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WAKING UP 1
Waking Up: A Narrative Inquiry into Deconversion Stories
by former Jehovah’s Witnesses Bethelites
Andre Jackson
A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of
The Chicago School
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of PhD Business Psychology
Dr. Elizabeth Schwab, Psy.D., Chairperson
Dr. Julie Benesh, PhD, Member
Dr. Steven Hassan, PhD, Member
April 29, 2024
WAKING UP 2
Unpublished Work
2024 by Andre Jackson
All Rights Reserved
WAKING UP 3
Waking Up: A Narrative Inquiry into Deconversion Stories by Jehovah’s Witnesses
Bethelites
A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of
The Chicago School
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Business Psychology
Andre Jackson
2024
Approved By:
Elizabeth Schwab, Psy.D., Chairperson
Associate Department Chair at the Chicago School
Julie Benesh, PhD, Member
Department Chair at the Chicago School
Steven Hassan, PhD, Member
President of Freedom of Mind Resource Center Inc.
WAKING UP 4
Permission to Reproduce Copyrighted Material
I’m grateful to the following individuals for allowing me to reproduce their work:
Steven Hassan, who gave me permission to use the cult structure visual and the influence
continuum infographic from the book Combating Cult Mind Control (p. 92, 94), by S. A. Hassan,
2018, Freedom of Mind Press (https://freedomofmind.com/). Copyright 2018 by Steven Hassan.
Cliff “Fifth” Henderson, who gave me permission to reproduce the lyrics of Cost of Doin'
Business (Official Music Video) by FIFTH, 2020, YouTube
(https://youtu.be/HYq1eMBszWs?si=lD-ZF3UCu1aggBkg). Copyright 2020 by FIFTH.
Tamosan, Sayo Tochikane at Saizusha, and Hikaru Sasahara at Digital Manga, who gave
me permission to illustrate disillusionment and disaffection using images from the book The Day
I Was Forced to Marry God: The Cult Known as Jehovah's Witnesses (p. 116, 125), by Tamosan,
2020, Digital Manga Inc. (https://emanga.com). Copyright 2020 by Digital Manga Inc.
WAKING UP 5
Gratitude
I want to express my gratitude to my committee: Dr. Elizabeth Schwab has patiently
guided, supported, and encouraged me in my work on this dissertation for two and a half years.
Without her, I would not have embarked on this journey, and I would not have finished it.
Dr. Julie Benesh provided instrumental guidance and input on methods, and offered kind and
reassuring support that made a difference. Finally, Dr. Steven Hassan, whose work helped and
inspired me, like so many others. His expertise, detailed feedback, suggestions, and help were
invaluable! Thank you all so very much!!
I want to thank Dr. Lonnie Morris for his suggestions and brainstorming with me on
many occasions, Jamie Martin for her peer review, Dr. Wendy Edmonds for her suggestions
based on her research on the People’s Temple and the Jonestown massacre survivors,
Dr. Heidi Marshall for her never-ending patience and guidance around APA requirements, and
Dr. Michael Langone from the International Cultic Studies Association for sharing survey data
with me.
I am grateful to the many YouTubers, podcasters, activists, journalists, content producers,
artists, authors, researchers, whistleblowers, and brave individuals who share their stories and
their work on cults. I want to highlight the work of Michael Shemwell, whose Shunned podcast
catalog inspired me to undertake this research, the work of Cliff “Fifth” Henderson,
Lloyd Evans, Phillip “The Blue Envelope” Kuchman, Kevin McFree, Paul Grundy,
Jason Wynne, and Tamosan. Your work makes a difference!
Thank you, Svitlana Mysak, for your labors, transcribing and parsing hours upon hours of
interviews. Your diligence made my life so much easier.
WAKING UP 6
Thank you, Noam Ebner and Dr. Brian Hanson, for your recommendations and
facilitating my acceptance to this program.
Thank you, David Sturtevant. I am grateful for your encouragement to do more research
and your comments that helped me wake up. Thank you, Kelvin Brooks, for inviting me to talk
to your congregation, and the love you showed.
Thank you, to all my friends, who reviewed early parts of this work, shared their
thoughts, and offered vital encouragement: Bekah Muldowney, Cara Ivens, Al Bettuzzi,
Lauren Bettuzzi, Celeste McKenry, Emileah Aguilar, Adnette Kamugisha, Steven Belz,
Chris Speth, Holly Hannah, Carol Ebels, Isaac Jones, and so many others. Thank you all from
the bottom of my heart!!
WAKING UP 7
Abstract
Academic studies, reports by defectors, and the evidence in their own literature indicate that
Jehovah’s Witnesses are a cult that manipulates its members using psychological mind control
mechanisms. How individual Jehovah’s Witnesses recognize this manipulation and defect from
the group, a process often referred to as waking up, is not well understood. This narrative inquiry
was designed to analyze the deconversion stories of former Jehovah’s Witnesses Bethelites,
high-ranking individuals who lived in cult compounds called bethel. Six former Bethelites,
whose archived interviews were available on YouTube, were considered for the analysis. The
findings indicate a shared narrative chronology that consists of an initial doubt event, a trigger
event, an unsuccessful attempt to resolve doubt, and then a turning point. Several themes indicate
that attempts to resolve doubts are pivotal in the recognition of manipulation, and that the
discovery of deception and doctrinal disagreement often resulted in the rejection of the group. As
a result, waking up was defined as recognizing and rejecting systemic manipulation. The
findings imply that empowering Jehovah’s Witnesses to embrace agency, develop confidence to
assess information, view their moral judgments as appropriate, reject their suffering, and
recognize that their disappointments may be justified, is an important aspect of supporting them
achieve independence from cultic control.
