After being around this site for 21 years now, I've heard many recount their stories and feelings. Many times I can immediately relate but other times they seem to have had a very different experience with the church. I'm sure that is because not only are all of us different in personality, but congregations and family dynamics vary as well. Here is a simple study wherein the author interviewed a number of former JWs. (warning it may trigger memories and pain).
Research paper on Effects of Shunning
by peacefulpete 43 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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cofty
Excellent thanks for the link
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Vanderhoven7
Here is the PR spin on disfellowshipping.
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Disillusioned JW
Interestingly the study says the following regarding how many JWs there are. "The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society—the legal entity of JW—reports over 8 million members worldwide in 240 countries (Watch Tower and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, 2021a). However, studies examining member counts have found that the number of people identifying as JW to be 17.5 million (Lawson & Xydias, 2020)." That makes since sense many people who consider themselves as an inactive one of Jehovah's Witnesses still consider themselves as one of Jehovah's Witnesses.
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joe134cd
This would support what slimboy fat and myself have been trying to argue. That the activity rates of JWs, compared to other religious traditions, are exceptional. It’s nice to see someone else backs us up.
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Disillusioned JW
The study says the following. "The current study also has several limitations. Participants were recruited from online social media forums for former JW members. The selection process was not random and relied on voluntary self-identification. Participants in such forums may be more reactive and polarized than the general population of former JW members (Farrell et al., 2008)."
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jhine
Joe , l am sorry to say that l am not familiar with yours and Slimboy's assertion that the activity rates of JWs , compared to other religious traditions, are exceptional.
Could you explain what you mean ? As a member of another religious tradition l am curious.
Jan
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peacefulpete
The paper was brief and sample was small so of course it has it's limits in describing the experience of a larger set of people. The article still illustrates the variety of negative effects. Myself and my wife, we had the pain of losing some family but also the joy of reuniting with others. Intellectually it was a liberating experience overall. For some, obviously the world seems to be a scary place, and they struggle to embrace it's realities.
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joe134cd
Jhine - Gosh where do I start!:
https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5183083536449536/statistics-out-yet
https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/4871714881142784/three-children-families-stop-step-decline-mormon-membership
https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5748058095616000/jws-bigger-more-successful-mormon-church
https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5926017217593344/lds-statistics-extension-may-suggest-that-jws-could-bigger-more-engaged-membership
Just for the record. I do believe the figures printed in the annual report to be true. I have also noted a similar thing in my local area. The country census is twice that reported in the yearbook. This would suggest the 20million figure bill for the memorial to be with in limits.
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jhine
Thank you Joe .
Jan