests of Jehovah's Witnesses.[72][73]
Soviet Union[edit]
Jehovah's Witnesses did not have a significant presence in the Soviet Union prior to 1939 when the Soviet Union forcibly incorporated eastern Poland, Moldavia, and Lithuania, each of which had a Jehovah's Witness movement. Although never large in number (estimated by the KGB to be 20,000 in 1968), the Jehovah's Witnesses became one of the most persecuted religious groups in the Soviet Union during the post-World War II era.[74] Members were arrested or deported; some were put in Soviet concentration camps. Witnesses in Moldavian SSR were deported to Tomsk Oblast; members from other regions of the Soviet Union were deported to Irkutsk Oblast.[75] KGB officials, who were tasked with dissolving the Jehovah's Witness movement, were disturbed to discover that the Witnesses continued to practice their faith even within the labor camps.[76]
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Viktor Semyonovich Abakumov proposed the deportation of the Jehovah's Witnesses to Stalin in October 1950. A resolution was voted by the Council of Minister and an order was issued by the Ministry for State Security in March 1951. The Moldavian SSR passed a decree "on the confiscation and selling of the property of individuals banished from the territory of the Moldavian SSR", which included the Jehovah's Witnesses.[75]
In April 1951, over 9,000 Jehovah's Witnesses were deported to Siberia under a plan called "Operation North".[77][78]
Importation of Jehovah's Witnesses' literature into the Soviet Union was strictly forbidden, and Soviet Jehovah's Witnesses received their religious literature from Brooklyn illegally. Literature from Brooklyn arrived regularly, through well-organized unofficial channels, not only in many cities, but also in Siberia, and even in the penal camps of Potma.[citation needed] The Soviet government was so disturbed by the Jehovah's Witnesses that the KGB was authorized to send agents to infiltrate the Brooklyn headquarters.[79]
In September 1965, a decree of the Presidium of the USSR Council of Ministers canceled the "special settlement" restriction of Jehovah's Witnesses, though the decree, signed by Anastas Mikoyan, stated that there would be no compensation for confiscated property. However, Jehovah's Witnesses remained the subject of state persecution due to their ideology being classified as anti-Soviet.[80]
Russian Federation[edit]

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On December 8, 2009 the Supreme Court of Russia upheld the ruling of the lower courts which pronounced 34 pieces of Jehovah's Witness literature extremist, including their magazine The Watchtower, in the Russian language, and the book for children, My Book of Bible Stories. Jehovah's Witnesses claim that this ruling affirms a misapplication of the Federal Law on Counteracting Extremist Activity to Jehovah's Witnesses. The ruling upheld the confiscation of property of Jehovah's Witnesses in Taganrog (Rostov Region) in Russia, and might set a precedent for similar cases in other areas of Russia, as well as placing literature of Jehovah's Witnesses on a list of literature unacceptable throughout Russia. The Chairman of the Presiding Committee of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, Vasily Kalin, said: "I am very concerned that this decision will open a new era of opposition against Jehovah's Witnesses, whose right to meet in peace, to access religious literature and to share the Christian hope contained in the Gospels, is more and more limited." Kalin also stated, "When I was young I was sent to Siberia for being one of Jehovah's Witnesses and because my parents were reading The Watchtower, the same journal being unjustly declared 'extremist' in these proceedings."[81]
United States[edit]
Main article: Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in the United States
During the 1930s and 1940s, some US states passed laws that made it illegal for Jehovah's Witnesses to distribute their literature, and children of Jehovah's Witnesses in some states were banned from attending state schools. Mob violence against Jehovah's Witnesses was not uncommon, and some were murdered for their beliefs. Those responsible for these attacks were seldom prosecuted.[need quotation to verify][82]
After a drawn-out litigation process in state courts and lower federal courts, lawyers for Jehovah's Witnesses convinced the Supreme Court to issue a series of landmark First Amendment rulings that confirmed their right to be excused from military service and the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.[citation needed][when?]
The persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses for their refusal to salute the flag became known as the "Flag-Salute Cases".[83] Their refusal to salute the flag became considered as a test of the liberties for which the flag stands, namely the freedom to worship according to the dictates of one's own conscience. It was found that the United States, by making the flag salute compulsory in Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940), was impinging upon the individual's right to worship as one chooses — a violation of the First Amendment Free Exercise Clause in the constitution. Justice Frankfurter, speaking in behalf of the 8-to-1 majority view against the Witnesses, stated that the interests of "inculcating patriotism was of sufficient importance to justify a relatively minor infringement on religious belief."[84] The result of the ruling was a wave of persecution. Lillian Gobitas, the mother of the schoolchildren involved in the decision said, "It was like open season on Jehovah's Witnesses."[85]
The American Civil Liberties Union reported that by the end of 1940, "more than 1,500 Witnesses in the United States had been victimized in 335 separate attacks."[86] Such attacks included beatings, being tarred and feathered, hanged, shot, maimed, and even castrated, as well as other acts of violence.[87] As reports of these attacks against Jehovah's Witnesses continued, "several justices changed their minds, and in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943), the Court declared that the state could not impinge on the First Amendment by compelling the observance of rituals."[84]
Notes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "THE ORGANIZATION IS BANNED In mid-October 1939, about six weeks after the beginning of the war, the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses was banned in France."[88]
2.Jump up ^ "[The French] Government has a stated policy of monitoring potentially 'dangerous' cult activity through the Inter-ministerial Monitoring Mission against Sectarian Abuses (MIVILUDES). … In January 2005, MIVILUDES published a guide for public servants instructing them how to spot and combat 'dangerous' sects. … The Jehovah's Witnesses were mentioned"[89]
3.Jump up ^ "Jehovah's Witnesses awaited a ruling by the ECHR on the admissibility of a case contesting the government's assessment of their donations at a 60 percent tax rate. The government had imposed the high rate relative to other religious groups after ruling the group to be a harmful cult. If the assessed tax, which totaled more than 57 million euros (approximately $77.5 million) as of year's end, were to be paid, it would consume all of the group's buildings and assets in the country."[90]
4.Jump up ^ "France's highest court of appeal, the Cour de cassation, has handed down its decision in a case between the Association Les Témoins de Jéhovah, a not-for-profit religious association used by Jehovah's Witnesses in France, and the national tax department, the Direction des services fiscaux. Following a tax inspection lasting 18 months, the tax department established that Association Les Témoins de Jéhovah, whose sole revenue consists of religious donations by its adherents, was run in a completely benevolent fashion, and that its activities were not commercial or for profit. Nevertheless, the tax department levied a 60-percent tax on the religious donations made over a period of four years, between 1993 and 1996. … This is the first time in their 100-year existence in France that Jehovah's Witnesses have been taxed in this manner. … Furthermore, this tax has not been imposed on any other religious organization in France. The Association Les Témoins de Jéhovah has decided to institute proceedings against this confiscatory taxation before the European Court of Human Rights."[91]
5.Jump up ^ "According to representatives for the Jehovah's Witnesses community, there were 65 acts of vandalism against the group in the country through December including Molotov cocktails aimed at Jehovah's Witnesses' property. … According to the leaders of the Jehovah's Witnesses community in the country, there were 98 acts against individuals for 2006 and 115 acts in 2007."[90]
6.Jump up ^ "[A lawyer for Jehovah's Witnesses] does not believe judge Chkheidze did enough. "He should have done more to protect the security of participants. Five policemen were present but left the courtroom before the hearing started. We don't know why. Maybe they were instructed to do so." In a statement issued after the trial, the Jehovah's Witnesses reported that about three hundred of Mkalavishvili's supporters, mostly men, armed with metal and wooden crosses, tried to invade the courtroom before the hearing began. "Many entered and occupied areas reserved for attorneys as they rang their religious bell and waved large anti-Jehovah's Witness banners. As the victims' attorneys made their way through the mob to Judge Ioseb Chkheidze's chambers, they overheard security police being ordered away from the scene. The courtroom was left with no security." Attorneys explained to Chkheidze that under these circumstances it was impossible to proceed with the trial as it was too dangerous for the victims or their attorneys to attend."[92]
7.Jump up ^ "On 12 May 1995 during the "status interview" conducted by the officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Office the applicant declared additionally that, among others, she could not return to the country, because since 1989 she had been the Jehovah Witness sic and she feared that she could be arrested for that reason."[93]
8.Jump up ^ "A Berlin court ruled on Thursday that Jehovah's Witnesses are entitled to the same privileges enjoyed by Germany's major Catholic and Protestant churches, ending a 15-year legal fight about the group's status."[94]
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Cox, Archibald (1987). The Court and the Constitution. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co. p. 189. ISBN 0-395-48071-X.
2.^ Jump up to: a b Yaffee, Barbara (9 September 1984). "Witnesses Seek Apology for Wartime Persecution". The Globe in Mail. p. 4.
3.Jump up ^ Jubber, Ken (1977). "The Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Southern Africa". Social Compass, 24 (1): 121,. doi:10.1177/003776867702400108.
4.Jump up ^ "More martyrs now than then".
5.Jump up ^ Lamb, David. The Africans. Page 109.
6.Jump up ^ http://www.jw-media.org/bgr/20110421.htm
7.Jump up ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy9lQjwwbEM
8.Jump up ^ "Brawl between Bulgarian Nationalists, Jehovah Witnesses Injures 5". The Journal of Turkish Weekly.
9.Jump up ^ http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/148922.htm
10.Jump up ^ Philip Brenner, Marguerite Rose Jiménez, John M. Kirk, William M LeoGrande. A contemporary Cuba reader.
11.Jump up ^ Marsh, James H. (1988). The Canadian Encyclopedia (2 ed.). Hurtig. p. 1107. ISBN 0-88830-328-9.
12.Jump up ^ "Secret Files Reveal Bigotry, Suppression". The Globe and Mail. 4 September 1984.
13.Jump up ^ "Eritrea: Torture fears for 28 Jehovah's Witnesses arrested, including 90-year-old man". Amnesty International UK. 19 February 2004. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
14.Jump up ^ Fisher, Jonah (17 September 2004). "Religious persecution in Eritrea". BBC News. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
15.Jump up ^ Plaut, Martin (28 June 2007). "Christians protest over Eritrea". BBC News. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
16.Jump up ^ "Imprisoned for Their Faith". jw.org.
17.Jump up ^ "Eritrea - No Progress on Key Human Rights Concerns". Amnesty International Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review. Amnesty International. January – February 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014. Check date values in: |date= (help)
18.Jump up ^ "Twenty Years of Imprisonment in Eritrea—Will It Ever End?". 24 September 2014.
19.Jump up ^ Hendricks III, Robert J. (July–August 2010). "Aliens for Their Faith". Liberty magazine. North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
20.Jump up ^ http://www.jw.org/en/news/legal/by-region/eritrea/jehovahs-witnesses-unjust-imprisonment-20-years/
21.Jump up ^ http://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/Eritrea%202014.pdf |url= missing title (help) (PDF). USCIRF Annual Report 2014. United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. 2014. pp. 54–57. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
22.Jump up ^ Anonymous (1980), p. 128
23.Jump up ^ 1976 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses
24.Jump up ^ "Announcements", Our Kingdom Ministry, February 1975, page 3
25.Jump up ^ "Highest administrative court in France rules that Jehovah's Witnesses are a religion", News release June 23, 2000, Authorized Site of the Office of Public Information of Jehovah's Witnesses, As Retrieved 2009-08-19
26.Jump up ^ http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=45917
27.Jump up ^ 2005 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. pp. 88–89.
28.Jump up ^ 2007 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 255
29.Jump up ^ That is, 'the year after 1995'. See Parliament of Georgia website, As Retrieved 2009-08-26, "THE CONSTITUTION OF GEORGIA Adopted on 24 August 1995"
30.Jump up ^ "Jehovah's Witnesses in Georgia: Chronology of Acts of Violence and Intimidation", Authorized Site of the Office of Public Information of Jehovah's Witnesses, As Retrieved 2009-08-26
31.Jump up ^ "Georgia Country Reports on Human Rights Practices", U. S. State Department, February 23, 2000, As Retrieved 2009-08-26
32.Jump up ^ Encyclopedia.com, As Retrieved 2009-08-26
33.Jump up ^ "GEORGIA: Will violent attackers of religious minorities be punished?" by Felix Corley, F18News, Forum 18 News Service, published 16 August 2004, As Retrieved 2009-08-26
34.Jump up ^ AmnestyUSA.org, As Retrieved 2009-08-26
35.Jump up ^ "CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF JUDGMENTS AND PUBLISHED DECISIONS", EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS,As Retrieved 2009-08-26, page 203 of 285, May 3, 2007, Listing "7148 3.5.2007 Membres de la Congrégation des témoins de Jéhovah de Gldani et autres c. Géorgie/Members of the Gldani Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses and Others v. Georgia, no/no. 71156/01 (Sect. 2), CEDH/ECHR 2007-V"
36.Jump up ^ As Retrieved 2009-08-26, pages 13–14 (of 53)
37.Jump up ^ "European Court rules against Georgia's campaign of terror", Authorized Site of the Office of Public Information of Jehovah's Witnesses, As Retrieved 2009-08-26
38.Jump up ^ "Firm in Faith Despite Opposition", The Watchtower, June 15, 1967, pages 366–367
39.Jump up ^ "Germany", 1974 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, pages 116–117
40.Jump up ^ Penton, M.J. (1997). Apocalypse Delayed. University of Toronto Press. pp. 147–149. ISBN 9780802079732.
41.Jump up ^ Garbe (2008), pp. 512–524
42.Jump up ^ "Foreign Activities Under Fascist-Nazi Persecution", The Watchtower, August 1, 1955, page 462
43.Jump up ^ "Germany", 1974 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 138
44.Jump up ^ Garbe (2008), p. 484
45.Jump up ^ [1].
46.Jump up ^ Garbe (2008), pp. 286–291
47.Jump up ^ "Germany Federal Administrative Court Upholds Witnesses' Full Exercise of Faith", Authorized Site of the Office of Public Information of Jehovah's Witnesses, As Retrieved 2009-08-26
48.Jump up ^ http://www.jw-media.org/ind/index.htm
49.Jump up ^ "July-December, 2010 International Religious Freedom Report". U.S. Department of State - Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. September 13, 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
50.Jump up ^ Jess, Kevin (February 16, 2011). "Hindu mob attacks Christian women, police back mob". Digital Journal. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
51.Jump up ^ "Violence against Jehovah’s Witnesses in India escalates as police assist mob attacks", Authorized Site of the Office of Public Information of Jehovah's Witnesses, [2]
52.Jump up ^ "USCIRF Annual Report 2013 - Tier 2: India". refworld. UNHCR The UN Refugee Agency. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
53.Jump up ^ Jubber, Ken (1977). "The Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Southern Africa". Social Compass 24 (1): 121–134. doi:10.1177/003776867702400108.
54.Jump up ^ Tengatenga, James (2006). Church, State, and Society in Malawi: An Analysis of Anglican Ecclesiology. Kachere Series. p. 113. ISBN 9990876517.
55.Jump up ^ Carver, Richard (1990). Where Silence Rules: The Suppression of Dissent in Malawi. Human Rights Watch. pp. 64–66. ISBN 9780929692739.
56.Jump up ^ Howard-Hassmann, Rhoda E. (1986). Human Rights in Commonwealth Africa. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 110. ISBN 0847674339.
57.Jump up ^ https://books.google.com/books?id=_FQb4Ulgz0sC&pg=RA6-PA499&lpg=RA6-PA499&dq=malawi+jehovah%27s+witnesses+ban+lifted&source=bl&ots=vGjE0mS2Ii&sig=qqGzoAXiDjQNrKdaKbtSg-dtTj0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=E6eeVLyANcfjgwSAlYO4Aw&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=malawi%20jehovah's%20witnesses%20ban%20lifted&f=false |url= missing title (help). Kenya National Assembly Official Record (Hansard). 19 April 1995. p. 499. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
58.Jump up ^ "Malawi Human Rights Practices, 1993". U.S. Department Of State. January 31, 1994. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
59.Jump up ^ "Malawi A new future for human rights" (PDF). Amnesty International. February 1994. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
60.^ Jump up to: a b c http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2001/5732.htm
61.Jump up ^ "Singapore", International Religious Freedom Report 2004, U. S. Department of State, As Retrieved 2010-03-11
62.Jump up ^ http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127287.htm
63.^ Jump up to: a b http://www.singapore-window.org/80411sm.htm
64.Jump up ^ http://www.jehovah.com.au/jehovah-articles/1995/2/27/singapore-police-swoop-on-jehovahs-witnesses/
65.Jump up ^ http://www.chrislydgate.com/webclips/jehovah.htm
66.Jump up ^ http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1996/january8/6t164b.html
67.Jump up ^ http://www.singapore-window.org/80330up.htm
68.^ Jump up to: a b http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2002/13909.htm
69.Jump up ^ http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27788.htm
70.^ Jump up to: a b c http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90153.htm
71.Jump up ^ http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108423.htm
72.Jump up ^ http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/eap/119056.htm
73.Jump up ^ http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/eap/136008.htm
74.Jump up ^ Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin, The Sword and the Shield, New York: Basic Books, 1999, ISBN 0-465-00310-9, p.503.
75.^ Jump up to: a b Pavel Polian. "Against Their Will: The History and Geography of Forced Migrations in the USSR", Central European University Press, 2004. ISBN 978-963-9241-68-8. p.169-171
76.Jump up ^ Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin, The Sword and the Shield, New York: Basic Books, 1999, ISBN 0-465-00310-9, p.505.
77.Jump up ^ "Recalling Operation North", by Vitali Kamyshev, "Русская мысль", Париж, N 4363, 26 April 2001 (Russian)
78.Jump up ^ Валерий Пасат ."Трудные страницы истории Молдовы (1940–1950)". Москва: Изд. Terra, 1994 (Russian)
79.Jump up ^ Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin, The Sword and the Shield, New York: Basic Books, 1999, ISBN 0-465-00310-9, p.506.
80.Jump up ^ "Christan Believers Were Persecuted by All Tolatitarian Regimes" Prava Lyudini ("Rights of a Person"), the newspaper of a Ukrainian human rights organization, Kharkiv, December 2001 (Russian)
81.Jump up ^ "Russian Supreme Court rules against Jehovah's Witnesses and religious freedom" December 8, 2009
82.Jump up ^ cf. Peters (2000), p. 11
83.Jump up ^ Hall (1992), p. 394
84.^ Jump up to: a b Hall (1992), p. 395
85.Jump up ^ Irons, Peter. A People's History of the Supreme Courtp. 341. New York: Viking Penguin, 1999.
86.Jump up ^ Peters (2000), p. 10
87.Jump up ^ Peters (2000), p. 8
88.Jump up ^ Anonymous (1980), pp. 87–89
89.Jump up ^ "France: International Religious Freedom Report 2006", U.S. Department of State, As Retrieved 2009-08-19
90.^ Jump up to: a b "France: International Religious Freedom Report 2008", U.S. Department of State, As Retrieved 2009-08-19
91.Jump up ^ "French High Court confirms 60-percent confiscatory tax measure on religious donations", News release October 6, 2004, Authorized Site of the Office of Public Information of Jehovah's Witnesses, As Retrieved 2009-08-19
92.Jump up ^ "GEORGIA: INTIMIDATION SABOTAGES TRIAL OF VIOLENT PRIEST" by Felix Corley, Keston News Service, February 7, 2002, Keston Institute, Oxford, UK, as cited by Eurasianet.org, As Retrieved 2009-08-26
93.Jump up ^ T. L. v. Ministry of Internal Affairs, V SA 1969/95, Poland: High Administrative Court, 17 September 1996, As Retrieved 2009-08-26
94.Jump up ^ "Jehovah's Witnesses Granted Legal Status", Deutsche Welle, March 25, 2005, http://www.dw-world.de/popups/popup_printcontent/0,,1530197,00.html As Retrieved 2009-08-26, As Retrieved 2009-08-26
Bibliography[edit]
Anonymous (1980). "France". 1980 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. Brooklyn, NY: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.
Garbe, Detlef (2008). Between Resistance and Martyrdom: Jehovah's Witnesses in the Third Reich. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 0-299-20794-3.
Hall, Kermit L. (1992). The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press.
Peters, Shawn Francis (2000). Judging Jehovah's Witnesses: Religious Persecution and the Dawn of the Rights Revolution. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.
Additional reading[edit]
Persecution and Resistance of Jehovah's Witnesses During the Nazi Regime Edited by Hans Hesse ISBN 3-86108-750-2
Paul Johnson, A History of Christianity, ISBN 0-689-10728-5



