JW in Cuba

by Ozner 3 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  Ozner

  Dear Friends,

  I have a few questions about JW in Cuba:

  - who does know more about the agreement between the WTS and the Cuban government?

  - who could give more information about the posibility of freedom of religion for JW in communist Cuba?

  - did the WTS register itself as by the Cuban government?

  - who does know more about the WTS officials involved by this?

  I hope you will have some imput.

  Ozner
• 

  Soledad

  From what I know, the Watchtower Society has not registered itself per the Cuban government, however, recent changes have taken place vis a vis the Socialists and the Catholic church, that in turn would allow more religious freedoms for many different groups including the JWs. Their activities are strictly monitored (no door to door or street witnessing, literature gets "smuggled" in from other nations, like my mom did when she visited.)

  The Witnesses were allowed to have their first public convention in 1997. There were approximately 15,000 attendees.

  My information comes from people who have gone there and/or have relatives there. Things may have changed/not changed recently.
• 

  Gerard

  Cuba apparently has improved little its treatment of the nation's approximately 82,000 Jehovah's Witnesses, who previously encountered government harassment due to their religious opposition to military service and participation in pro-government organizations. But Jehovah's Witnesses are still harrased because they are perceived to be opposed to Cuba's revolutionary principle: "Defence of the socialist motherland is every Cuban's greatest honour and highest duty."

  Did not find exact data to your questions, but here are some links with info:

  • Cuba, 82,258 publishers (1998)
  • ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND RELIGIOUS COMMITMENT- Jehovah's Witnesses in Cuba, 1938-1965
  • USA State government report
  • 2004 Statistics- Cuba (Note all N. America has a sharp drop in baptisms.)
  • 2005: "The individual whose name appears on the property title of the house, along with any co-owners, must also provide their written and signed consent that the religious services will not cause any damage to the "good development" of the family living in the house." The directive goes on to specify that religious services may not be held in homes that have not received official authorisation. It appears unlikely that all house churches will have received authorisation by the end of September 2005, and it is unclear whether or not those that are still awaiting authorisation will be forced to close. Some church leaders have reported that the government has postponed the September deadline, but a new cut-off date has not been announced.
• 

  blondie

  http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=652

  This article was published by F18News on: 15 September 2005

  CUBA: Draconian new restrictions on "home religious meetings"

  By Lena Lopez, Christian Solidarity Worldwide http://www.csw.org.uk http://members.aol.com/OrthoVox/cuba1.html U.S. Department of State Cuba Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1998 Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, February 26, 1999. Jehovah's Witnesses, once considered "active religious enemies of the revolution," were allowed quietly to proselytize door-to-door, and they generally were not subjected to overt government harassment.