Time demands of the Jehovah's Witness religion compared with other religions?

by stapler99 17 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  stapler99

  I've been wondering how other religions, such as other Christian denominations, would compare to the JW's in their time demands.

  I'll lay out the approximate hours per week below. (I know some of the meeting lengths have changed in recent years, and the bookstudy has been abolished. ):

  Sunday: 2 hour meeting + 1 hour travelling and hanging about

  Tuesday (bookstudy): 1 hour meeting + 1/2 travelling, preparation, etc.

  Thursday: 1 hour 45 mins meeting + 1 hour travelling, preparation

  Miscellaneous field service (e.g. at weekends): 2 hours

  This adds up to 9 hours 15 minutes a week. More time could easily be spent in meeting preparation, and field service.

  Does anyone know round about the length of a Sunday service at a Christian church?
• 

  poppers

  A typical Sunday mass at a Catholic church is less than an hour.
• 

  Mad Sweeney

  Tuesday (bookstudy): 1 hour meeting + 1/2 travelling, preparation, etc.

  Thursday: 1 hour 45 mins meeting + 1 hour travelling, preparation

  There is no longer a separate book study. They crammed it all into the Thursday meeting. BUT, that hour you used to spend at book study is now supposed to be spent doing Family Worship Night at home. So basically, if you're doing what you're told, you only save a half hour of travel time, BUT if you're the family head you have to spend MORE time preparing for what you're going to teach your family on FWN.

  Thank the Borg for this arrangement. I used it to help my wife and daughter see the truth and leave the Borg with me.
• 

  finallysomepride

  i'm sure most jdubs do envy the catholics on that point
• 

  WTWizard

  When I was little, we would go to Catholic church once a week. The base demand on our time was about 2 1/2 hours, including 15 miles each way of travel time. It also included Sunday school. I suppose one could include other services, such as catechysm (I think that's how it's spelled), and of course monastery or missionary work always takes much more. However, there was no hounding to join catechysm or choir.
• 

  jgnat

  Here's a delightful interactive graph on how people spend their time. Guess when most of us have sex?

  http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/07/31/business/20080801-metrics-graphic.html

  Here's some related barna reports.

  http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/160-faith-revolutionaries-stand-out-from-the-crowd

  http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/123-fragmented-populations-require-diverse-means-of-connection?q=volunteerism
• 

  TTWSYF

  A typical Sunday mass at a Catholic church is less than an hour.

  Yes, unless it's a family/kids mass or an Easter vigil or such. 58 mins today [mother's day at my church]. Interesting to note that 3/4 of the time is literally reading the scriptures [1st reading OT, 2nd readingNT, PslamsOT, Gospel & EuchuristNT]. Then maybe 1/4 of the time filled with 'fluff' depending on how 'long winded' the preist giving the homily is.

  I've also been to 'congregational' churches on several occassions and found a similair format, but with different scripture/fluff ratios.

  By contrast, I've found JW services to be some scriptural verses and then lots of fluff. I was really amazed at the lack of actual prayer at these services.

  Of course, we all 'go with what we know', right?

  respectfully,

  dc
• 

  Morbidzbaby

  TTWSYF I went to a Catholic Mass and was amazed at how much they actually DO use the bible and pray! The thing that really clicked with me was that the JW's say that when you go to a meeting, you're always learning something and they don't say the same thing over and over. Then how is it that during a public talk, I could predict with precision which scripture they were going to read to support their points? Because that's the one they ALWAYS use for that point. It's always the same scriptures, the same talks, the same everything. Over and over.

  I snuck a look at the public talk binder last week. I was looking at the contents and I recognized every single talk title in it. I've heard them all during my "career" as a JW. So they wouldn't be telling me anything I don't already know lol. The fact that they have a binder that contains speech outlines and the speaker isn't really allowed to add very much to it, if at all, speaks volumes. They DO say the same things over and over. There's no question!

  As for time spent as a JW, I will give my mom as an example:

  Sunday~ 2 hour meeting. Get there early cause dad is a MS. Hang around and talk after. Add on about 40 minutes round trip travel time = 3 hours 30 minutes.

  Monday~ Study for Tuesday...this can take all day, honestly. I've seen her study for 4 hours for the Congregation Bookstudy, TMS, and Service Meeting. Heaven forbid if she has a talk! So I'll average it at 3 hours.

  Tuesday~ Service for about 4 hours. Meeting times same as Sunday, except they go out with the friends after, so tack on another 2 hours. That makes 9 hours, 30 minutes.

  Wednesday~ Service all freaking day. 7am to 8 pm. 13 hours.

  Thursday~ Study all morning for a study that afternoon. 3 hours. Afternoon service, about 3 hours. 6 hours total.

  Friday~ Service all freaking day. 7am to 4pm. 9 hours.

  Saturday~ Service in the morning, 4 hours.

  She averages 48 hours a week doing JW stuff... that's 2 whole days! That's not even factoring in her informal witnessing, calling other JW's or potential studies, etc. 48 freakin' hours.
• 

  GLTirebiter

  Don't forget about conventions and aasemblies!

  When making this comparison, don't forget that all the WT hours are mandatory--you are expected to be at every meeting, to do field servcie every month, and attend all the assemblies and conventions. For most other religions, activities beyond the Sunday/Sabbath services are optional. You are encouraged to join the mision trips, charity groups, teach Sunday School or catechism classes, sing in the choir, lead a scout troop, etc. but nobody is "marked" because they don't (and, as in most normal organizations, it seems that about 20% of the people are doing 80% of these tasks).
• 

  kurtbethel

  Think of the time saved because you do not have to research anything, since the brothers do that for you.