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Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses

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See also: Jehovah's Witnesses and governments and Supreme Court cases involving Jehovah's Witnesses by country
Throughout Jehovah's Witnesses' history, their beliefs, doctrines, and practices have engendered controversy and opposition from local governments, communities, and religious groups.
Many Christian denominations consider the interpretations and doctrines of Jehovah's Witnesses to be heretical. Some religious leaders have accused Jehovah's Witnesses of being a cult. According to law professor Archibald Cox, in the United States, Jehovah's Witnesses were "the principal victims of religious persecution … they began to attract attention and provoke repression in the 1930s, when their proselytizing and numbers rapidly increased."[1]
Political and religious animosity against Jehovah's Witnesses has at times led to mob action and government oppression in various countries, including Cuba, the United States, Canada, Singapore, and Nazi Germany. The religion's doctrine of political neutrality has led to imprisonment of members who refused conscription (for example in Britain during World War II and afterwards during the period of compulsory national service).
During the World Wars, Jehovah's Witnesses were targeted in the United States, Canada, and many other countries for their refusal to serve in the military or help with war efforts. In Canada, Jehovah's Witnesses were interned in camps[2] along with political dissidents and people of Japanese and Chinese descent. Activities of Jehovah's Witnesses have previously been banned in the Soviet Union and in Spain, partly due to their refusal to perform military service. Their religious activities are currently banned or restricted in some countries, for example in Singapore, China, Vietnam, and many Islamic states.
According to the journal, Social Compass, "Viewed globally, this persecution has been so persistent and of such an intensity that it would not be inaccurate to regard Jehovah's witnesses as the most persecuted religion of the twentieth century".[3] The claim is disputed, as deaths resulting from persecution of Christians of other denominations during the twentieth century are estimated to number 26 million.[4]



Contents  [hide]
1 Countries 1.1 Benin
1.2 Bulgaria
1.3 Cuba
1.4 Canada
1.5 Eritrea
1.6 France 1.6.1 French dependencies
1.7 Georgia
1.8 Germany
1.9 India
1.10 Malawi
1.11 Singapore
1.12 Soviet Union
1.13 Russian Federation
1.14 United States
2 Notes
3 References 3.1 Bibliography
4 Additional reading

