Article from Jamaica: Jehovah's Witnesses' properties for sale - Rising costs force religious group to go small

by AndersonsInfo 36 Replies latest jw friends

  • wifibandit
    wifibandit

    Jamaica

    Service YearPeak Publishers
    19888,545
    19898,623
    19909,166
    19919,430
    19929,477
    19939,342
    19949,890
    199510,489
    199610,699
    199710,614
    199811,003
    199911,030
    200011,312
    200111,059
    200211,233
    200311,055
    200411,078
    200511,174
    200611,240
    200711,641
    200811,941
    200911,954
    201012,227
    201112,233
    201212,088
    201312,263
    201412,126
    2015

    11,911


  • Vidiot
    Vidiot

    dropoffyourkeylee - "It's curious that they Call them 'temples'. I don't recall hearing that before. Maybe the news writer chose the word."

    Or a translation thing.

  • shepherdless
    shepherdless

    Since this thread is still going...

    The reference to "temples" in the news article was probably just the reporter not knowing the correct terminology.

    After I first commented on the article, I did a brief bit of research. It appears that the result of the 2011 census was as follows (I could only find percentages on wikipedia, not actual numbers):

    Protestant 64.8%, comprising : Seventh Day, Adventist 12.0%, Pentecostal 11.0%, Other Church of God 9.2%, New Testament Church of God 7.2%, Baptist 6.7%, Church of God in Jamaica 4.8%, Church of God of Prophecy 4.5%, Anglican 2.8%, United Church 2.1%, Methodist 1.6%, Revived 1.4%, Brethren 0.9%, Moravian 0.7%;

    Roman Catholic 2.2%;

    Jehovah's Witness 1.9%;

    Rastafarian 1.1%;

    other 6.5%;

    none 21.3%;

    unspecified 2.3%.


    I did find the census form on the following website (bottom left corner):

    http://statinja.gov.jm/Popcensus.aspx


    I suspect that the reason the census suggested that 1.9% of the population were JW's (instead of around 0.6%) is a combination of the following:

    (1) Jehovahs Witnesses are high on the list of religions to choose on the census form.

    (2) Most people chose a religion on the census (nearly 80%) despite "no religion" being a clear option on the form, and I suspect there is a social tendency to associate with a religion, if only in name.

    (3) The country has a literacy rate of 88%, which is one of the worst in the world outside of Africa.

    I think a similar explanation applies to a number of other surprising percentages and absences in the list above. Every religion listed above, was specifically on the census form. The absence of Mormons (for example) is probably because they were not specifically listed as an option.

    ---------------------

    Separately, I think the substance of the article indicates that Watchtower is still cost cutting and selling assets wherever possible, even after sending home all those bethelites and releasing those special pioneers. Watchtower must still be under some cashflow stress.

  • SonoftheTrinity
    SonoftheTrinity
    Jamaica is probably the poorest of Her Majesty's Realms within the commonwealth, so calling it a 'Temple' instead of a 'Kingdom Hall' might have actually been done out of courtesy to the Queen.
  • TheOldHippie
    TheOldHippie
    Do many Jamaicans emigrate to the US or elsewhere to find a job? In many East European countries and also in African ones there is little Growth in the YB numbers, but that is because many JWs have left for Western Europe to get a job. So there IS growth, but it surfaces as foreign-speaking congregations in other countries. Is it easy for Jamaicans to emigrate?
  • SonoftheTrinity
    SonoftheTrinity

    Maybe if they come up with a Jamaican Patois New World Translation they can drum up New Jamaican Congregations out of thin air and call it growth.

    Puradvencha dem kom op wid a Jumiekan Patwa Nyuu Wurold Chranzlieshan dem ka jrom op a woliipa Nyuu Jumiekan Kangregieshan dem outa tin ier an chat seh a gruo dem a gruo.

  • JWdaughter
    JWdaughter
    I am sure that the property will be much more useful for a hotel or retail chain to own in the tropical paradise vacation spot of Jamaica than it would be for the local Jehovah's Witnesses. The. Can use the local church or school to meet in!

Share this

Google+
Pinterest
Reddit