Keywords: Jehovah’s Witnesses, cult, waking up, deconversion, narrative inquiry
WAKING UP 8
Table of Contents
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ 12
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... 13
Chapter 1: Nature of the Study ..................................................................................................... 15
Background ............................................................................................................................ 15
Problem Statement ................................................................................................................. 17
Purpose of the Study .............................................................................................................. 18
Research Question ................................................................................................................. 18
Conceptual Foundations ........................................................................................................ 19
Scope of the Study ................................................................................................................. 19
Definitions of Key Terms ...................................................................................................... 21
Significance of the Study ....................................................................................................... 22
Summary ................................................................................................................................ 23
Chapter 2: Literature Review ........................................................................................................ 24
Jehovah’s Witnesses .............................................................................................................. 26
Overview and History ..................................................................................................... 27
Beliefs ............................................................................................................................. 30
Organization ................................................................................................................... 31
Material Culture .............................................................................................................. 41
Organizational Demands ................................................................................................ 45
Socialization and Social Control .................................................................................... 57
Everyday Life ................................................................................................................. 63
Conversions and Defections ........................................................................................... 73
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Cult Mind Control.................................................................................................................. 76
Behavior Control: Listen, Obey and Be Blessed… or Else ............................................ 78
Information Control: What is the Truth? ........................................................................ 85
Thought Control: Putting on the New Personality ......................................................... 94
Emotional Control: The Fear of God ........................................................................... 113
Waking Up ........................................................................................................................... 120
Disillusionment: Cognitive Disengagement ................................................................. 123
Disaffection: Emotional Disengagement ...................................................................... 124
Exit Cost Analysis and Exit Strategies ......................................................................... 126
Timing, Duration and Causes ....................................................................................... 129
Deconversion Narratives .............................................................................................. 130
Summary .............................................................................................................................. 131
Chapter 3: Research Design and Method.................................................................................... 132
Research Question ............................................................................................................... 132
Research Design and Rationale ........................................................................................... 132
Researcher Role ................................................................................................................... 134
Participants .......................................................................................................................... 135
Procedures ............................................................................................................................ 136
Validity ................................................................................................................................ 136
Data Processing ................................................................................................................... 138
Assumptions ........................................................................................................................ 139
Limitations ........................................................................................................................... 139
Ethical Assurances ............................................................................................................... 140
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Summary .............................................................................................................................. 140
Chapter 4: Findings ..................................................................................................................... 142
Participant Demographics .................................................................................................... 143
Chronology of Waking Up .................................................................................................. 145
Managed Doubts and Criticisms .................................................................................. 145
Initial Doubt Event ....................................................................................................... 146
Trigger Event ................................................................................................................ 148
Unsuccessful Doubt Resolution .................................................................................... 149
Turning Point ................................................................................................................ 151
Timing and Duration .................................................................................................... 152
Participant Event-Listing Matrix .................................................................................. 153
Narrative Themes ................................................................................................................. 157
References to Waking Up ............................................................................................. 157
Negative Effects of Leadership Proximity ................................................................... 159
Deep Rooted Self-Doubt .............................................................................................. 164
Suicide .......................................................................................................................... 165
Unsuccessful Doubt Resolution Exacerbated Doubt .................................................... 167
The Turning Point: Discovering Deception ................................................................. 169
Convergence Towards Doctrinal Disagreement ........................................................... 170
Summary .............................................................................................................................. 172
Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusion ....................................................................................... 174
Exploration of Ex-JW Bethelites Waking Up Narratives .................................................... 175
Interpretive Framework ................................................................................................ 175
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Recognizing Myself in the Narratives .......................................................................... 176
How: Chronology and Process ..................................................................................... 177
What: Description and Definition ................................................................................ 180
Constructivist Framework ............................................................................................ 182
Significance ......................................................................................................................... 183
Limitations ........................................................................................................................... 184
Implications ......................................................................................................................... 185
Recommendations for Future Research ............................................................................... 186
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 187
References ................................................................................................................................... 189
Appendix A: Vow of Obedience and Poverty ............................................................................ 270
Appendix B: Bethel Application ................................................................................................. 272
Appendix C: Example of Our Christian Life and Ministry ........................................................ 276
Appendix D: WT Service Year Report Data .............................................................................. 277
Appendix E: YouTube Interviews and Additional Data Sources ............................................... 278
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List of Tables
Table 1: Ex-JWs Who Woke Up While Being Bethelites ............................................................. 136
Table 2: Participant Demographics............................................................................................ 144
Table 3: Event-Listing Matrix: The Waking Up of Ex-JW Bethelites ......................................... 154
WAKING UP 13
List of Figures
Figure 1: Cult Structure ................................................................................................................ 20
Figure 2: Jehovah’s Witnesses Vision of the End-Times .............................................................. 30
Figure 3: The Hierarchy of Jehovah’s Witnesses ......................................................................... 33
Figure 4: Bethel: Several JW Compounds in the United States .................................................... 34
Figure 5: Counting Time: JW Recruitment Activity Tracking ...................................................... 37
Figure 6: JWs Expect an Imminent Attack by the World’s Governments ..................................... 40
Figure 7: Organizational Demands: JW Personal Study .............................................................. 47
Figure 8: Organizational Demands: Attending JW Meetings ....................................................... 49
Figure 9: Organizational Demands: Attending JW Conventions ................................................. 49
Figure 10: No Blood. The JW Durable Power of Attorney ........................................................... 55
Figure 11: JW Children Who Died After Refusing Blood Transfusions ....................................... 56
Figure 12: Modeling Expected Behavior: Car Ownership ........................................................... 58
Figure 13: Modeling Expected Behavior: Dress and Grooming .................................................. 64
Figure 14: Modeling Expected Behavior: Enduring Marital Abuse ............................................. 68
Figure 15: Modeling Expected Behavior: Child Recruiting ......................................................... 70
Figure 16: Annual JW Baptisms and Growth (2000-2022) .......................................................... 74
Figure 17: Cumulative Baptisms and Total Number of JWs (1999-2022) .................................... 76
Figure 18: Influence Continuum ................................................................................................... 77
Figure 19: Modeling Expected Behavior: Avoiding Criticism ...................................................... 79
Figure 20: Modeling Expected Behavior: Ostracizing Ex-JW Family Members ......................... 84
Figure 21: Propaganda: The End of the World is Near................................................................ 86
Figure 22: Personality Change: Doctrine over Person ................................................................ 96
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Figure 23: Emotional Appeals: Seeing Dead Loved Ones Again ............................................... 100
Figure 24: Us-Versus-Them Thinking: There is no Middle Ground ........................................... 107
Figure 25: Persecution: JWs Applauding a Detained JW .......................................................... 110
Figure 26: Emotional Forecasting: Future Happiness ............................................................... 114
Figure 27: Emotional Abuse: Fear Induction through Imagery ................................................. 118
Figure 28: Deconversion Process Models, Dependencies, and Characteristics ........................ 121
Figure 29: Waking Up: Disillusionment ..................................................................................... 124
Figure 30: Waking Up: Disaffection ........................................................................................... 125
Figure 31: General Chronology of the Waking Up of Ex-JW Bethelites .................................... 145
Figure 32: Characteristics of Ex-JW Bethelites’ Deconversion Narratives ............................... 171
Figure 33: Deconversion Process Models – Extended ............................................................... 179
WAKING UP 15
Chapter 1: Nature of the Study
This study will focus on the experience of individual Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs) who
realize that they are in a cult while living and working at the religious compounds that the group
operates. After discussing the background that led to this study, the problem –– that is the cultic
control that JWs are subjected to and the challenges they must overcome to realize they have
been deceived and manipulated –– will be described and quantified through an approximation of
the number of affected individuals. Next, the purpose of the study will be discussed, before
presenting the research question (RQ). A theoretical framework of religious deconversion will be
sketched out, the scope of the study and key terms defined, and then this chapter will conclude
with a discussion of this study’s significance.