Countries[edit]
Benin[edit]
During the first presidency of Mathieu Kérékou, activities of Jehovah's Witnesses were banned and members were forced to undergo "demystification training."[5][clarification needed]
Bulgaria[edit]
In Bulgaria, Jehovah's Witnesses have been targets of violence by right wing nationalist groups such as the Bulgarian National Movement. On April 17, 2011, a group of about sixty hooded men carrying BMPO flags besieged a Kingdom Hall in Burgas, during the annual memorial of Christ's death. Attackers threw stones, damaged furniture, and injured at least five of the people gathered inside.[6][7] The incident was recorded by a local television station.[8] Jehovah's Witnesses in Bulgaria have been fined for proselytizing without proper government permits, and some municipalities have legislation prohibiting or restricting their rights to preach.[9]
Cuba[edit]
Main article: Military Units to Aid Production
See also: Human rights in Cuba
Under Fidel Castro's communist regime, Jehovah's Witnesses were considered "social deviants", along with homosexuals, vagrants, and other groups, and were sent to forced labor concentration camps to be "reeducated".[10] Jehovah's Witnesses could not refuse blood transfusions on religious grounds, as the Cuban Healthcare system gave no right to refuse treatment (even on religious or animal rights grounds).[citation needed]
Canada[edit]
Main article: Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Canada
During both world wars, Jehovah's Witnesses were persecuted for abhorrence of patriotic exercises and conscientious objection to military service.[11]
In 1984, Canada released a number of previously classified documents which revealed that in the 1940s, "able bodied young Jehovah's Witnesses" were sent to "camps", and "entire families who practiced the religion were imprisoned."[2] The 1984 report stated, "Recently declassified wartime documents suggest [World War II] was also a time of officially sanctioned religious bigotry, political intolerance and the suppression of ideas. The federal government described Jehovah's Witnesses as subversive and offensive 'religious zealots' … in secret reports given to special parliamentarian committees in 1942." It concluded that, "probably no other organization is so offensive in its methods, working as it does under the guise of Christianity. The documents prepared by the justice department were presented to a special House of Commons committee by the government of William Lyon Mackenzie King in an attempt to justify the outlawing of the organizations during the second world war."[12]
Eritrea[edit]
In Eritrea, the government stripped Jehovah's Witnesses of their civil and political rights in 1994 after their refusal to engage in voting and military service.[13][14][15] Members of all ages have been arrested for participating in religious meetings.[16][17] Paulos Eyassu, Negede Teklemariam, and Isaac Mogos were arrested without charges, and were not allowed a trial.[18][19] International rights groups are aware of the situation of Jehovah's Witnesses in Eritrea[20] and have repeatedly called for Eritrean authorities to end the persecution.[21]
France[edit]
See also: Jehovah's Witnesses and governments (France)
Prior to World War II, the French government banned the Association of Jehovah's Witnesses in France, and ordered that the French offices of the Watch Tower Society be vacated.[Note 1] After the war, Jehovah's Witnesses in France renewed their operations. In December 1952, France's Minister of the Interior banned The Watchtower magazine, citing its position on military service.[22] The ban was lifted on November 26, 1974.[23][24]
In the 1990s and 2000s, the French government included Jehovah's Witnesses on its list of "cults", and governmental ministers made derogatory public statements about Jehovah's Witnesses.[Note 2] Despite its century of activity in the country, France's Ministry of Finance opposed official recognition of the religion; it was not until June 23, 2000 that France's highest administrative court, the Council of State, ruled that Jehovah's Witnesses qualify as a religion under French law.[25] France's Ministry of the Interior sought to collect 60% of donations made to the religion's entities; Witnesses called the taxation "confiscatory" and appealed to the European Court of Human Rights.[Note 3][Note 4] On June 30, 2011, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that France’s actions violated the religious freedom of Jehovah’s Witnesses by demanding 58 million euros in taxes.[26]
Jehovah's Witnesses in France have reported hundreds of criminal attacks against their adherents and places of worship.[Note 5]
French dependencies[edit]
During the ban of the The Watchtower in France, publication of the magazine continued in various French territories. In French Polynesia, the magazine was covertly published under the name, La Sentinelle, though it was later learned that The Watchtower had not been banned locally.[27] In Réunion, the magazine was published under the name, Bulletin intérieur.[28]
Georgia[edit]
In 1996, one year after Georgia adopted its post-USSR Constitution,[29] the country's Ministry of Internal Affairs began a campaign to detain tons of religious literature belonging to Jehovah's Witnesses.[30][31] Government officials refused permits for Jehovah's Witnesses to organize assemblies, and law enforcement officials dispersed legal assemblies. In September 2000, "Georgian police and security officials fired blank anti-tank shells and used force to disperse an outdoor gathering of some 700 Jehovah's Witnesses in the town of Natuliki in northwestern Georgia on 8 September, AP and Caucasus Press reported." [32]
In cases when the instigators were formally charged, prosecution was impeded by a lack of cooperation by government and law enforcement.[Note 6] In 2004, Forum 18 News Service referred to the period since 1999 as a "five-year reign of terror" against Jehovah's Witnesses and certain other religious minorities.[33] Amnesty International noted: "Jehovah's Witnesses have frequently been a target for violence … in Georgia … In many of the incidents police are said to have failed to protect the believers, or even to have participated in physical and verbal abuse." [34] Individual Witnesses have fled Georgia seeking religious refugee status in other nations.[Note 7]
On May 3, 2007, the European Court of Human Rights ruled against the government of Georgia for its toleration of religious violence toward Jehovah's Witnesses and ordered the victims be compensated for moral damages and legal costs.[35][36][37]
Germany[edit]
Main article: Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Nazi Germany
During 1931 and 1932, more than 2000 legal actions were instigated against Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany and members of the religion were dismissed from employment.[38] Persecution intensified following Adolf Hitler's appointment as chancellor in 1933 and continued until 1945.[39] A "Declaration of Facts" was issued at a Jehovah's Witness convention in Berlin on June 25, 1933, asserting the religion's political neutrality and calling for an end to government opposition. More than 2.1 million copies of the statement were distributed throughout Germany,[40] but its distribution prompted a new wave of persecution against German Witnesses, whose refusal to give the Hitler salute, join Nazi organizations or perform military service demonstrated their opposition to the nationalist and totalitarian ideologies of National Socialism.[41]
On October 4, 1934, congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany sent telegrams of protest and warning to Hitler. According to one eyewitness account Hitler was shown a number of telegrams protesting against the Third Reich's persecution of the Bible Students. The eyewitness, Karl Wittig, reported: "Hitler jumped to his feet and with clenched fists hysterically screamed: 'This brood will be exterminated in Germany!' Four years after this discussion I was able, by my own observations, to convince myself … that Hitler's outburst of anger was not just an idle threat. No other group of prisoners of the named concentration-camps was exposed to the sadism of the SS-soldiery in such a fashion as the Bible Students were. It was a sadism marked by an unending chain of physical and mental tortures, the likes of which no language in the world can express."[42][43]
About 10,000 Witnesses were imprisoned, including 2000 sent to concentration camps, where they were identified by purple triangles; as many as 1200 died, including 250 who were executed.[44][45] From 1935 Gestapo officers offered members a document to sign indicating renouncement of their faith, submission to state authority, and support of the German military. Historian Detlef Garbe says a "relatively high number" of people signed the statement before the war, but "extremely low numbers" of Bible Student prisoners did so in concentration camps in later years.[46]
Despite more than a century of conspicuous activity in the country, Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany were not granted legal recognition until March 25, 2005, in Berlin;[Note 8] in 2006 Germany's Federal Administrative Court (BVerwG) in Leipzig extended the local decision to apply nationwide.[47]
India[edit]
Jehovah's Witnesses' Office of Public Information has documented a number of mob attacks in India. It states that these instances of violence "reveal the country's hostility toward its own citizens who are Christians."[48][not in citation given] There have been reports that police assist mob attacks on Jehovah's Witnesses or lay charges against the Witnesses while failing to charge other participants in involved.[49] In the city of Davangere on December 20, 2010 a mob confronted two female Witnesses. The mob broke into the home of one of the Witnesses where they had taken refuge. Property was damaged and one of the Witnesses was assaulted. When the police arrived, the Witnesses were arrested and charged with blasphemy.[50]
In another incident, on December 6, 2011, three Witnesses were attacked by a mob in Madikeri, in the state of Karnataka. The male Witness "was kicked and pummeled by the mob" and then the mob dragged them towards a nearby temple; while making lewd remarks, the mob "tried to tear the clothes off of the female Witnesses." According to the report, the police came and "took the three Witnesses to the police station and filed charges against them rather than the mob."[51][not in citation given] During a July 2012 incident, a group of fifteen men assaulted four Witnesses in Madikeri. The group was taken to a police station and charged with "insulting the religion or religious beliefs of another class" before being released on bail.[52]
Malawi[edit]
In 1967, thousands of Witnesses in Malawi were beaten by police and citizens for refusing to purchase political party cards and become members of the Malawi Congress Party.[53] While their stand of not involving themselves in politics during the time of the old Colonial government was seen as an act of resistance their continued non-involvement with the new independent government was viewed as treasonous.[54] The organization was declared illegal in the penal code and the foreign members in the country were expelled. Persecution, both economic and physical, was intensified after a September 1972 Malawi Congress Party meeting which stated, in part, that "all Witnesses should be dismissed from their employment; any firm that failed to comply would have its license cancelled." By November 1973 some 21,000 Jehovah's Witness had fled to the neighboring country of Zambia.[55][56] In 1993, during the transition to a multiparty system and a change in leadership, the government's ban on the organization was lifted in the country.[57][58][59]
Singapore[edit]
In 1972 the Singapore government de-registered and banned the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses on the grounds that its members refuse to perform military service (which is obligatory for all male citizens), salute the flag, or swear oaths of allegiance to the state.[60][61] Singapore has banned all written materials (including Bibles) published by the International Bible Students Association and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, both publishing arms of the Jehovah's Witnesses. A person in possession of banned literature can be fined up to S$2,000 (US$1,333) and jailed up to 12 months for a first conviction.[62]
In February 1995, Singapore police raided private homes where group members were holding religious meetings, in an operation codenamed "Operation Hope". Officers seized Bibles, religious literature, documents and computers, and eventually brought charges against 69 Jehovah's Witnesses, many of whom went to jail.[63][64] In March 1995, 74-year-old Yu Nguk Ding was arrested for carrying two "undesirable publications"—one of them a Bible printed by the Watch Tower Society.[65]
In 1996, eighteen Jehovah's Witnesses were convicted for unlawfully meeting in a Singapore apartment and were given sentences from one to four weeks in jail.[66] Canadian Queen's Counsel Glen How flew to Singapore to defend the Jehovah's Witnesses and argued that the restrictions against the Jehovah's Witnesses violated their constitutional rights. Then-Chief Justice Yong Pung How questioned How's sanity, accused him of "living in a cartoon world" and referred to "funny, cranky religious groups" before denying the appeal.[63] In 1998, two Jehovah's Witnesses were charged in a Singapore court for possessing and distributing banned religious publications.[67]
In 1998 a Jehovah's Witness lost a law suit against a government school for wrongful dismissal for refusing to sing the national anthem or salute the flag. In March 1999, the Court of Appeals denied his appeal.[60] In 2000, public secondary schools indefinitely suspended at least fifteen Jehovah's Witness students for refusing to sing the national anthem or participate in the flag ceremony.[68] In April 2001, one public school teacher, also a member of Jehovah's Witnesses, resigned after being threatened with dismissal for refusing to participate in singing the national anthem.[60]
Singapore authorities have seized Jehovah's Witnesses' literature on various occasions from individuals attempting to cross the Malaysia-Singapore border. In thirteen cases, authorities warned the Jehovah's Witnesses, but did not press charges.[68][69][70]
As of 2008, there were 23 members of Jehovah's Witnesses incarcerated in the armed forces detention barracks for refusal to carry out mandatory military service. The initial sentence for failure to comply is 15 months' imprisonment, with an additional 24 months for a second refusal. All of the Jehovah's Witnesses in detention were incarcerated for failing to perform their initial military obligations and expect to serve a total of 39 months.[70] Failure to perform annual military reserve duty, which is required of all those who have completed their initial 2-year obligation, results in a 40-day sentence, with a 12-month sentence after four refusals.[70][71] There is no alternative civilian service for Jehovah's Witnesses.
In 2008–2009, the Singapore government declined to make data available to the public concerning arrests of Jehovah's Witnesses.[72][73]
Soviet Union[edit]
Jehovah's Witnesses did not have a significant presence in the Soviet Union prior to 1939 when the Soviet Union forcibly incorporated eastern Poland, Moldavia, and Lithuania, each of which had a Jehovah's Witness movement. Although never large in number (estimated by the KGB to be 20,000 in 1968), the Jehovah's Witnesses became one of the most persecuted religious groups in the Soviet Union during the post-World War II era.[74] Members were arrested or deported; some were put in Soviet concentration camps. Witnesses in Moldavian SSR were deported to Tomsk Oblast; members from other regions of the Soviet Union were deported to Irkutsk Oblast.[75] KGB officials, who were tasked with dissolving the Jehovah's Witness movement, were disturbed to discover that the Witnesses continued to practice their faith even within the labor camps.[76]
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Viktor Semyonovich Abakumov proposed the deportation of the Jehovah's Witnesses to Stalin in October 1950. A resolution was voted by the Council of Minister and an order was issued by the Ministry for State Security in March 1951. The Moldavian SSR passed a decree "on the confiscation and selling of the property of individuals banished from the territory of the Moldavian SSR", which included the Jehovah's Witnesses.[75]
In April 1951, over 9,000 Jehovah's Witnesses were deported to Siberia under a plan called "Operation North".[77][78]
Importation of Jehovah's Witnesses' literature into the Soviet Union was strictly forbidden, and Soviet Jehovah's Witnesses received their religious literature from Brooklyn illegally. Literature from Brooklyn arrived regularly, through well-organized unofficial channels, not only in many cities, but also in Siberia, and even in the penal camps of Potma.[citation needed] The Soviet government was so disturbed by the Jehovah's Witnesses that the KGB was authorized to send agents to infiltrate the Brooklyn headquarters.[79]
In September 1965, a decree of the Presidium of the USSR Council of Ministers canceled the "special settlement" restriction of Jehovah's Witnesses, though the decree, signed by Anastas Mikoyan, stated that there would be no compensation for confiscated property. However, Jehovah's Witnesses remained the subject of state persecution due to their ideology being classified as anti-Soviet.[80]
Russian Federation[edit]

