surely if they are growing at this surprisingly high level, more and more of us would be getting our doors banged on and having a lot more contact with them in public places but the feed back I get is that is simply not happening.
How is it f'n possible JW's biggest religious increase 4.4%
by troubled mind 43 Replies latest watchtower bible
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mkr32208
Come on people use your noggins, it's possible because they don't subtract they just add!
What is 4.5 percent of 10 million damn near half a million people? At that rate they would add 2 million (give or take) every dacade. DO they? Fuck no, they are full of crap.
In fact they didn't even come CLOSE it's fudgy math! They aren't subtracting the people who LEAVE! It took them what 18 years to go from 7 million to 8? Why is that? Because when you figure in retention over time they actually grow by an average of somewhere from 80-90k a year. Still to much but a long LONG damn site away from a half a million new members a year, jeez...
And I think even that is lies, hell I think they are STILL counting my time and I've been a hardcore atheist/apostate for the last 5 years. Ridiculous all around.
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mkr32208
Nah, it's a failing religion. It's only marginally saving grace is 3rd world and immigrant growth, that won't hold out for long. I don't really care one way or the other but I don't see them lasting another 20 years as an organized single religion. And good riddance to them!
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nugget
just wonder if my husband and I are part of the number even though we have been expelled?
Figures can be manipulated and there is growth in some areas of the world since people are living in desperate times and some of the disadvantaged want to believe in something.
Also there are more births in recent years and some of those children are now old enough to publish and the elderly who can now have their 15min report each month so there is natural growth to offset the deaths. This is a huge organisation so plenty of opportunity for creative accounting. The elderly thing is significant since that is a way of boosting the figures upwards as the old are guilted into publishing. If the society didn't need every head it had to count they wouldn't have introduced it.
Average hours have dropped over the years and there are many who attend but don't believe espeacially in the younger age groups. Big things can keep moving even when they are dead.
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cantleave
In 1988 a talk wsas given entitled, "resposible child bearing in this time of the end." Many couples of our age (now in mid 40's) took this talk very seriously and actually put off starting a family until mid 30's. The children are now reaching an age where they can become unbaptised publishers. Surely this wave of new UP is massaging the figures in the US and UK.
To put thgis into perspective our congregation had 30 children between the ages 5 and 13 when we left. The number of publishers was just under 80.
The good news is, in a couple of years time as these kids hit puberty we will see extremely high attrition.
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WTWizard
The same way as for the US stock market to be up to double the 3/2009 lows despite a real 20% unemployment rate, purchasing power of the toilet paper dollar to be sinking, government regulations preventing starting businesses, the laws within the "sickness care" crap (that have nothing to do with sickness care) requiring you to report every transaction to the IRS that exceeds $600 per year, and S510/S3767 outlawing competition in the food/phude industry. It's all a fake, and there is going to be a pop in this bubble.
In the dollar, the scam will result in hyperinflation and probable price controls, leading to shortages and riots and then martial law. In the Washtowel, such a scam will result in the outfit collapsing and members rebelling against the leaders. They had better stock up on S-77 forms now before those forms become so expensive that it costs a sextillion dollars to mail them.
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ihadnoidea
I don't know if some one already said this, but I think its also possible that:
The # is artificially high because people are afraid to leave (I am in this box)
They count only active members too. I think this has the affect of keeping the total # of JWs lower, and larger percentage increases only then require a smaller bump in JWs total count vs other churches. It would be interesting to see the unreligious #s for comparison. My gut says they are truly the fastest growing religion if you call that a religion.
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sir82
How is it possible?
1) Smarter marketing by the WTS. They are concentrating on pulling in expatriates, most of whom landed in their new country due to economic uncertainty. As the immigrants sit in bewilderment on their rare day off, here come Joe and Suzy Gringo with literature extolling God, whom they probably love, in their own language! They go to tee Kingdom Hall - and see the largest number of natives from their own country since they left! It's all downhill from there.
2) Global economic uncertainty. Religion in general, and apocalyptic, "it's the end of the world - see the proof!" type religions thrive when things go bad. New members are attracted, and old members are scared to leave ("what if I leave today and Armageddon really comes tomorrow?")
3) A classic "abusive husband/parent" relationship with the flock, increasing a sense of loyalty
Tighten the screws, tighten, tighten...oh you've got one less meeting night per week! Hooray and hallelujah! How loving and wonderful the GB are!
Tighten the screws, tighten, tighten...oh you only have to do 30 hours to count as an auxiliary pioneer. What a blessing! Jehovah loves us, he really loves us!
Tighten the screws, tighten, tighten....ad infinitum
The WTS has had 130 years to perfect their methods. GB 2.0, if nothing else, have learned quite well how to grow their flock.
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FreeAtLast1914
"Jehovah's Witnesses have the lowest retention rate of any religious tradition. Only 37% of all those who say they were raised as Jehovah's Witnesses still identify themselves as Jehovah's Witnesses." (http://religions.pewforum.org/reports)
That's still my favorite stat. It warms the heart.
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OnTheWayOut
Okay, we can guess all day how they've come up w/ these numbers. Mine is that in order to compare w/ other religions, they count attendance. I mean, your avg church organization doesn't typically have members resigning (disassociating) so the closest to comparing apples to apples is avg-to-peak attendance.