Background
Cults are problematic because they control their members in ways that cause significant
damage to individuals, families, and society (Singer, 2003; West & Langone, 1986). Cult
members are isolated from the outside world, exploited, suppressed, and made to be dependent
on the cult, which they cannot leave without significant challenges (Lalich & McLaren, 2018;
Stein, 2017; Vander Ploeg, 2017). JWs use deceptive recruiting, indoctrination, and control
methods, manipulating individuals without their informed consent (Bergman, 1996; Louderback-
Wood, 2005). The group stifles the personal growth, critical thinking ability, academic and
economic development of its members, attempts to modify their personality, and induces
irrational fears (Holden, 2002; Ingersoll-Wood, 2022; Pannofino & Cardano, 2017). Fear,
conditional affection, and social isolation are used in coercive, abusive ways, and individuals are
blackmailed into compliance, prohibiting them from living independent, authentic lives
(Almendros et al., 2011; Holden, 2002; Martin, 2009; Stein, 2017).
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JWs believe that outsiders are under the influence of the devil and expect the imminent
destruction of all non-members in a global holocaust (Cote & Richardson, 2001; Dawson, 2011).
They limit their involvement with outsiders and non-believing family members, are forbidden to
vote, join political parties or social causes, serve in the armed forces, and indoctrinate their
members and children with fundamentalist values that have been condemned as homophobic and
intimidating (Jindra, 2006; Knox, 2018; Malmen, 2020; Penton, 2015; Zygmunt, 2000). They do
not perform any charitable works or engage with their community outside of recruitment efforts
(Knox, 2018; Penton, 2015). The group maintains policies that have resulted in the cover-up of
over 1,000 cases of child sex abuse, and yet they are mostly viewed as a benign group and enjoy
a preferential tax treatment in many countries, which allowed it to avoid paying hundreds of
millions of dollars of taxes (Anuta, 2016; Bundy, 2017; Hardman, 2004; Royal Commission into
Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse, 2016).
JWs are relentlessly controlled in virtually every aspect of their lives, and their choices
are so constrained that former members often describe their time in the organization as slavery
(Bisha, 2011; Holden, 2002; Schnell, 2002). JWs dedicate their life to the organization,
relinquish their independence, are expected to obey their leaders uncritically, and to develop a
self-sacrificial attitude, which in some cases entails literal martyrdom (Jehovah's Witnesses,
2013o; Jindra, 2006; Penton, 2015; Shaner & Prema, 2014). For these reasons and many others,
JWs pose a social and public problem, and the process of how individuals defect from this group
is important (Castaño et al., 2022; Gollwitzer et al., 2022; Göransson & Holmqvist, 2018;
Rousselet et al., 2017; Singer, 2003).
My mother became a JW when I was about 4 years old. I learned how to read using JW
literature and became a believer at a young age, so that when I was 10 years old, when a surgeon
WAKING UP 17
told us that I might die if I did not accept a blood transfusion for an upcoming surgery, I was
ready to die for my belief. Fortunately, I ended up not needing the transfusion. Throughout the
years, I attended JW meetings and supported their recruiting activities in several countries and
enjoyed the community this gave me. I made many friends whom I deeply cherished.
Technically, I am still a JW, because I have never been disfellowshipped, nor have I
disassociated myself. Even so, none of my JW friends nor my mother talk to me anymore.
Several JWs have accused me of being manipulated by the devil for asking questions. Two elders
met with me after I had written a letter with questions to bethel. They asked me if I still wanted
to be a JW, but did not provide satisfying answers, and finally told me they would not meet with
me again to talk about the Bible. That was in February 2018.
My experiences with JWs have affected me profoundly and continue to do so today. They
are the reason I chose to write this dissertation, and they have informed my research of an
organization that is deceptive, manipulative, and vindictive. While my personal experience
created a fervor for what I feel are under-documented, but important details, it is my hope that
documenting this information in an academic format contributes to the ongoing research, and the
fight against cult mind control.
Problem Statement
On average, approximately 262,000 individuals were baptized as JWs every year between
2000 and 2022 (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2023o). While this amounts to a total of over 6 million
baptisms, the organization grew by less 2.8 million JWs during that time. In other words: For
every 1.86 individuals who joined the organization, there was one who left. Despite the control,
the induction of fear of leaving the group, and the intense ostracism defectors face, many JWs
have left the organization (Lipka, 2016). While different models have been proposed for
WAKING UP 18
religious deconversion (Everson, 2019; Fisher, 2017), or for the defection from new religious
movements and religious cults (Bromley, 2004; Skonovd, 1983; Wright, 1983), the defection of
JWs is not well researched (Holden, 2002; Pietkiewicz, 2014).