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On December 8, 2009 the Supreme Court of Russia upheld the ruling of the lower courts which pronounced 34 pieces of Jehovah's Witness literature extremist, including their magazine The Watchtower, in the Russian language, and the book for children, My Book of Bible Stories. Jehovah's Witnesses claim that this ruling affirms a misapplication of the Federal Law on Counteracting Extremist Activity to Jehovah's Witnesses. The ruling upheld the confiscation of property of Jehovah's Witnesses in Taganrog (Rostov Region) in Russia, and might set a precedent for similar cases in other areas of Russia, as well as placing literature of Jehovah's Witnesses on a list of literature unacceptable throughout Russia. The Chairman of the Presiding Committee of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, Vasily Kalin, said: "I am very concerned that this decision will open a new era of opposition against Jehovah's Witnesses, whose right to meet in peace, to access religious literature and to share the Christian hope contained in the Gospels, is more and more limited." Kalin also stated, "When I was young I was sent to Siberia for being one of Jehovah's Witnesses and because my parents were reading The Watchtower, the same journal being unjustly declared 'extremist' in these proceedings."[81]
United States[edit]
Main article: Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in the United States
During the 1930s and 1940s, some US states passed laws that made it illegal for Jehovah's Witnesses to distribute their literature, and children of Jehovah's Witnesses in some states were banned from attending state schools. Mob violence against Jehovah's Witnesses was not uncommon, and some were murdered for their beliefs. Those responsible for these attacks were seldom prosecuted.[need quotation to verify][82]
After a drawn-out litigation process in state courts and lower federal courts, lawyers for Jehovah's Witnesses convinced the Supreme Court to issue a series of landmark First Amendment rulings that confirmed their right to be excused from military service and the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.[citation needed][when?]
The persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses for their refusal to salute the flag became known as the "Flag-Salute Cases".[83] Their refusal to salute the flag became considered as a test of the liberties for which the flag stands, namely the freedom to worship according to the dictates of one's own conscience. It was found that the United States, by making the flag salute compulsory in Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940), was impinging upon the individual's right to worship as one chooses — a violation of the First Amendment Free Exercise Clause in the constitution. Justice Frankfurter, speaking in behalf of the 8-to-1 majority view against the Witnesses, stated that the interests of "inculcating patriotism was of sufficient importance to justify a relatively minor infringement on religious belief."[84] The result of the ruling was a wave of persecution. Lillian Gobitas, the mother of the schoolchildren involved in the decision said, "It was like open season on Jehovah's Witnesses."[85]
The American Civil Liberties Union reported that by the end of 1940, "more than 1,500 Witnesses in the United States had been victimized in 335 separate attacks."[86] Such attacks included beatings, being tarred and feathered, hanged, shot, maimed, and even castrated, as well as other acts of violence.[87] As reports of these attacks against Jehovah's Witnesses continued, "several justices changed their minds, and in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943), the Court declared that the state could not impinge on the First Amendment by compelling the observance of rituals."[84]
Notes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "THE ORGANIZATION IS BANNED In mid-October 1939, about six weeks after the beginning of the war, the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses was banned in France."[88]
2.Jump up ^ "[The French] Government has a stated policy of monitoring potentially 'dangerous' cult activity through the Inter-ministerial Monitoring Mission against Sectarian Abuses (MIVILUDES). … In January 2005, MIVILUDES published a guide for public servants instructing them how to spot and combat 'dangerous' sects. … The Jehovah's Witnesses were mentioned"[89]
3.Jump up ^ "Jehovah's Witnesses awaited a ruling by the ECHR on the admissibility of a case contesting the government's assessment of their donations at a 60 percent tax rate. The government had imposed the high rate relative to other religious groups after ruling the group to be a harmful cult. If the assessed tax, which totaled more than 57 million euros (approximately $77.5 million) as of year's end, were to be paid, it would consume all of the group's buildings and assets in the country."[90]
4.Jump up ^ "France's highest court of appeal, the Cour de cassation, has handed down its decision in a case between the Association Les Témoins de Jéhovah, a not-for-profit religious association used by Jehovah's Witnesses in France, and the national tax department, the Direction des services fiscaux. Following a tax inspection lasting 18 months, the tax department established that Association Les Témoins de Jéhovah, whose sole revenue consists of religious donations by its adherents, was run in a completely benevolent fashion, and that its activities were not commercial or for profit. Nevertheless, the tax department levied a 60-percent tax on the religious donations made over a period of four years, between 1993 and 1996. … This is the first time in their 100-year existence in France that Jehovah's Witnesses have been taxed in this manner. … Furthermore, this tax has not been imposed on any other religious organization in France. The Association Les Témoins de Jéhovah has decided to institute proceedings against this confiscatory taxation before the European Court of Human Rights."[91]
5.Jump up ^ "According to representatives for the Jehovah's Witnesses community, there were 65 acts of vandalism against the group in the country through December including Molotov cocktails aimed at Jehovah's Witnesses' property. … According to the leaders of the Jehovah's Witnesses community in the country, there were 98 acts against individuals for 2006 and 115 acts in 2007."[90]
6.Jump up ^ "[A lawyer for Jehovah's Witnesses] does not believe judge Chkheidze did enough. "He should have done more to protect the security of participants. Five policemen were present but left the courtroom before the hearing started. We don't know why. Maybe they were instructed to do so." In a statement issued after the trial, the Jehovah's Witnesses reported that about three hundred of Mkalavishvili's supporters, mostly men, armed with metal and wooden crosses, tried to invade the courtroom before the hearing began. "Many entered and occupied areas reserved for attorneys as they rang their religious bell and waved large anti-Jehovah's Witness banners. As the victims' attorneys made their way through the mob to Judge Ioseb Chkheidze's chambers, they overheard security police being ordered away from the scene. The courtroom was left with no security." Attorneys explained to Chkheidze that under these circumstances it was impossible to proceed with the trial as it was too dangerous for the victims or their attorneys to attend."[92]
7.Jump up ^ "On 12 May 1995 during the "status interview" conducted by the officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Office the applicant declared additionally that, among others, she could not return to the country, because since 1989 she had been the Jehovah Witness sic and she feared that she could be arrested for that reason."[93]
8.Jump up ^ "A Berlin court ruled on Thursday that Jehovah's Witnesses are entitled to the same privileges enjoyed by Germany's major Catholic and Protestant churches, ending a 15-year legal fight about the group's status."[94]
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Cox, Archibald (1987). The Court and the Constitution. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co. p. 189. ISBN 0-395-48071-X.
2.^ Jump up to: a b Yaffee, Barbara (9 September 1984). "Witnesses Seek Apology for Wartime Persecution". The Globe in Mail. p. 4.
3.Jump up ^ Jubber, Ken (1977). "The Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Southern Africa". Social Compass, 24 (1): 121,. doi:10.1177/003776867702400108.
4.Jump up ^ "More martyrs now than then".
5.Jump up ^ Lamb, David. The Africans. Page 109.
6.Jump up ^ http://www.jw-media.org/bgr/20110421.htm
7.Jump up ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy9lQjwwbEM
8.Jump up ^ "Brawl between Bulgarian Nationalists, Jehovah Witnesses Injures 5". The Journal of Turkish Weekly.
9.Jump up ^ http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/148922.htm
10.Jump up ^ Philip Brenner, Marguerite Rose Jiménez, John M. Kirk, William M LeoGrande. A contemporary Cuba reader.
11.Jump up ^ Marsh, James H. (1988). The Canadian Encyclopedia (2 ed.). Hurtig. p. 1107. ISBN 0-88830-328-9.
12.Jump up ^ "Secret Files Reveal Bigotry, Suppression". The Globe and Mail. 4 September 1984.
13.Jump up ^ "Eritrea: Torture fears for 28 Jehovah's Witnesses arrested, including 90-year-old man". Amnesty International UK. 19 February 2004. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
14.Jump up ^ Fisher, Jonah (17 September 2004). "Religious persecution in Eritrea". BBC News. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
15.Jump up ^ Plaut, Martin (28 June 2007). "Christians protest over Eritrea". BBC News. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
16.Jump up ^ "Imprisoned for Their Faith". jw.org.
17.Jump up ^ "Eritrea - No Progress on Key Human Rights Concerns". Amnesty International Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review. Amnesty International. January – February 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014. Check date values in: |date= (help)
18.Jump up ^ "Twenty Years of Imprisonment in Eritrea—Will It Ever End?". 24 September 2014.
19.Jump up ^ Hendricks III, Robert J. (July–August 2010). "Aliens for Their Faith". Liberty magazine. North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
20.Jump up ^ http://www.jw.org/en/news/legal/by-region/eritrea/jehovahs-witnesses-unjust-imprisonment-20-years/
21.Jump up ^ http://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/Eritrea%202014.pdf |url= missing title (help) (PDF). USCIRF Annual Report 2014. United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. 2014. pp. 54–57. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
22.Jump up ^ Anonymous (1980), p. 128
23.Jump up ^ 1976 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses
24.Jump up ^ "Announcements", Our Kingdom Ministry, February 1975, page 3
25.Jump up ^ "Highest administrative court in France rules that Jehovah's Witnesses are a religion", News release June 23, 2000, Authorized Site of the Office of Public Information of Jehovah's Witnesses, As Retrieved 2009-08-19
26.Jump up ^ http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=45917
27.Jump up ^ 2005 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. pp. 88–89.
28.Jump up ^ 2007 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 255
29.Jump up ^ That is, 'the year after 1995'. See Parliament of Georgia website, As Retrieved 2009-08-26, "THE CONSTITUTION OF GEORGIA Adopted on 24 August 1995"
30.Jump up ^ "Jehovah's Witnesses in Georgia: Chronology of Acts of Violence and Intimidation", Authorized Site of the Office of Public Information of Jehovah's Witnesses, As Retrieved 2009-08-26
31.Jump up ^ "Georgia Country Reports on Human Rights Practices", U. S. State Department, February 23, 2000, As Retrieved 2009-08-26
32.Jump up ^ Encyclopedia.com, As Retrieved 2009-08-26
33.Jump up ^ "GEORGIA: Will violent attackers of religious minorities be punished?" by Felix Corley, F18News, Forum 18 News Service, published 16 August 2004, As Retrieved 2009-08-26
34.Jump up ^ AmnestyUSA.org, As Retrieved 2009-08-26
35.Jump up ^ "CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF JUDGMENTS AND PUBLISHED DECISIONS", EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS,As Retrieved 2009-08-26, page 203 of 285, May 3, 2007, Listing "7148 3.5.2007 Membres de la Congrégation des témoins de Jéhovah de Gldani et autres c. Géorgie/Members of the Gldani Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses and Others v. Georgia, no/no. 71156/01 (Sect. 2), CEDH/ECHR 2007-V"
36.Jump up ^ As Retrieved 2009-08-26, pages 13–14 (of 53)
37.Jump up ^ "European Court rules against Georgia's campaign of terror", Authorized Site of the Office of Public Information of Jehovah's Witnesses, As Retrieved 2009-08-26
38.Jump up ^ "Firm in Faith Despite Opposition", The Watchtower, June 15, 1967, pages 366–367
39.Jump up ^ "Germany", 1974 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, pages 116–117
40.Jump up ^ Penton, M.J. (1997). Apocalypse Delayed. University of Toronto Press. pp. 147–149. ISBN 9780802079732.
41.Jump up ^ Garbe (2008), pp. 512–524
42.Jump up ^ "Foreign Activities Under Fascist-Nazi Persecution", The Watchtower, August 1, 1955, page 462
43.Jump up ^ "Germany", 1974 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 138
44.Jump up ^ Garbe (2008), p. 484
45.Jump up ^ [1].
46.Jump up ^ Garbe (2008), pp. 286–291
47.Jump up ^ "Germany Federal Administrative Court Upholds Witnesses' Full Exercise of Faith", Authorized Site of the Office of Public Information of Jehovah's Witnesses, As Retrieved 2009-08-26
48.Jump up ^ http://www.jw-media.org/ind/index.htm
49.Jump up ^ "July-December, 2010 International Religious Freedom Report". U.S. Department of State - Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. September 13, 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
50.Jump up ^ Jess, Kevin (February 16, 2011). "Hindu mob attacks Christian women, police back mob". Digital Journal. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
51.Jump up ^ "Violence against Jehovah’s Witnesses in India escalates as police assist mob attacks", Authorized Site of the Office of Public Information of Jehovah's Witnesses, [2]
52.Jump up ^ "USCIRF Annual Report 2013 - Tier 2: India". refworld. UNHCR The UN Refugee Agency. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
53.Jump up ^ Jubber, Ken (1977). "The Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Southern Africa". Social Compass 24 (1): 121–134. doi:10.1177/003776867702400108.
54.Jump up ^ Tengatenga, James (2006). Church, State, and Society in Malawi: An Analysis of Anglican Ecclesiology. Kachere Series. p. 113. ISBN 9990876517.
55.Jump up ^ Carver, Richard (1990). Where Silence Rules: The Suppression of Dissent in Malawi. Human Rights Watch. pp. 64–66. ISBN 9780929692739.
56.Jump up ^ Howard-Hassmann, Rhoda E. (1986). Human Rights in Commonwealth Africa. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 110. ISBN 0847674339.
57.Jump up ^ https://books.google.com/books?id=_FQb4Ulgz0sC&pg=RA6-PA499&lpg=RA6-PA499&dq=malawi+jehovah%27s+witnesses+ban+lifted&source=bl&ots=vGjE0mS2Ii&sig=qqGzoAXiDjQNrKdaKbtSg-dtTj0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=E6eeVLyANcfjgwSAlYO4Aw&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=malawi%20jehovah's%20witnesses%20ban%20lifted&f=false |url= missing title (help). Kenya National Assembly Official Record (Hansard). 19 April 1995. p. 499. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
58.Jump up ^ "Malawi Human Rights Practices, 1993". U.S. Department Of State. January 31, 1994. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
59.Jump up ^ "Malawi A new future for human rights" (PDF). Amnesty International. February 1994. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
60.^ Jump up to: a b c http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2001/5732.htm
61.Jump up ^ "Singapore", International Religious Freedom Report 2004, U. S. Department of State, As Retrieved 2010-03-11
62.Jump up ^ http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127287.htm
63.^ Jump up to: a b http://www.singapore-window.org/80411sm.htm
64.Jump up ^ http://www.jehovah.com.au/jehovah-articles/1995/2/27/singapore-police-swoop-on-jehovahs-witnesses/
65.Jump up ^ http://www.chrislydgate.com/webclips/jehovah.htm
66.Jump up ^ http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1996/january8/6t164b.html
67.Jump up ^ http://www.singapore-window.org/80330up.htm
68.^ Jump up to: a b http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2002/13909.htm
69.Jump up ^ http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27788.htm
70.^ Jump up to: a b c http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90153.htm
71.Jump up ^ http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108423.htm
72.Jump up ^ http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/eap/119056.htm
73.Jump up ^ http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/eap/136008.htm
74.Jump up ^ Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin, The Sword and the Shield, New York: Basic Books, 1999, ISBN 0-465-00310-9, p.503.
75.^ Jump up to: a b Pavel Polian. "Against Their Will: The History and Geography of Forced Migrations in the USSR", Central European University Press, 2004. ISBN 978-963-9241-68-8. p.169-171
76.Jump up ^ Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin, The Sword and the Shield, New York: Basic Books, 1999, ISBN 0-465-00310-9, p.505.
77.Jump up ^ "Recalling Operation North", by Vitali Kamyshev, "Русская мысль", Париж, N 4363, 26 April 2001 (Russian)
78.Jump up ^ Валерий Пасат ."Трудные страницы истории Молдовы (1940–1950)". Москва: Изд. Terra, 1994 (Russian)
79.Jump up ^ Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin, The Sword and the Shield, New York: Basic Books, 1999, ISBN 0-465-00310-9, p.506.
80.Jump up ^ "Christan Believers Were Persecuted by All Tolatitarian Regimes" Prava Lyudini ("Rights of a Person"), the newspaper of a Ukrainian human rights organization, Kharkiv, December 2001 (Russian)
81.Jump up ^ "Russian Supreme Court rules against Jehovah's Witnesses and religious freedom" December 8, 2009
82.Jump up ^ cf. Peters (2000), p. 11
83.Jump up ^ Hall (1992), p. 394
84.^ Jump up to: a b Hall (1992), p. 395
85.Jump up ^ Irons, Peter. A People's History of the Supreme Courtp. 341. New York: Viking Penguin, 1999.
86.Jump up ^ Peters (2000), p. 10
87.Jump up ^ Peters (2000), p. 8
88.Jump up ^ Anonymous (1980), pp. 87–89
89.Jump up ^ "France: International Religious Freedom Report 2006", U.S. Department of State, As Retrieved 2009-08-19
90.^ Jump up to: a b "France: International Religious Freedom Report 2008", U.S. Department of State, As Retrieved 2009-08-19
91.Jump up ^ "French High Court confirms 60-percent confiscatory tax measure on religious donations", News release October 6, 2004, Authorized Site of the Office of Public Information of Jehovah's Witnesses, As Retrieved 2009-08-19
92.Jump up ^ "GEORGIA: INTIMIDATION SABOTAGES TRIAL OF VIOLENT PRIEST" by Felix Corley, Keston News Service, February 7, 2002, Keston Institute, Oxford, UK, as cited by Eurasianet.org, As Retrieved 2009-08-26
93.Jump up ^ T. L. v. Ministry of Internal Affairs, V SA 1969/95, Poland: High Administrative Court, 17 September 1996, As Retrieved 2009-08-26
94.Jump up ^ "Jehovah's Witnesses Granted Legal Status", Deutsche Welle, March 25, 2005, http://www.dw-world.de/popups/popup_printcontent/0,,1530197,00.html As Retrieved 2009-08-26, As Retrieved 2009-08-26
Bibliography[edit]
Anonymous (1980). "France". 1980 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. Brooklyn, NY: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.
Garbe, Detlef (2008). Between Resistance and Martyrdom: Jehovah's Witnesses in the Third Reich. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 0-299-20794-3.
Hall, Kermit L. (1992). The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press.
Peters, Shawn Francis (2000). Judging Jehovah's Witnesses: Religious Persecution and the Dawn of the Rights Revolution. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.
Additional reading[edit]
Persecution and Resistance of Jehovah's Witnesses During the Nazi Regime Edited by Hans Hesse ISBN 3-86108-750-2
Paul Johnson, A History of Christianity, ISBN 0-689-10728-5



