Research shows Jehovah's Witnesses grow faster in less developed countries

by slimboyfat 16 Replies latest jw friends

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  slimboyfat

  People have often commented that much of the current growth of JWs is taking place in developing countries. Social researchers studying the growth of JWs, Mormons and Seventh-Day Adventists have confirmed this observation in a recently published article:

  R. T. Cragun and R. Lawson
  The Secular Transition: The Worldwide Growth of Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Seventh-day Adventists
  Sociology of Religion, April 9, 2010; (2010) srq022v1.

  You can read the article on this page:

  http://www.scribd.com/doc/31205105/The-Secular-Transition-Manuscript

  And extra material including tables here:

  http://www.scribd.com/doc/31195093/The-Secular-Transition-The-Worldwide-Growth-of-Mormons-Jehovah%E2%80%99s-Witnesses-and-Seventh-day-Adventists-Appendix

  In particular this table that shows higher levels of growth for JWs in countries lower on HDI (Human Development Index) scale.

  Figure 2. Influence of HDI on Jehovah's Witnesses growth.
• 

  teel

  This is very interresting. There isn't a direct proportion, rather a plateu, then a sharp decline in developed countries. Seventh Day Adventist stats show a constant decline. The researcher also asserted (and the stats somewhat confirmed - although more visible for Mormons) that on the lower end of the scale, the undeveloped societies also are uninterrested in strict religions.

  Quote:

  • Societies at the lower end of the economic development scale will have little interest in strict, proselytizing religious groups due to the mechanical solidarity and concomitant security their close-knit society provides.

  • Societies undergoing economic development will be attracted to the existential security provided by strict, proselytizing religious groups due to a breakdown in mechanical solidarity and an increase in existential insecurity resulting from economic development and modernity.

  • Societies at the higher end of economic development will be less interested in strict, proselytizing religious groups due to the spread of both organic solidarity, which accompanies modernization, and secular forms of existential security, which generally result from government social safety nets as well as from a higher standard of living.
• 

  gubberningbody

  And I thought this thread would be some observation about the physical developmental stages of a human raised as a jw.

  Nevermind.
• 

  leavingwt

  I wish WT would publish their numbers for the United States, broken into two categories: English-speaking congregations and then, everyone else.
• 

  PrimateDave

  deleted by me
• 

  GoingGoingGone

  I wish WT would publish their numbers for the United States, broken into two categories: English-speaking congregations and then, everyone else.

  Me too!

  Example: The KH where my husband goes started out with 1 English and 1 Spanish congregation a few years ago. Now there are 1 English and 4 Spanish congregations there. And that's not counting the Portugese congregation that had to move out of that KH and meet somewhere else!

  GGG
• 

  freedomisntfree

  I think its sad and pathetic that they prey on people in developing lands by offering them false hope and fake love.They have enough problems a lot of the time without dealing with this BS
• 

  dgp

  In developing countries, however, some other groups grow much faster than the WT. When still a Catholic, one of my surprises was getting to know that the Catholic Church was supposed to have been growing "exponentially" in Africa. I'm not sure if the information is correct, however. I do know that Protestants of all kinds do grow much faster than the witnesses. I understand that they are very numerous in Brazil and Mexico, for example, particularly God's Assemblies.

  The intriguing point would be whether it is material comfort that makes you uninterested in the kind of message the witnesses convey, or if it's easier information. I speculate that it's much easier for a Brazilian to have an internet connection than it is for a Zambian, for example.
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  dgp

  Leaving, I take your post to mean that the English-speaking congregations are not growing. Which is an important fact in itself, because the WT is a very American organization. What will happen to it when it loses that character?
• 

  steve2

  I think its sad and pathetic that they prey on people in developing lands by offering them false hope and fake love.They have enough problems a lot of the time without dealing with this BS

  Aw, c'mon for goodness sake! Most, if not all proslyetizing Christian-based religions flood poorer countries with their missionaries and simplistic messages. Even within developed countries, they carefully concentrate on poorer districts because that's where there's greater likelihood of misery and hence interest. Sad but true, Christianity is a religion that thrives on desperation and hopelessness. Anyone with half a decent life would not be so attracted to a religion that, in one form or another, despises human nature and longs for rescuing from personal responsibility.