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this qualitative, narrative inquiry is to gain a deeper understanding of the
experiences of JWs who wake up while living and working at JW facilities called bethel, where
they enjoy organizational prestige and are not only constantly subjected to a closed system of
thought, but also are in a physical environment that is highly controlled. Waking up is
provisionally defined as realizing that one is in a cult. This study attempts to identify
commonalities in the narratives of these Bethelite ex-JWs, whose interviews are available on
YouTube, to improve our understanding of the process, and describe the phenomenon of waking
up to cult mind control (Almendros et al., 2009; Currie, 2016; Pietkiewicz, 2014; Steppacher et
al., 2021). This will facilitate future research and may empower families, friends, and concerned
individuals to help cult victims to cast off the shackles of cultic control.
Research Question
This study is designed to address gaps in the literature around the emergence of doubt
among JWs and the process of their deconversion when they realize they are being deceived and
manipulated by a religious cult (Holden, 2002; Pietkiewicz, 2014; Ransom et al., 2020; Snow &
Machalek, 1983). The focus of the study are JW Bethelites who, as privileged cult members, are
under more control and scrutiny than most JWs and are understudied (Bromley, 2004; Stein,
2017).
RQ: How do the narratives of former Jehovah's Witnesses Bethelites explain their waking
up?
WAKING UP 19
Conceptual Foundations
The conceptual foundations of this study are the BITE Model of Authoritarian Control™
(Hassan, 2020) and deconversion models. The components of the BITE model™ were
introduced by Steven Hassan in 1985 and publicized in his book, Combating Cult Mind Control
(Hassan, 2018), to provide a simple and concrete tool to assess mind control. BITE is an
acronym that stands for behavior, information, thought, and emotion. The BITE model™ was
derived from earlier models on brainwashing
1
, and has been used by tens of thousands of
individuals to determine that they were in a cult (Hassan, 2020). It is frequently referenced in the
ex-JW community.
The concept of deconversion was chosen to approach the experience and the process of
waking up. The related models describe how a religious individual may lose their faith (Barbour,
1994; Everson, 2019; Wright, 2014), how their experiences can be categorized (Streib & Keller,
2004), and what considerations they may contemplate when deciding whether they want to leave
a group (Zablocki, 1998). Since waking up does not necessarily mean an individual severs
organizational ties with their group (Fisher, 2017), a distinction is made between the
deconversion model components that occur before disaffiliation, and those that occur after:
Those that occur after are not considered.
Scope of the Study
This study will focus on JW Bethelites, who woke up while living and working at JW
bethel facilities. Bethelites make up around 0.25% of all JWs worldwide (Jehovah's Witnesses,
2023a) and are many of the core devotees, sub leaders, and top leaders of the WT organization,
1
Hassan (2020) references Lifton’s (1961) work on thought reform and brainwashing, Schein, Schneier and
Barker’s (Schein et al.,1961) model of coercive persuasion (which itself was based on Lewin’s (Lewin, 1951) model
of change), Singer’s (2003) work on the conditions for thought reform, and West and Martin’s (West & Martin,
1994) work on the pseudo-identity of captives and cult members.
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as visualized in Figure 1. They enjoy significant prestige among JWs (Alt, 2023; Penton, 2015),
have sworn an oath of obedience and poverty
2
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2004a), are dependent on
the organization, and have limited privacy at bethel (Casarona, 2019). The study will not
consider ex-JWs who were expelled from the organization and then woke up, or those who left
bethel for other reasons than waking up.
Figure 1
Cult Structure
Note. From Combating Cult Mind Control (p. 94), by S. A. Hassan, 2018, Freedom of Mind Press
(https://freedomofmind.com/). Copyright 2018 by Steven Hassan. Reprinted with permission.
2
See Appendix A for the full text of the Vow of Obedience and Poverty.
WAKING UP 21
Definitions of Key Terms
Bethel: World headquarters or regional branch offices of Jehovah’s Witnesses that
operate as a religious community, an administrative unit, and frequently as a media production
site, where JW volunteers, called Bethelites, work and live full time (Chryssides, 2019).
Cult: A group of people with a totalist ideology and an authoritarian leadership structure
that manipulates its members using mind control and deception to exploit them. Also: High-
control group, totalist group, charismatic group, psychologically manipulative group, captive
organization, high cost religion, high demand religion, or new religious movement—the last
being a term that is sometimes used as euphemism for religious cults (Dawson, 2006; Rosedale
& Langone, 2015; Scheitle & Adamczyk, 2010; Singer, 2003; Stein, 2017).
Disassociation: Defection from WT, in writing or by actions. JWs who have
disassociated (DA’d) from WT are publicly announced and must be shunned by all JWs
(Chryssides, 2019; Jehovah's Witnesses, 2021d, p. 200; Reed, 1997).
Disfellowshipping: Expulsion from WT. Decided by a panel of three JW elders in a
judicial hearing. JWs who are disfellowshipped (DF’d) are publicly announced and must be
shunned by all JWs (Chryssides, 2019; Jehovah's Witnesses, 2015g; Reed, 1997).
Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs): Members of a religious group of the same name that had
around 8.7 million active members in 2022 (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2023a). In this dissertation,
JWs refers to individual believers, while WT refers to the religious organization.
Mind control: A system of intense social-psychological influence that replaces an
individual’s authentic identity with the intent to control them. Similar: Undue influence, thought
reform, brainwashing, bounded choice, or coercive persuasion (Hassan, 2018; Lifton, 1961;
Singer, 2003).
WAKING UP 22
Waking up: An individuals’ realization that they are in a cult [provisional definition
3
].
Watchtower (WT): Also Watch Tower Society, the Society, or the Organization. The
religious organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses, as distinguished from individual believers
(Chryssides, 2019; Reed, 1997).
Significance of the Study
This qualitative, narrative inquiry is significant because it fills a multi-faceted gap in the
literature, supports the definition of the concept of waking up, and has multiple practical
benefits. More research has been suggested on religious deconversion to investigate how
individuals become disbelievers, what predicts faith crises and disaffiliation, and what
intersubjective patterns exist (Everson, 2019; Fisher, 2017; Steppacher et al., 2021). How
individuals, particularly high-ranking individuals, leave cults is one of the least understood
aspects in the literature, and it has been suggested that narrative research using disaffiliation
stories and online documents should be conducted to provide a thick description of why and how
individuals leave these groups (Almendros et al., 2009; Bromley, 2004; Currie, 2016). Research
on JWs has been neglected and is rare, resulting in an underrepresentation in psychological
research and a shortage of studies of voluntary defection from WT (Holden, 2002; Jindra, 2006;
Pietkiewicz, 2014). JW Bethelites, who are an identifiable group of highly esteemed members
within the organization, seem absent in academic literature.