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Jehovah's Witnesses and governments

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Part of a series on
Jehovah's Witnesses

Overview

Organizational structure
Governing Body
Watch Tower Bible
 and Tract Society
Corporations

History
Bible Student movement
Leadership dispute
Splinter groups
Doctrinal development
Unfulfilled predictions

Demographics
By country


Beliefs ·
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Salvation ·
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The 144,000
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William Miller ·
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Opposition

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Jehovah's Witnesses believe their allegiance belongs to God's Kingdom, which they view as an actual government. They refrain from saluting the flag of any country or singing nationalistic songs,[1] which they believe are forms of worship, although they may stand out of respect. They also refuse to participate in military service—even when it is compulsory—and do not become involved in politics. They believe Jesus' refusal to rule the kingdoms of the world as offered by the Devil, his refusal to be made king of Israel by the Jews, and his statements that he, his followers, and his kingdom are not part of the world, provide the bases for not being involved in politics or government.[2][3][4] Witnesses are taught that they should obey laws of the governments where they live unless such laws conflict with their beliefs, such as operating covertly in countries where their activities are banned.[5][6]



Contents  [hide]
1 Civil liberties
2 Government interactions 2.1 Australia
2.2 United States
2.3 Russia
2.4 Singapore
2.5 France 2.5.1 Association Les Témoins de Jéhovah
2.5.2 Other cases
2.6 Nazi Germany
2.7 Other
3 References
4 External links

Civil liberties[edit]
According to the book Judging Jehovah's Witnesses,[7] the Witnesses have helped to widen the definition of civil liberties in most western societies, hence broadening the rights of millions of people, due to their firm stand and determination. According to the preface to the book State and Salvation:[8] "One of the results of the Witnesses' legal battles was the long process of discussion and debate that led to the Charter of Rights, which is now part of the fundamental law of Canada. Other battles in countries around the world have involved the rights to decline military service or martial arts training, to decline to participate in political parties or governmental elections, to exercise free and anonymous speech, to exercise freedom of association, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, medical self-determination, etc. Witnesses continue to, in their words, 'defend and legally establish the Good News' around the world."
Government interactions[edit]
Australia[edit]
In 1930, the Watch Tower Society had controlling interests in several radio stations in Australia, including 5KA, where presenters were told to preach “the message of the Kingdom of Christ”, and in 1931 began broadcasting sermons of Joseph Franklin Rutherford. In 1933, the Australian government banned Rutherford's sermons, which included diatribes against the Catholic Church, the British Empire, and the United States. On 8 January, 1941, the Watch Tower Society's stations were closed down, being described as dangerous to national security. Jehovah's Witnesses was declared an illegal organization on 17 January, with World War II described as "an ideal opportunity to get rid of licensees long regarded as deviant".[9]
United States[edit]
Many United States Supreme Court cases involving Jehovah's Witnesses have shaped First Amendment law. Significant cases affirmed rights such as these:
Right to Refrain from Compulsory Flag Salute - West Virginia State Board of Education vs. Barnette
Conscientious objection to military service
Preaching in public
By 1988, the U.S. Supreme Court had reviewed 71 cases involving Jehovah's Witnesses as an organization, two-thirds of which were decided in their favor. 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.[10]
Russia[edit]
In 2004, the Moscow City Court banned the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Moscow, their legal entity was liquidated.[11][12]
On August 7, 2013, the Tsentralniy District Court of the city of Tver, located 100 mi (approx. 160 km) north of Moscow, ruled that the official website of Jehovah's Witnesses should be banned throughout the Russian Federation. Jehovah's Witnesses appealed the decision to the Tver Regional Court, which on January 22, 2014, concluded that the decision of the Tsentralniy District Court was unjustified.[13]
Singapore[edit]
See Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses (Singapore)
In 1972 the Singapore government de-registered and banned the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses on the grounds that its members refuse to perform military service (which is obligatory for all male citizens), salute the flag, or swear oaths of allegiance to the state.[14][15] Singapore has banned all written materials (including Bibles) published by the International Bible Students Association and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, both publishing arms of the Jehovah's Witnesses. A person in possession of banned literature can be fined up to S$2,000 (US$1,460) and jailed up to 12 months for a first conviction.[citation needed]
France[edit]
In France, a number of court cases have involved Jehovah Witnesses and their organizations, especially on the question of their refusing blood transfusions to minor patients. These questions had far-reaching legal implications regarding the tax status of their organizations.
Association Les Témoins de Jéhovah[edit]



