Research project: A study designed to explore the experience of leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses

by Researcher2023 17 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Researcher2023

  As part of a Psychology MSc research project, I am looking for participants to take part in a study designed to explore the experience of leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

  Former Witnesses who were raised in the organisation will be asked a few questions about their reasons for leaving, their experience of leaving, and how their life has changed since leaving.

  Taking part involves completing an interview over the internet. According to research needs, the number of questions asked in each interview may vary.

  The interview will take between 5 – 90 minutes depending on the questions asked and the level of detail you wish to provide.

  Your participation will remain confidential and anonymous, and it is completely voluntary so that you may withdraw at any time up to two weeks after the interview. The research has received ethical clearance from two academics on behalf of the University of Derby College of Health, Psychology and Social Care Research Ethics Committee.

  Inclusion and exclusion criteria apply, and this information will be provided to you.
  

  Please do not leave any personally identifiable information on the forum in response to this message.

  If you are happy to take part or you would like more information about the study, please private message (PM) me at Researcher2023 [pseudonym] on this forum.

  Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope to hear from you!
• 

  Simon

  Just to confirm that this is legit, they requested permission to post it and it comes from an "ac.uk" (university) email address.
• 

  Researcher2023

  Thank you Simon.
• 

  truth_b_known

  I'm in. Anything that can bring the public's attention to the reality of being one of Jehovah's Witnesses is time well spent.
• 

  stan livedeath

  i can take part. I'm in the UK, i left the JW's in the 1970s and its had a considerable effect on my life.
• 

  vienne

  Hi,

  I'm not a Witness and never have been, so I cannot participate, but I'd like to read the finished product. Will you post it online?

  Julia Gutgsell's master's thesis was on a similar topic. Her title was 'A Loving Provision'? How Former Jehovah's Witnesses Experience Shunning Practices. [Vrije Universiteit, Brussels, 2017] Mom [R. M. de Vienne, PhD] corresponded with Julia, but I don't have access to the emails. [We deleted mom's email account after she died.] However, I know that Mom's primary observation was that Julia's work lacked the balance that any academic work should have. Ms Gutgsell interviewed former Witnesses but failed to consider those who returned. Do you plan on interviewing those who returned?

  Returnees seem to be divided between those who genuinely 'repented', that is they felt real shame at their behavior, and those who returned to regain lost associates or family. My unscientific assessment is that the 'repentant' outnumber those seeking lost family. Equally 'unscientific' is my impression that the number of returnees is quite small.

  An academic who is also a Witness suggested that access to returnees might be facilitated by contacting the Branch Office in your country, or by approaching the issue through the closest congregation first. My personal suggestion is to contact the Watchtower's Office of Public Information in Warwick NY. They have an email box, but a letter addressed to them at 1 Kings Drive, Tuxedo Park NY 10987 will be more effective. My experience is that they are very slow to answer because they must go through layers of approval for any response.

  I hope this helps.

  Anastasia [aka Annie]
• 

  Researcher2023

  Thank you for your reply Anastasia, I shall definitely consider what you have said. When the research is complete I shall make people aware through this forum and thank participants (anonymously of course). I appreciate everyone's responses so far. Please keep them coming!

  I would like to take this opportunity to ask that potential participants do not be put off by the quantity of information which must be read prior to participation and the formality of the forms! This is due to the nature of the research, and relevant ethical considerations which are designed to protect potential participants. I remain hopeful that with the kind participation of people on this and similar forums, this research project will make a meaningful contribution to existing literature and further our understanding of this complex topic. Thank you!
  
• 

  slimboyfat

  There’s been quite a lot published on the topic in the last few years. (A selection cited below, I haven’t ordered or standardised the citations) Will you have a particular focus?

  Ransom, H. J., Monk, R. L., & Heim, D. (2022). Grieving the living: The social death of former Jehovah’s Witnesses. Journal of religion and health, 61(3), 2458- 2480.

  Ransom, H. J., Monk, R. L., Qureshi, A., & Heim, D. (2021). Life after social death: Leaving the jehovah’s witnesses, identity transition and recovery. Pastoral Psychology, 70(1), 53-69.

  Pratezina, J. (2021). "Disciples by default": women's narratives of leaving alternative religious movements (Doctoral dissertation).

  Aboud, A. (2020). An exploration of the lived experience of leaving Jehovah's Witnesses (Doctoral dissertation, University of London).

  Freestone, N. (2019). Becoming ‘part of the world’: helping former Jehovah’s Witnesses adjust to life outside the religion. (Online essay, published?)

  Chryssides, G. D. (2016). ‘The silent majority?’: understanding apostate testimony beyond ‘insider/outsider’binaries in the study of new religions. In Visioning New and Minority Religions (pp. 32-44). Routledge. (Points out that many leavers are not apostates and quiet leavers are understudied)

  Ingersoll-Wood, C. S. (2022). The Educational Identity Formation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Religion & Education, 49(3), 310-338.

  Testoni, I., Bingaman, K., Gengarelli, G., Capriati, M., De Vincenzo, C., Toniolo, A., ... & Zamperini, A. (2019). Self-appropriation between social mourning and individuation: A qualitative study on psychosocial transition among Jehovah’s witnesses. Pastoral Psychology, 68(6), 687-703.

  Raonsom, H. J. (2021). Leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses: Identity, Transition and Recovery (Doctoral dissertation, Department of Psychology, Edge Hill University).

  Kieler, S. (2020). Managin Familial and Religious Ostacism: Challenges and coping skills for former Jehovah’s Witnesses. Masters thesis

  Björkmark, M., Nynäs, P., & Koskinen, C. (2022). “Living Between Two Different Worlds”: Experiences of Leaving a High-Cost Religious Group. Journal of Religion and Health, 61(6), 4721- 4737.

  Pratezina, J. (2022). Doubt and Desire: Women’s Narratives of Leaving Alternative Religious Groups. Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, 25(4), 110-118. (A review of Amber Scorah’s book)

  Lalich, J., & McLaren, K. (2010). Inside and outcast: Multifaceted stigma and redemption in the lives of gay and lesbian Jehovah's Witnesses. Journal of Homosexuality, 57(10), 1303-1333.

  Hookway, N. S., & Habibis, D. (2015). ‘Losing my religion’: Managing identity in a post-Jehovah’s Witness world. Journal of Sociology, 51(4), 843-856.

  LeCount, R. M. (2017). Leaving religion: A qualitative analysis of religious exiting. Inquiries Journal, 9(12).
  

  Pannofino, N., & Cardano, M. (2017). Exes speak out, narratives of apostasy: Jehovah’s witnesses, scientology and Soka Gakkai. (A conference paper?)

  Grendele, W. A. (2022). A qualitative exploration of the social dynamics of religious shunning in the Jehovah’s Witness community (Doctoral dissertation, University of West London).

  Mundell, G. D. (2016). Exploring Therapeutic Experiences of Gay Male Clients Who Currently Identify, or Who Formerly Identified, as One of Jehovah's Witnesses (Doctoral dissertation, Union Institute and University).
  
  
  
• 

  Researcher2023

  Thank you, I will definitely consider the literature you have cited.
• 

  Researcher2023

  It has come to my attention that some responses to the online forms are not being recorded. Please ensure that when you complete the forms, all 'next' buttons are pressed so that the survey progresses to the final screen in which the participant is thanked for their responses and informed that they will be contacted by the researcher to arrange the interview. Thank you for your help thus far, and I look forward to speaking with you!