This study will support the evidence-based understanding and conceptional clarity of
deconversion from cults and allow a definition of waking up (Ransom et al., 2020; Steppacher et
al., 2021). It will generate new information regarding the applicability, the usefulness, and the
shortcomings of existing deconversion models when it comes to JWs. Finally, this study will
3
Since the purpose of this study is to better understand the phenomenon, this definition is provisional.
WAKING UP 23
facilitate understanding what it is like to be a JW and the experience of waking up from WT’s
deception, manipulation, and control, expanding empathy with former JWs, giving them a voice,
and creating a record that may inform future research, interventions, and relief (Clandinin, 2013;
Josselson & Hammack, 2021).
Summary
WT is a cult that uses deception, various psychological mechanisms, and coercive
influence to manipulate and control JWs. Despite the severe ostracism that ex-members face,
many JWs appear to be severing ties with the organization, indicating that they may be losing
their faith, and that they may have begun to realize that they are in a cult. The purpose of this
study is the analysis of narratives of ex-JWs, who at the time of their waking up worked at
bethel, where they have much to lose, and lived in a controlled environment. Answering the
question how these narratives explain their waking up will fill gaps in the academic literature on
JWs and how high-ranking individuals wake up from cult mind control.
Chapter 2 will present an overview of relevant literature regarding JWs and WT, cult
mind control, and waking up. Chapter 3 will discuss the research design, narrative inquiry, and
the data selection to answer the research question about the waking up of JW Bethelites. Chapter
4 will present the findings of the study, before chapter 5 will conclude this work with a
summary, recommendations, and conclusion. The appendices provide relevant material,
examples, and data that are referenced in chapter 2.
WAKING UP 24
Chapter 2: Literature Review
The review of the literature was conducted in three parts. For all three, I have endeavored
to use technical terminology to strip various terms of their religious connotation and to focus on
the organizational and the psychological aspects of the discussion. For example, I refer to the
JWs’ recruitment efforts instead of using WT terminology of service, ministry, or preaching.
The first part provides an overview of WT and uses a structure that Balch (1985) and
Lalich (2001) recommend for a comprehensive description of cultic organizations. This part will
provide an overview of the organization’s origins, describe its core beliefs and organizational
structure, its income and spending, the demands the group makes, how it socializes its members
and affects the everyday life of JWs, the conversions into the group, and the defections from the
group. This will lay the groundwork to understanding JWs and how they are controlled by WT,
providing critical context, and will start to identify various aspects of thought-reform
4
that will
be continued in the second part (Holden, 2002; Lifton, 1961).
The second part focuses on WT mind control and the methods the group uses to control
its members. This section’s structure is based on Hassan’s (2018) BITE model™ of behavior,
information, thought, and emotional control. It will show how the group uses coercive methods,
propaganda and deception, personality modification, indoctrination, language control, doubt
suppression, and collective narcissism, emotion regulation, and emotional abuse to control
individuals. This part will reveal how exhaustive the self-sealing system is that JWs find
themselves in (Lalich, 2004) and what obstacles they need to overcome to wake up.
The third part discusses the phenomenon of waking up by reviewing religious
4
Lifton’s work on thought reform is by many considered to be the foundational work on brainwashing. There are
eight features or themes that characterize thought reform environments, all of which are present in WT as the
literature review will reveal: Milieu control, mystical manipulation, demand for purity, cult of confession, sacred
science, loaded language, doctrine over person, and dispensing of existence.
WAKING UP 25
deconversion process models. Several process models have been proposed to describe defection
from cults and general religious deconversion, and while these models have commonalities that
are applicable to JWs, they do not allow for the phenomenon of being physically in, mentally out
(PIMO), when a JW is no longer a believer, but chooses to remain affiliated (Wallis, 2021;
Zablocki, 1998). The literature review will conclude describing research into the narratives of
deconversion.
The sources used for the literature review reflect the sources of information available:
Academia, third parties, WT itself, and former members
5
(Pannofino & Cardano, 2017).
Academia has largely neglected WT, particularly in social and psychological research (Holden,
2002; Jindra, 2006; Pietkiewicz, 2014), and some of the studies that have been published are
very old
6
or inaccurate
7
. Third party sources, such as court cases or newspaper articles, were
used moderately, and a discussion of religious beliefs was avoided beyond an explanation of how
they shape the JWs’ worldview and how they are instrumentalized by WT as control
mechanisms. WT material and information from ex-JWs was used extensively due to necessity
and precedent.
Cults may distort, misinform, disinform, or obfuscate information, believing they serve a
higher purpose that supersedes human decency (Lalich, 2001; Lifton, 1961; Singer, 2003). WT’s
theocratic warfare doctrine explicitly approves of misdirection and hiding the truth to protect its
5
Active JWs are often not a useful source of information about WT: JWs are not allowed to disagree with WT
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022u, 12:34.4; Jonsson, 2021; Penton, 2015), and few JWs engage in academic writing
because it carries the risk of being expelled from the group (Chryssides, 2012; Bergem, 2020). JWs are unlikely to
participate in research about WT: They are discouraged from engaging on social media or in online discussions, and
instead are told to refer any inquiries to WT’s official website JW.org (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2018r).
6
For example, Beckford’s study from 1978 (Beckford, 1978). I reference old WT literature where necessary to
furnish evidence for historical claims, to explain WT culture, or to avoid ambiguity when WT is less direct or clear
in its newer material.
7
Stark and Iannaccone (1997) investigated the rapid growth of WT, but since then the organization’s growth has
slowed to an average of 1.8% between 2000 and 2022 (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2023o).