 This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2010)
Association Les Témoins de Jéhovah v. Direction des Services Fiscaux challenged the denial of tax-exempt status for Association Les Témoins de Jéhovah, the not-for-profit corporation used by Jehovah's Witnesses in France. Religion-supporting organizations (associations cultuelles) in France can request exemption from certain taxes, including taxes on donations, if their purpose is solely to organize religious worship and they do not infringe on public order. According to the French tax administration, tax-exempt status was denied because:

The association of Jehovah's Witnesses forbids its members to defend the nation, to take part in public life, to give blood transfusions to their minor children and that the parliamentary commission on cults has listed them as a cult which can disturb public order.[16]
On October 5, 2004, the Court of Cassation—the highest court in France for cases outside of administrative law—rejected the Witnesses' recourse against taxation at 60% of the value of some of their contributions, which the fiscal services assimilated to a legal category of donations close to that of inheritance and subject to the same taxes between non-parents.[17] The court ruled that the tax administration could legally tax the corporation used by Jehovah's Witnesses if they received donations in the form of dons gratuits and they were not recognized as associations cultuelles.
According to the Watch Tower Society, the taxed contributions include donations for the support of humanitarian relief efforts in Rwanda in 1994. French law makes a distinction between normal non-profit associations (whose donations for humanitarian aid are not tax-exempt), non-profit associations of public usefulness (whose donations for humanitarian aid are tax exempt), and associations supporting religious activities (whose donations are tax exempt). Humanitarian aid is not considered to support religious activities and thus, accordingly, is not considered to be tax-exempt under the rules governing associations supporting religious activities. Typically, religious organizations in France providing humanitarian aid found a separate association devoted to that purpose; it may then be declared of public usefulness.
The Conseil d'État, the supreme court for administrative matters, ruled that denying the statute of association cultuelle on grounds of accusations of infringement of public order was illegal unless substantiated by actual proofs of that infringement.[18]
On June 30, 2011, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) unanimously ruled that France's imposing a retroactive tax for the years 1993 and 1996 had violated Jehovah's Witnesses' right to freedom of religion[19][20] under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights.[21] On July 5, 2012, the ECHR ordered the government of France to repay €4,590,295 in taxes, plus interest, and to reimburse legal costs of €55,000. On December 11, 2012, the government of France repaid €6,373,987.31 ($8,294,320).[22][23]
Other cases[edit]



 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2010)
Other court cases have concerned the rights for patients, or of minor patients' legal guardians, to refuse medical treatment even if there is a risk of death. For example, in a 2001 case, doctors at a French public hospital who gave blood products to a patient with an acute renal insufficiency were found not to have committed a mistake of a nature to involve the responsibility of the State (communiqué, English translation). The Council stated that "there does not exist, for the doctor, an abstract and unalterable hierarchy between the obligation to treat the patient, and that to respect the will of the patient," concluding that faced with a decision to treat patients against their will, doctors do not have a legally predefined obligation to treat the patient, nor do they have a legally predefined obligation to abide by their wishes.
In a child custody case following a divorce, a woman was denied custody of her children outside of holidays for various reasons, including her membership of Jehovah's Witnesses; the court of appeals of Nîmes considered that the educational rules applied by the Witnesses to their children were essentially inappropriate because of their hardness, their intolerance, and the obligation for children to practice proselytism. The case went before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) (request #64927/01), which ruled that the court should have based its decision on the mother's actual handling of her children and not on abstract, general notions pertaining to the mother's religious affiliation.
Some Witnesses requested that the National Union of the Associations for the Defense of Families and Individuals not be officially recognized as useful to the public because of its opposition to sectarian excesses which, the plaintiffs alleged persecuted Jehovah's Witnesses. Both the Conseil d'État and the ECHR rejected their claim.
Nazi Germany[edit]
Main article: Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany sent German and Austrian Jehovah's Witnesses who refused allegiance to the Nazi state and military service to concentration camps.
Other[edit]
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in favour of the rights of Jehovah's Witnesses in many cases. For example:
Bayatyan v. Armenia. Grand Chamber of ECHR affirms right to conscientious objection to military service.(Amnesty International. 7 July 2011) See Amnesty International Statement
Efstratiou v. Greece (18 December 1996), Strasbourg 77/1996/696/888 (Eur. Ct. H.R.)
Manoussakis and Others v. Greece (26 September 1996), Strasbourg 59/1995/565/651 (Eur. Ct. H.R.)
Hoffmann v. Austria (23 June 1993), Strasbourg 15/1992/360/434 (Eur. Ct. H.R.)
Kokkinakis v. Greece (25 May 1993), Strasbourg 3/1992/348/421 (Eur. Ct. H.R.)
In 2005 the Presiding Judge of the Provincial Court in Ruhengeri, Rwanda ruled that Witnesses should not be imprisoned for refusing to bear arms in civil defense 'night patrols' since they were willing to participate and had participated in other forms of community service. 297 Witnesses had been imprisoned on such charges in an 8-month period of 2004. 143 of those imprisoned had been severely beaten.[24]
Government officials in various countries, including Brazil,[25] Burundi,[citation needed] Mexico,[26][27][28] Mozambique,[29] and Tuvalu[30] have commended Jehovah's Witnesses for conducting literacy classes and for providing religious educational materials.
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "Salvation Belongs to Jehovah". Watchtower 104: 21. September 15, 2002.
2.Jump up ^ "Can You Make the World a Better Place?". The Watchtower: 3. 2001-10-15.
3.Jump up ^ "The Key to a Happy World". The Watchtower: 5–6. 2001-10-15.
4.Jump up ^ What Does God Require of Us?. Brooklyn, New York: Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. 1996. p. 27.
5.Jump up ^ "Watchtower" 11/15/00 p. 15 par. 18 Christians Find Happiness in Serving "There are many people who claim to worship God, but their worship is really directed to the gods of nationalism, tribalism, wealth, self, or some other deity"
6.Jump up ^ "Watchtower" 2/15/67 p. 115 par. 15 "(Dan. 2:44) "Thus the nationalistic governments on which the various religious systems depend so heavily for support are destined to be crushed by God's heavenly kingdom."
7.Jump up ^ Judging Jehovah's Witnesses, Shawn Francis Peters, University Press of Kansas: 2000
8.Jump up ^ State and Salvation, William Kaplan, University of Toronto Press: 1989
9.Jump up ^ Bridget Griffen-Foley, "Radio Ministries: Religion on Australian Commercial Radio from the 1920s to the 1960s," Journal of Religious History (2008) 32#1 pp: 31-54. online
10.Jump up ^ Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York v. Village of Stratton. See Supreme Court Website
11.Jump up ^ Proceedings in 2004
12.Jump up ^ NPR America Audio
13.Jump up ^ "Attempt to Ban JW.ORG Fails"
14.Jump up ^ http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2001/5732.htm
15.Jump up ^ "Singapore", International Religious Freedom Report 2004, U. S. Department of State, As Retrieved 2010-03-11
16.Jump up ^ Religious Intolerance In France
17.Jump up ^ text of the ruling (French)
18.Jump up ^ court case; translation)
19.Jump up ^ “French Tax of Jehovah’s Witnesses hinders rights: Court” (Canada.com, June 30, 2011) Ref Canada.com
20.Jump up ^ http://www.jw-media.org/fra/20110630.htm
21.Jump up ^ Chamber judgment Association Les Témoins de Jéhovah v. France 30.06.11 HUDOK
22.Jump up ^ http://www.jw.org/en/news/by-region/europe/france/france-returns-funds-collected-illegally/
23.Jump up ^ Judges order €4 million Jehovah’s Witnesses award Human Rights Europe
24.Jump up ^ http://www.jw-media.org/rwa/20050811.htm
25.Jump up ^ "Brazil", 1997 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 183
26.Jump up ^ "Educational Programs", Jehovah’s Witnesses and Education, ©2002 Watch Tower, page 11
27.Jump up ^ "Mexico", 1995 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 213
28.Jump up ^ "Witnesses to the Most Distant Part of the Earth", Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, pages 466-467
29.Jump up ^ "Efforts That Promote Good Moral Standards", The Watchtower, November 15, 2002, page 32
30.Jump up ^ "A Far-Reaching Educational Program", Awake!, December 22, 2000, page 9
External links[edit]
Office of Public Information of Jehovah's Witnesses
  



Categories: Beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses
Religious abstentions












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Jehovah's Witnesses and governments

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Part of a series on
Jehovah's Witnesses

Overview

Organizational structure
Governing Body
Watch Tower Bible
 and Tract Society
Corporations

History
Bible Student movement
Leadership dispute
Splinter groups
Doctrinal development
Unfulfilled predictions

Demographics
By country


Beliefs ·
 Practices
 
Salvation ·
 Eschatology

The 144,000
Faithful and discreet slave
Hymns ·
 God's name

Blood ·
 Discipline


Literature

The Watchtower ·
 Awake!

New World Translation
List of publications
Bibliography

Teaching programs

Kingdom Hall ·
 Gilead School


People

Watch Tower presidents

W. H. Conley ·
 C. T. Russell

J. F. Rutherford ·
 N. H. Knorr

F. W. Franz ·
 M. G. Henschel

D. A. Adams

Formative influences

William Miller ·
 Henry Grew

George Storrs ·
 N. H. Barbour

John Nelson Darby


Notable former members

Raymond Franz ·
 Olin Moyle


Opposition

Criticism ·
 Persecution

Supreme Court cases
 by country

v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Jehovah's Witnesses believe their allegiance belongs to God's Kingdom, which they view as an actual government. They refrain from saluting the flag of any country or singing nationalistic songs,[1] which they believe are forms of worship, although they may stand out of respect. They also refuse to participate in military service—even when it is compulsory—and do not become involved in politics. They believe Jesus' refusal to rule the kingdoms of the world as offered by the Devil, his refusal to be made king of Israel by the Jews, and his statements that he, his followers, and his kingdom are not part of the world, provide the bases for not being involved in politics or government.[2][3][4] Witnesses are taught that they should obey laws of the governments where they live unless such laws conflict with their beliefs, such as operating covertly in countries where their activities are banned.[5][6]



Contents  [hide]
1 Civil liberties
2 Government interactions 2.1 Australia
2.2 United States
2.3 Russia
2.4 Singapore
2.5 France 2.5.1 Association Les Témoins de Jéhovah
2.5.2 Other cases
2.6 Nazi Germany
2.7 Other
3 References
4 External links

Civil liberties[edit]
According to the book Judging Jehovah's Witnesses,[7] the Witnesses have helped to widen the definition of civil liberties in most western societies, hence broadening the rights of millions of people, due to their firm stand and determination. According to the preface to the book State and Salvation:[8] "One of the results of the Witnesses' legal battles was the long process of discussion and debate that led to the Charter of Rights, which is now part of the fundamental law of Canada. Other battles in countries around the world have involved the rights to decline military service or martial arts training, to decline to participate in political parties or governmental elections, to exercise free and anonymous speech, to exercise freedom of association, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, medical self-determination, etc. Witnesses continue to, in their words, 'defend and legally establish the Good News' around the world."
Government interactions[edit]
Australia[edit]
In 1930, the Watch Tower Society had controlling interests in several radio stations in Australia, including 5KA, where presenters were told to preach “the message of the Kingdom of Christ”, and in 1931 began broadcasting sermons of Joseph Franklin Rutherford. In 1933, the Australian government banned Rutherford's sermons, which included diatribes against the Catholic Church, the British Empire, and the United States. On 8 January, 1941, the Watch Tower Society's stations were closed down, being described as dangerous to national security. Jehovah's Witnesses was declared an illegal organization on 17 January, with World War II described as "an ideal opportunity to get rid of licensees long regarded as deviant".[9]
United States[edit]
Many United States Supreme Court cases involving Jehovah's Witnesses have shaped First Amendment law. Significant cases affirmed rights such as these:
Right to Refrain from Compulsory Flag Salute - West Virginia State Board of Education vs. Barnette
Conscientious objection to military service
Preaching in public
By 1988, the U.S. Supreme Court had reviewed 71 cases involving Jehovah's Witnesses as an organization, two-thirds of which were decided in their favor. 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.[10]
Russia[edit]
In 2004, the Moscow City Court banned the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Moscow, their legal entity was liquidated.[11][12]
On August 7, 2013, the Tsentralniy District Court of the city of Tver, located 100 mi (approx. 160 km) north of Moscow, ruled that the official website of Jehovah's Witnesses should be banned throughout the Russian Federation. Jehovah's Witnesses appealed the decision to the Tver Regional Court, which on January 22, 2014, concluded that the decision of the Tsentralniy District Court was unjustified.[13]
Singapore[edit]
See Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses (Singapore)
In 1972 the Singapore government de-registered and banned the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses on the grounds that its members refuse to perform military service (which is obligatory for all male citizens), salute the flag, or swear oaths of allegiance to the state.[14][15] Singapore has banned all written materials (including Bibles) published by the International Bible Students Association and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, both publishing arms of the Jehovah's Witnesses. A person in possession of banned literature can be fined up to S$2,000 (US$1,460) and jailed up to 12 months for a first conviction.[citation needed]
France[edit]
In France, a number of court cases have involved Jehovah Witnesses and their organizations, especially on the question of their refusing blood transfusions to minor patients. These questions had far-reaching legal implications regarding the tax status of their organizations.
Association Les Témoins de Jéhovah[edit]



 This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2010)
Association Les Témoins de Jéhovah v. Direction des Services Fiscaux challenged the denial of tax-exempt status for Association Les Témoins de Jéhovah, the not-for-profit corporation used by Jehovah's Witnesses in France. Religion-supporting organizations (associations cultuelles) in France can request exemption from certain taxes, including taxes on donations, if their purpose is solely to organize religious worship and they do not infringe on public order. According to the French tax administration, tax-exempt status was denied because:

The association of Jehovah's Witnesses forbids its members to defend the nation, to take part in public life, to give blood transfusions to their minor children and that the parliamentary commission on cults has listed them as a cult which can disturb public order.[16]
On October 5, 2004, the Court of Cassation—the highest court in France for cases outside of administrative law—rejected the Witnesses' recourse against taxation at 60% of the value of some of their contributions, which the fiscal services assimilated to a legal category of donations close to that of inheritance and subject to the same taxes between non-parents.[17] The court ruled that the tax administration could legally tax the corporation used by Jehovah's Witnesses if they received donations in the form of dons gratuits and they were not recognized as associations cultuelles.
According to the Watch Tower Society, the taxed contributions include donations for the support of humanitarian relief efforts in Rwanda in 1994. French law makes a distinction between normal non-profit associations (whose donations for humanitarian aid are not tax-exempt), non-profit associations of public usefulness (whose donations for humanitarian aid are tax exempt), and associations supporting religious activities (whose donations are tax exempt). Humanitarian aid is not considered to support religious activities and thus, accordingly, is not considered to be tax-exempt under the rules governing associations supporting religious activities. Typically, religious organizations in France providing humanitarian aid found a separate association devoted to that purpose; it may then be declared of public usefulness.
The Conseil d'État, the supreme court for administrative matters, ruled that denying the statute of association cultuelle on grounds of accusations of infringement of public order was illegal unless substantiated by actual proofs of that infringement.[18]
On June 30, 2011, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) unanimously ruled that France's imposing a retroactive tax for the years 1993 and 1996 had violated Jehovah's Witnesses' right to freedom of religion[19][20] under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights.[21] On July 5, 2012, the ECHR ordered the government of France to repay €4,590,295 in taxes, plus interest, and to reimburse legal costs of €55,000. On December 11, 2012, the government of France repaid €6,373,987.31 ($8,294,320).[22][23]
Other cases[edit]



 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2010)
Other court cases have concerned the rights for patients, or of minor patients' legal guardians, to refuse medical treatment even if there is a risk of death. For example, in a 2001 case, doctors at a French public hospital who gave blood products to a patient with an acute renal insufficiency were found not to have committed a mistake of a nature to involve the responsibility of the State (communiqué, English translation). The Council stated that "there does not exist, for the doctor, an abstract and unalterable hierarchy between the obligation to treat the patient, and that to respect the will of the patient," concluding that faced with a decision to treat patients against their will, doctors do not have a legally predefined obligation to treat the patient, nor do they have a legally predefined obligation to abide by their wishes.
In a child custody case following a divorce, a woman was denied custody of her children outside of holidays for various reasons, including her membership of Jehovah's Witnesses; the court of appeals of Nîmes considered that the educational rules applied by the Witnesses to their children were essentially inappropriate because of their hardness, their intolerance, and the obligation for children to practice proselytism. The case went before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) (request #64927/01), which ruled that the court should have based its decision on the mother's actual handling of her children and not on abstract, general notions pertaining to the mother's religious affiliation.
Some Witnesses requested that the National Union of the Associations for the Defense of Families and Individuals not be officially recognized as useful to the public because of its opposition to sectarian excesses which, the plaintiffs alleged persecuted Jehovah's Witnesses. Both the Conseil d'État and the ECHR rejected their claim.
Nazi Germany[edit]
Main article: Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany sent German and Austrian Jehovah's Witnesses who refused allegiance to the Nazi state and military service to concentration camps.
Other[edit]
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in favour of the rights of Jehovah's Witnesses in many cases. For example:
Bayatyan v. Armenia. Grand Chamber of ECHR affirms right to conscientious objection to military service.(Amnesty International. 7 July 2011) See Amnesty International Statement
Efstratiou v. Greece (18 December 1996), Strasbourg 77/1996/696/888 (Eur. Ct. H.R.)
Manoussakis and Others v. Greece (26 September 1996), Strasbourg 59/1995/565/651 (Eur. Ct. H.R.)
Hoffmann v. Austria (23 June 1993), Strasbourg 15/1992/360/434 (Eur. Ct. H.R.)
Kokkinakis v. Greece (25 May 1993), Strasbourg 3/1992/348/421 (Eur. Ct. H.R.)
In 2005 the Presiding Judge of the Provincial Court in Ruhengeri, Rwanda ruled that Witnesses should not be imprisoned for refusing to bear arms in civil defense 'night patrols' since they were willing to participate and had participated in other forms of community service. 297 Witnesses had been imprisoned on such charges in an 8-month period of 2004. 143 of those imprisoned had been severely beaten.[24]
Government officials in various countries, including Brazil,[25] Burundi,[citation needed] Mexico,[26][27][28] Mozambique,[29] and Tuvalu[30] have commended Jehovah's Witnesses for conducting literacy classes and for providing religious educational materials.
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "Salvation Belongs to Jehovah". Watchtower 104: 21. September 15, 2002.
2.Jump up ^ "Can You Make the World a Better Place?". The Watchtower: 3. 2001-10-15.
3.Jump up ^ "The Key to a Happy World". The Watchtower: 5–6. 2001-10-15.
4.Jump up ^ What Does God Require of Us?. Brooklyn, New York: Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. 1996. p. 27.
5.Jump up ^ "Watchtower" 11/15/00 p. 15 par. 18 Christians Find Happiness in Serving "There are many people who claim to worship God, but their worship is really directed to the gods of nationalism, tribalism, wealth, self, or some other deity"
6.Jump up ^ "Watchtower" 2/15/67 p. 115 par. 15 "(Dan. 2:44) "Thus the nationalistic governments on which the various religious systems depend so heavily for support are destined to be crushed by God's heavenly kingdom."
7.Jump up ^ Judging Jehovah's Witnesses, Shawn Francis Peters, University Press of Kansas: 2000
8.Jump up ^ State and Salvation, William Kaplan, University of Toronto Press: 1989
9.Jump up ^ Bridget Griffen-Foley, "Radio Ministries: Religion on Australian Commercial Radio from the 1920s to the 1960s," Journal of Religious History (2008) 32#1 pp: 31-54. online
10.Jump up ^ Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York v. Village of Stratton. See Supreme Court Website
11.Jump up ^ Proceedings in 2004
12.Jump up ^ NPR America Audio
13.Jump up ^ "Attempt to Ban JW.ORG Fails"
14.Jump up ^ http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2001/5732.htm
15.Jump up ^ "Singapore", International Religious Freedom Report 2004, U. S. Department of State, As Retrieved 2010-03-11
16.Jump up ^ Religious Intolerance In France
17.Jump up ^ text of the ruling (French)
18.Jump up ^ court case; translation)
19.Jump up ^ “French Tax of Jehovah’s Witnesses hinders rights: Court” (Canada.com, June 30, 2011) Ref Canada.com
20.Jump up ^ http://www.jw-media.org/fra/20110630.htm
21.Jump up ^ Chamber judgment Association Les Témoins de Jéhovah v. France 30.06.11 HUDOK
22.Jump up ^ http://www.jw.org/en/news/by-region/europe/france/france-returns-funds-collected-illegally/
23.Jump up ^ Judges order €4 million Jehovah’s Witnesses award Human Rights Europe
24.Jump up ^ http://www.jw-media.org/rwa/20050811.htm
25.Jump up ^ "Brazil", 1997 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 183
26.Jump up ^ "Educational Programs", Jehovah’s Witnesses and Education, ©2002 Watch Tower, page 11
27.Jump up ^ "Mexico", 1995 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 213
28.Jump up ^ "Witnesses to the Most Distant Part of the Earth", Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, pages 466-467
29.Jump up ^ "Efforts That Promote Good Moral Standards", The Watchtower, November 15, 2002, page 32
30.Jump up ^ "A Far-Reaching Educational Program", Awake!, December 22, 2000, page 9
External links[edit]
Office of Public Information of Jehovah's Witnesses
  



Categories: Beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses
Religious abstentions












Navigation menu




Create account
Log in




Article

Talk












Read

Edit

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This page was last modified on 11 May 2015, at 12:36.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
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Supreme Court cases involving Jehovah's Witnesses by country

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Part of a series on
Jehovah's Witnesses

Overview

Organizational structure
Governing Body
Watch Tower Bible
 and Tract Society
Corporations

History
Bible Student movement
Leadership dispute
Splinter groups
Doctrinal development
Unfulfilled predictions

Demographics
By country


Beliefs ·
 Practices
 
Salvation ·
 Eschatology

The 144,000
Faithful and discreet slave
Hymns ·
 God's name

Blood ·
 Discipline


Literature

The Watchtower ·
 Awake!