WAKING UP 26
interests, institutionally condoning dishonest behavior (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1960b; Bergman,
2002). Cults and cult apologists frequently deny the existence and use of cultic control and
accuse ex-members of cults of crafting propagandistic atrocity tales (i.e., narratives that paint the
group in the worst possible light to evoke moral outrage), authorize punitive sanctions, and
mobilize control efforts (Bromley et al., 1983; Johnson, 1998; Kent & Swanson, 2017; Shupe,
1998). But on the other hand, ex-member accounts may reflect insider knowledge coupled with
an outsider detachment, and research has shown that ex-member accounts are no less reliable or
valid than the accounts of active members (Carter, 1998; Zablocki, 2001). Using WT sources and
ex-member sources thus serves as a means of triangulating the realities that both groups
construct (Lalich, 2001; Zablocki, 2001).
The inclusion of these non-academic sources is further necessary because the WT
material included in the literature review impacted the participants of this study (Ingersoll-Wood,
2022), and it is their narratives that will be analyzed for the purpose of this study. Privileging
WT over ex-JWs and denying them a voice would not only counterproductively ignore important
information, limit discovery and interpretation, but it would support WT’s suppressive culture of
stigmatizing defectors (Lalich & McLaren, 2010; Pannofino & Cardano, 2017). In previous
studies, researchers came to the same conclusions and included ex-JW narratives, and ultimately
it is this body of knowledge to which I wish to contribute (Holden, 2002; Hookway & Habibis,
2015; Ingersoll-Wood, 2022; Lalich & McLaren, 2010; Pannofino & Cardano, 2017; Ransom et
al., 2020, 2021; Testoni et al., 2019).
Jehovah’s Witnesses
JWs are members of a religious group of the same name that had around 8.7 million
active members in 2022 (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2023a). The group is fundamentalist Christian and
WAKING UP 27
considered to be an established cult, with large bureaucratic administrative structures and
marked by cultic totalism and authoritarianism (Dawson, 2011; Jindra, 2006; Nica, 2019; Shupe
& Bromley, 1982). JWs are required to be “obedient and submissive … even if [they] do not
fully understand the reasons behind certain decisions” (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2021d, p. 22), and
to obey instructions even if they are not “practical” or “sound from a strategic or human
standpoint” (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2013o, p. 20). Because of the high degree of control the group
exerts over its members, and the difficulties members face if they want to leave the group, the
group has also been described as a high-control group (Ransom et al., 2020), a high-cost religion
(Fenelon & Danielsen, 2016; Testoni et al., 2019), and a captive organization (Cameron, 2008;
State Administration of Oslo & Viken, 2022; Wallis, 2021). In this dissertation, JWs refers to
individuals, while WT refers to the religious organization.
Overview and History
Watchtower (WT), also referred to as the Watch Tower Society, the Society, or the
Organization, is the abbreviated name for the organized totality of Jehovah’s Witnesses,
including legal entities like the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Inc., the
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., the Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s
Witnesses, the International Bible Students Association, and others (Chryssides, 2019; Reed,
1997). While legally distinct from the spiritual leadership of the religion, JWs often refer to their
religious leadership as the Society or as the Organization. Ex-JWs frequently use these terms to
distinguish between the religious organization and individual JWs. Watchtower is also the
commonly used abbreviated name of WT’s principal magazine and main conveyance of religious
dogma: The Watchtower: Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom.
JWs were founded by C.T. Russell (1852–1916) in 1870 in Allegheny, PA, when he was
WAKING UP 28
18 years old, and who started The Watchtower in 1879. The group originally called themselves
Bible Students and was influenced by the Millerite movement and Second Day Adventists
8
(Knox, 2018; Stark & Bainbridge, 1985). The history of WT was shaped by numerous failed
prophecies of the end of the world and related events for the year 1878 (Russell, 1881, p. 40),
1881 (Russell, 1881, p. 225), 1914 (Russell, 1889, p. 101), 1918 (Russell, 1917, p. 485), 1925
(Rutherford, 1920, p. 90), 1975 (RnW2011ccn, 2015), and before the end of the 20th century
9
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 1989b, p. 12). Predictions were claimed to be of superhuman origin
(Russell, 1889), Russell was declared to be “one of God’s great reformers and prophets”
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 1919, p. 297), and in more recent history, JWs were collectively described
as prophets (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1972b, 1986a). Some of these prophecies shape WT’s
interpretation and presentment of reality until today
10
(Dawson, 2006; Zygmunt, 2000).
After Russell’s death in 1916, J.F. Rutherford (1869–1942) became the next leader the
following year. The group underwent changes and schisms due to some of these prophetic
failures and disagreements and lost around 75% of its original members by 1931 when
Rutherford changed the group’s name to Jehovah’s Witnesses (Cote & Richardson, 2001;
Rutherford, 1931; Schnell, 2002). The group continued to experience splits after adopting the
new name and by the 1950s, around 20 groups had splintered off (Hoekema, 1976). Today there
8
The forming of the group was influenced by Russell's contacts with former Millerites such as Russell’s friend
Jonas Wendell, who was an Adventist preacher, George Stetson, and George Storrs, whose periodical the Bible
Examiner published one of Russell's articles in 1876 (Russell, 1876, 1906). Russell also contributed, edited, and
financed Nelson Barbour’s Herald of the Morning (Russell, 1878). Russell and Barbour worked together until a
disagreement led Russell to start his own magazine Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence on July 1,
1879 (Russell, 1879), which is still being published by WT as The Watchtower: Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom.
9
The print edition of The Watchtower states: “The apostle Paul was spearheading the Christian missionary activity.
He was also laying a foundation for a work that would be completed in our 20th century” (Jehovah's Witnesses,
1989b, p. 12, emphasis added)” – the text was changed in WT’s online library to say the work would be completed
in our day (https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1989002#h=12).
10
JWs present global conditions as markedly deteriorating since 1914 in fulfilment of their prophecies (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2023n).
WAKING UP 29
are not only several Bible Student groups (Dawn Bible Students Association, 2022; Free Bible
Students, 2022; Pastoral Bible Institute, 2022), but also different Jehovah’s Witnesses groups
(Stafford, 2007; True Faith of Jehovah's Witnesses, 2019). A faction that has not splintered off
are the Advocates for Jehovah’s Witnesses Reform on Blood (AJWRB), which was founded in
1997 (AJWRB, 2017; Knox, 2018).
JWs have historically experienced a lot of persecution
11
. They suffered torture and death
in Nazi concentration camps
12
, mob violence in the US, and were banned and arrested in
different countries at different times (Cote & Richardson, 2001; Reynaud & Graffard, 2001;
Zygmunt, 2000). Some of the persecution resulted from WT attacking governmental and
religious authorities in its literature and public campaigns (Holden, 2002, p. 33; Knox, 2018, p.
294), and persisting into modern times, JWs are frequently targeted because they refuse military
service (Morton et al., 2020). In 2017, JW activities were restricted or banned in 34 countries
13
(Coelho, 2019), and in September 2023, 193 JWs were imprisoned for religious activities,
conscientious objection, or undisclosed reasons (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2023t).
In 2023, WT was active in 239 countries, and with 8.7 million members at its peak is
larger than many national populations. JWs spent over 1.5 billion hours recruiting in 2022
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2023a). A 2014 Pew survey found that in the United States JWs represent
0.8% of the population; they are composed mostly of minorities
14
, 65% of their members are
women, and 66% of individuals who were raised as JWs no longer identify as such (Lipka, 2016;
Pew Research Center, 2015).
11
Penton (2015), a historian, states that except for Jews, no other religious group had as many martyrs in the 20th
century as JWs (p. 329).
12
4,000 to 5,000 JWs were executed by the Nazis by 1945 (Holden, 2002).
13
In Russia, WT is labeled an “extremist” group, and JWs are not allowed to travel. In Egypt, JWs have banking and
school registration restrictions, and are not allowed to own places of worship or have public religious gatherings
(Majumdar, 2021).
14
In 2014, 36% of JWs in the United States were white (Pew Research Center, 2015).
WAKING UP 30
Beliefs
JWs have an apocalyptic belief system, expecting an imminent cataclysm called
Armageddon during which billions of people will be killed unless they are JWs (Cote &
Richardson, 2001; Jehovah's Witnesses, 1989c, 1993e) as depicted in Figure 2. They are
instructed to prepare for the prelude to this event, often described as the great tribulation, by
preparing go-bags, emergency kits, and being able to shelter in place (Jehovah's Witnesses,
2021h), but most importantly to choose life, which means being a member of WT, participating
in recruitment, and attending meetings (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2006d, 2018i, 2021k).
Figure 2
Jehovah’s Witnesses Vision of the End-Times
Note. Armageddon scene in Pure Worship of Jehovah—Restored at Last! (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2018f, p. 199)
WAKING UP 31
JWs believe that the leadership of WT is God’s channel of communication with
humankind and that its publications are necessary to understand the Bible and the will of God
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 1981f, 2007a). A resounding majority (i.e., 83%) of JWs believe that they
have the one true faith and frequently refer to their belief system as the truth (Lipka, 2016;
Jehovah's Witnesses, 2020k). Some key components of this belief system are the use of Jehovah
as God’s personal name (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2000a); the belief that Jesus established an
invisible kingdom in heaven in the year 1914 and chose Jehovah’s Witnesses as his organization
on Earth in 1919 (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2014b); that only 144,000 individuals go to heaven,
while the survivors of Armageddon will live forever in perfection on a paradise earth (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2018i); that the Devil and demonic forces are real; and that JWs are participating in a
spiritual war between the forces of good and evil (Hardman, 2004; Montague, 1977; Zygmunt,
2000). JWs engage in a form of restorationism, idealizing and attempting to emulate first-century
Christians, which they believe makes them more acceptable to God (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1993a,
2014g; Lifton, 2019).
Organization
JWs view themselves as part of a theocratic government that is superior to every other
form of rule, does not tolerate compromise, and demands submission and obeisance (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 1990b, 2001b, 2016i). Demands of obedience are total and JWs are expected to
accept instructions even if they disagree or do not understand them and discipline even if they
did not do anything to deserve it (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2013o, 2021d; Wilson, 2002). WT
leadership is so involved in the decision making of JWs that Holden, a sociologist who
conducted a 5-year long ethnographic study of JWs, describes it as an autocratic administration
(Holden, 2002).
WAKING UP 32
WT has a large bureaucratic
15
administrative structure that is comparable to established
churches, and extensive monitoring and reporting processes (Dawson, 2011; Knox, 2018). When
WT relocated its world headquarters, this affected 2,000 staffers and 70 departments (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2016v). JWs are assigned publisher IDs and are required to submit a record (form S-
4) of their recruiting activities on a monthly basis (Evans, 2018e; Jehovah's Witnesses, 2015c).
These records are used like productivity controls and are collated on an individual level (form S-
21), as well as on a congregational level (form S-1), together with attendance records (form S-88;
Cote & Richardson, 2001; Jehovah's Witnesses, 2015b, 2018g, 2011c). JWs typically address a
male JW as brother, and a female JWs as sister (Ingersoll-Wood, 2022).
Overseers
JWs believe that all organizational roles of oversight are appointed by God (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2021d), resulting in a very rigid organizational structure that emphasizes hierarchy
and levels of religious authority, as shown in Figure 3 (Hardman, 2004; Knox, 2018). At the top
of this hierarchy is a group called the Governing Body (GB), and while the organization’s FAQ
states that the members of the GB are not the leaders of the organization (Jehovah's Witnesses,
2022x), elsewhere in its publications the WT confirms that the GB has general oversight, always
takes the lead, approves of all the material that the organization produces, appoints branch
committee members and traveling overseers (i.e., the next two levels of authority in the
organization; Jehovah's Witnesses, 2016u, 2018a), and decides how WT’s resources are used
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022k).
15
WT has around 260 numbered form documents that range from skill questionnaires (form A-2) to budget approval
and project expenditure summaries (form CN-12), to convention organization guidelines (form CO-1), to
congregation field service reports (form S-1), to donation acknowledgment samples (form TO-67).
WAKING UP 33
Figure 3
The Hierarchy of Jehovah’s Witnesses
Note. A depiction of WT’s hierarchy from The Watchtower (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2013h)
From a doctrinal perspective, the GB is “likened to the voice of Jesus” (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2023k, 3:28) and viewed as appointed by Jesus Christ as his synonymous Faithful
and Discreet Slave (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2013i) to govern an God’s people (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2021d) and supervise the earthly part of God’s kingdom (Jehovah's Witnesses,
2004a). The GB alone is considered as capable of interpreting the Bible correctly and is viewed
as necessary to understanding it (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2010e). Existing GB members appoint
WAKING UP 34
new members in deliberations that are not public (Knox, 2018). It currently has nine members
16
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022x).