New World Translation
List of publications
Bibliography

Teaching programs

Kingdom Hall ·
 Gilead School


People

Watch Tower presidents

W. H. Conley ·
 C. T. Russell

J. F. Rutherford ·
 N. H. Knorr

F. W. Franz ·
 M. G. Henschel

D. A. Adams

Formative influences

William Miller ·
 Henry Grew

George Storrs ·
 N. H. Barbour

John Nelson Darby


Notable former members

Raymond Franz ·
 Olin Moyle


Opposition

Criticism ·
 Persecution

Supreme Court cases
 by country

v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Numerous cases involving Jehovah's Witnesses have been heard by Supreme Courts throughout the world. The cases revolve around three main subjects:
##practice of their religion,
##displays of patriotism and military service, and
##blood transfusions.
The Supreme Courts of many states have established the rights of Jehovah's Witnesses and other faiths to engage in the practice of evangelism.[1]



Contents  [hide]
1 Armenia
2 Canada
3 France
4 Germany
5 India
6 Japan
7 Philippines
8 Russia
9 United States
10 See also
11 References
12 External links

Armenia[edit]
On July 11, 2011, the Grand Chamber issued a ruling for Bayatyan v. Armenia; Armenia was found to be in violation of ECHR Article 9 (right to freedom of religion or belief) in the conviction of Mr. Vahan Bayatyan, a Jehovah's Witness and Armenian national, for draft evasion.[2]
Canada[edit]
The Supreme Court of Canada has made a number of important decisions concerning Jehovah's Witnesses. These include laws that affected activities of Jehovah's Witnesses in the 1950s and more recent cases dealing with whether Witness parents had the right to decide what medical treatment was in the best interest of their children based on their faith.
On November 15, 1955 (Chaput v Romain [1955] S.C.R. 834), one of Jehovah's Witnesses successfully brought action against police officers for disrupting a religious meeting and seizing articles. The entry and the seizure were made without a warrant. No charge was laid against any of the participants including the appellant and the items seized were not returned.[3]
On January 27, 1959, the Supreme Court of Canada found that Maurice Duplessis, the premier of Quebec, wrongfully caused the revocation of Frank Roncarelli's liquor licence. Roncarelli, one of Jehovah's Witnesses, was a restaurant owner in Montreal who offered bail security for members of his faith arrested by the Municipality. The Witnesses were frequently arrested for distributing magazines without the necessary permits under a city by-law. The Chief Prosecutor of the city, Oscar Gagnon, overwhelmed by the number of Witnesses being arrested and then released as a result of Roncarelli's intervention, contacted the Premier who spoke to Edouard Archambault, Chairman of the Quebec Liquor Commission. Extensive testimony showed the government actors believed Roncarelli was disrupting the court system, causing civil disorder, and was therefore not entitled to the liquor licence.[citation needed]
On June 26, 2009, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a 6-1 decision saying courts must take into account the maturity and decision-making capacity of minors before ruling on enforced medical treatment. The case involved a young Jehovah's Witness, identified only as A.C., who was admitted to a hospital in Winnipeg with internal bleeding as a complication of Crohn's Disease. Doctors sought a blood transfusion, but A.C. and her parents refused on religious grounds; child welfare officials moved to take her into care and a court ordered that she be given the transfusion. The judge said he was satisfied she was competent, but since she was under 16 the judge felt that her competence was immaterial to existing law.[4] Justice Rosalie Abella wrote for the majority, "A young person is entitled to a degree of decisional autonomy commensurate with his or her maturity."[5]
France[edit]
On October 5, 2004, the Court of Cassation—the highest court in France for cases outside of administrative law—rejected the Witnesses' recourse against taxation at 60% of the value of some of their contributions, which the fiscal services assimilated to a legal category of donations close to that of inheritance and subject to the same taxes between non-parents. The court ruled that the tax administration could legally tax the corporation used by Jehovah's Witnesses if they received donations in the form of dons gratuits and they were not recognized as associations cultuelles.[6]
On June 30, 2011, the European Court of Human Rights found France to be guilty in violation of ECHR Article 9 (religious freedom) in regards to the 60% tax levied on all donations received from 1993-1996. The Court found that the tax assessment represented a cut in the association's operating resources sufficient to interfere with the free exercise of its members' religion in practical terms.[7] By 2011, the Government of France sought the Association to pay a sum of 58 million Euros. A representative of Jehovah's Witnesses in France stated that "no other major religion in France was subjected to this tax" and that "the Court saw that this was not a legitimate effort to collect revenue, but rather an attempt to use taxation as a means of restricting the worship of Jehovah's Witnesses."[8]
Germany[edit]
In December 2000, Germany's Supreme court ruled that Jehovah's Witnesses did not have to pass a test of "loyalty to the state".[9][10][11]
The Federal Constitutional Court held that transfusing blood to an unconscious Jehovah's Witness violated the person's will, but did not constitute a battery.[12]
India[edit]
In July 1985, in the state of Kerala, some of the Jehovah's Witnesses' children were expelled from school under the instructions of Deputy Inspector of Schools for having refused to sing the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana. A parent, V. J. Emmanuel, appealed to the Supreme Court of India for legal remedy. On August 11, 1986, the Supreme Court overruled the Kerala High Court, and directed the respondent authorities to re-admit the children into the school. The decision went on to add, "Our tradition teaches tolerance, our philosophy teaches tolerance, our Constitution practices tolerance, let us not dilute it".[13]
Japan[edit]
In 1998, The Watchtower reported that, "On March 8, 1996, the Supreme Court of Japan [ruled that] ... Kobe Municipal Industrial Technical College violated the law by expelling Kunihito Kobayashi for his refusal to participate in martial arts training."[14][non-primary source needed]
According to Awake!, "Misae Takeda, a Jehovah's Witness, was given [a] blood transfusion in 1992, while still under sedation following surgery to remove a malignant tumor of the liver." On February 29, 2000, "the four judges of the Supreme Court unanimously decided that doctors were at fault because they failed to explain that they might give her a blood transfusion if deemed necessary during the operation, thus depriving her of the right to decide whether to accept the operation or not."[15]
Philippines[edit]
In 1993, the Supreme Court of the Philippines held that exemption may be accorded to Jehovah's Witnesses with regard to the observance of the flag ceremony out of respect for their religious beliefs.[16]
In 1995 and 1996, the Supreme Court of the Philippines granted an exception to laws regarding marriage to a practicing Jehovah's Witness because enforcement of those laws would have inhibited free exercise of religious beliefs.[17][18]
Russia[edit]
[icon] This section requires expansion. (October 2008)
After the fall of the communist bloc of nations in Eastern Europe and Asia, Jehovah's Witnesses were allowed to worship freely in those nations for the first time since World War II. However, in recent years political resistance to minority religions has prompted several court cases in the Moscow courts that have led to the denial of registration for Jehovah's Witnesses in the Moscow district.[19][20] Jehovah's Witnesses won a favorable verdict in the European Court of Human Rights on June 10 2010 in the case of Jehovah's Witnesses of Moscow v Russia.[21]
United States[edit]
In the United States, numerous cases involving Jehovah's Witnesses are now landmark decisions of First Amendment law. In all, Jehovah's Witnesses brought 23 separate First Amendment actions before the U.S. Supreme Court between 1938 and 1946. Supreme Court Justice Harlan Fiske Stone once quipped, "I think the Jehovah's Witnesses ought to have an endowment in view of the aid which they give in solving the legal problems of civil liberties."[22]
The most important U.S. Supreme Court legal victory won by the Witnesses was in the case West Virginia State Board of Education vs. Barnette (1943), in which the court ruled that school children could not be forced to pledge allegiance to or salute the U.S. flag. The Barnette decision overturned an earlier case, Minersville School District vs. Gobitis (1940), in which the court had held that Witnesses could be forced against their will to pay homage to the flag.
The fighting words doctrine was established by Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942). In that case, one of Jehovah's Witnesses had reportedly told a New Hampshire town marshal who was attempting to prevent him from preaching "You are a damned racketeer" and "a damned fascist" and was arrested. The court upheld the arrest, thus establishing that "insulting or 'fighting words', those that by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace" are among the "well-defined and narrowly limited classes of speech [which] the prevention and punishment of...have never been thought to raise any constitutional problem."
On January 15, 1951, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the decision of a lower court in convicting two Jehovah's Witnesses lecturers of disorderly conduct of conducting public speeches in a city park of Harford County in Maryland without permits. The Supreme Court stated that the initial conviction was based on the lack of permits that were unconstitutionally denied, therefore convictions were not able to stand. The initial conviction was declined for review by the Maryland Court of Appeals under its normal appellate power, and further declined to take the case on certiorari, stating that the issues were not "matters of public interest" which made it desirable to review. Chief Justice Fred Vinson delivered the opinion of the Court, stating that rarely has any case been before this Court which shows so clearly an unwarranted discrimination in a refusal to issue such a license. It is true that the City Council held a hearing at which it considered the application. But we have searched the record in vain to discover any valid basis for the refusal.[23]
On March 9, 1953, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned and remanded the Supreme Court of Rhode Island's affirmation of the conviction of an Ordained Minister of Jehovah's Witnesses for a violation of holding a religious meeting in a city park of Pawtucket. The opinion of the court was that a religious service of Jehovah's Witnesses was treated differently from a religious service of other sects. That amounts to the state preferring some religious groups over this one. The court stated that the city had not prohibited church services in the park as Catholics could hold mass in the same park and Protestants could conduct their church services there without violating the ordinance.[24]
In a more recent case, Jehovah's Witnesses refused to get government permits to preach door-to-door in Stratton, Ohio. In 2002, the case was heard in the U.S. Supreme Court (Watchtower Society v. Village of Stratton — 536 U.S. 150 (2002)). The Court ruled in favor of Jehovah's Witnesses, holding that making it a misdemeanor (to engage in door-to-door advocacy without first registering with the mayor and receiving a permit) violates the first Amendment as it applies to religious proselytizing, anonymous political speech, and the distribution of handbills.
See also[edit]
##Jehovah's Witnesses and governments
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ “Jehovah’s Witnesses – Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom” –1993, chap. 30 pp. 679-701 | “Defending and Legally Establishing the Good News” | . © Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
2.Jump up ^ http://www.strasbourgconsortium.org/index.php?pageId=9&linkId=189&contentId=1636&blurbId=887
3.Jump up ^ http://csc.lexum.org/decisia-scc-csc/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/6697/index.do
4.Jump up ^ Edmonton Sun, 2009-06-27
5.Jump up ^ The Canadian Press, 2009-06-26
6.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses and governments
7.Jump up ^ http://www.strasbourgconsortium.org/index.php?pageId=9&linkId=189&contentId=1636&blurbId=1313
8.Jump up ^ http://www.tdgnews.it/en/2011/11/witnesses%E2%80%99-legal-victory-in-france-now-final-and-enforceable/
9.Jump up ^ "German high court defends rights of religious minorities" (Press release). Jehovah's Witnesses; Office of Public Information. December 19, 2000. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
10.Jump up ^ "Federal Administrative Court grants long-awaited recognition to Jehovah’s Witnesses in Germany" (Press release). Jehovah's Witnesses; Office of Public Information. February 17, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-31.
11.Jump up ^ "Jehovah's Witnesses Granted Legal Status". Deutsche Welle. March 25, 2005. Retrieved 2006-12-31.
12.Jump up ^ Decision of the German Federal Constitutional Court: [1] BVerfG, 1 BvR 618/93 vom 2.8.2001
13.Jump up ^ "Bijoe Emmanuel & Ors V. State of Kerala & Ors [1986] INSC 167". indiankanoon.org. August 11, 1986. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
14.Jump up ^ "Legally Protecting the Good News". The Watchtower: 22. December 1, 1998.
15.Jump up ^ Supreme Court of Japan Rules in Favor of Witness. Access date: April 10, 2014.
16.Jump up ^ "1993 RP Supreme Court ruling in Roel Ebralinag, et al. vs. Superintendent of Schools of Cebu". March 1, 1993.
17.Jump up ^ "2003 RP Supreme Court ruling in Estrada vs. Escritor". August 4, 2003. Retrieved 2006-12-31.
18.Jump up ^ "2006 RP Supreme Court ruling in Estrada vs. Escritor". June 22, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-31.
19.Jump up ^ Criminal charge against Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia continues, JW-Media.org (Jehovah's Witnesses Official Media Web Site)]
20.Jump up ^ 29 Forum 18.org, 2004-03-29
21.Jump up ^ ECHR exonerates Moscow Community of Jehovah’s Witnesses, JW-Media.org (Jehovah's Witnesses Official Media Web Site)]
22.Jump up ^ Melvin I. Urofsky (2002). Religious freedom: rights and liberties under the law. ABC-CLIO. p. 140. ISBN 978-1-57607-312-4.; citing Shawn Francis Peters (2002) [2000]. Judging Jehovah's Witnesses: Religious Persecution and the Dawn of the Rights Revolution (Reprint ed.). University Press of Kansas. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-7006-1182-9.
23.Jump up ^ http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/340/268/case.html
24.Jump up ^ http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/345/67/case.html
External links[edit]
##Jehovah's Witnesses news releases
  



Categories: Jehovah's Witnesses litigation













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