Figure 4
Bethel: Several JW Compounds in the United States
Note. Clockwise from top left: World headquarters in Warwick, NY (Bible Speaks, 2018), Watchtower Farms printery
in Wallkill, NY, one of 15 printeries (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2013b), Watchtower media production complex (planned)
in Ramapo, NY (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022ab), Watchtower Educational Center in Patterson, NY (Becerra, 2016).
While the GB oversees WT on a global level, branch committee members, who serve at
regional branch offices, oversee regional matters, such as the purchase or sale of property or the
construction of congregational facilities (Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, 2014).
16
The members of the GB are Kenneth Cook, Jr., Gage Fleegle, Samuel Herd, Geoffrey Jackson, Stephen Lett,
Gerrit Lösch, Mark Sanderson, David Splane, and Jeffrey Winder (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022x). Anthony Morris
III, who is cited in this dissertation, joined the GB in August 2005, but was removed in February 2023.
WAKING UP 35
Regional branch offices, as well as the global headquarters in Warwick, NY, shown in Figure 4,
are referred to as bethel (Ingersoll-Wood, 2022). They operate as religious communities,
administrative units, and media production sites, where JW volunteers, called Bethelites or
bethel family when referred to collectively, work and often live full time
17
(Chryssides, 2019).
Next in the organizational hierarchy are traveling overseers, also referred to as circuit
overseers. They function not unlike regional managers of a sales organization and are assigned
by the branch office to visit local congregations twice per year to ensure these are aligned with
the GB (Knox, 2018; Schnell, 2002). They examine the congregations’ recruitment effort
records, meeting attendance, territory coverage, financial accounts, and appoint or remove
elders, the men in charge of congregations (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2017b, 2021d).
Elders are overseers of individual congregations and are supported by assistants called
ministerial servants (MS; Jehovah's Witnesses, 2021d). Despite their name, elders may be
appointed to their positions as early as in their early 20s. They are viewed as appointed by God
and as representing him (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2020m, 2021d); congregants who openly
undermine this view or refuse to cooperate with elders are subject to congregational discipline
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022u). WT claims that elders and other overseers are not part of a clergy
class and that there is no distinction between clergy and laity, because the JWs in those roles are
not paid for their services (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2009e, 2022h), but in legal settings, WT has
presented elders as clergy and communications with elders as subject to clergy-penitent privilege
(State of Delaware v. Laurel, 2016). Elders are charged with the protection of their congregation
and may act as judges in disciplinary processes called judicial hearings where they determine if
JWs should be expelled from the organization (Evans, 2018d; Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022u).
17
Some Bethelites are commuter Bethelites and do not live at bethel.
WAKING UP 36
Special Full-Time Servants
Special full-time servants are expected to spend at least 100 hours per month recruiting
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2023b). They are members of the Worldwide Order of Special Full-Time
Servants of Jehovah’s Witnesses and must pledge a Vow of Obedience and Poverty
18
, which
prohibits them from seeking secular employment unless given permission and to turn over all
income in excess of their living expenses (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2004a). Special full-time
servants can be missionaries who recruit and establish congregations in other countries, special
pioneers who recruit locally, or circuit overseers
19
(discussed earlier). In 2022, WT spent $242
million dollars caring for its various special full-time servants (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2023a).
Bethelites are also considered special full-time servants, and while not necessarily a
position of oversight
20
, being a Bethelite is one of the most prestigious and significant privileges
a JW can have: They are viewed as more knowledgeable and holier than other JWs and go
through intense scrutiny when they submit an application
21
to be admitted to bethel (Anderson &
Kelly, 2018; Jehovah's Witnesses, 2015j; Penton, 2015). They are expected to view being in
bethel as a career that will result in eternal life and must vow to be submissive and follow
directions from the GB. The environment at bethel is very rule oriented and affords very limited
privacy (Casarona, 2019; Jehovah's Witnesses, 2004a, 2016b). In 2022, 21,629 Bethelites, about
0.25% percent of all JWs, staffed the various WT bethels (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2023a).
Publishers
Individuals who engage in recruitment activities are called publishers (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2023a), and are expected to report their recruitment efforts for collection as shown in
18
See Appendix A for the full text of the Vow of Obedience and Poverty.
19
Circuit overseers are special full-time servants and serve in a position of oversight.
20
Some Bethelites are elders and serve in positions of oversight.
21
See Appendix B to see Bethel Application form A-8.
WAKING UP 37
Figure 5, attend meetings and conventions, support WT through donations, and follow the
direction of the overseers (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2021d). Publishers are organized into groups of
around 100 members called congregations, which meet in facilities called kingdom halls
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022h). There are different publisher types, distinguished by how much
time they spend recruiting, in addition to various privileges that may have been granted or
trainings that have been completed
22
, establishing a pecking order (Casarona, 2019).
Figure 5
Counting Time: JW Recruitment Activity Tracking
Note. WT Form S-21-E: Congregation’s publisher record (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2018g)
22
See Appendix B, section A.11.
WAKING UP 38
Regular pioneers are expected to spend at least 50 hours per month recruiting (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2023b). Being the most industrious recruiters, pioneers are viewed as having a closer
relationship with God than other publishers and being especially blessed (Jehovah's Witnesses,
2013l). They serve a particular role in the social learning of JWs, modeling and perpetuating
desired behavior (Singer, 2003). WT reported having 1,465,202 pioneers in 2022 (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2023a).
Auxiliary pioneers are expected to spend at least 30 hours per month recruiting (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2023b). Being an auxiliary pioneer is viewed as a goal by JWs to increase their
recruitment activity for one or several months, to become more proficient at recruitment, and to
explore if they could become a regular pioneer (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2007d). WT reported
having 381,310 auxiliary pioneers in 2022 (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2023a).
Active publishers are counted as Jehovah’s Witnesses by WT, whether they are baptized
or not (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2023j). Baptized publishers identify themselves as JWs and are
associated with WT, which they view like a legally binding lifetime commitment (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2018q, 2021d). This group constitutes the largest number of JWs, and due to their
recruitment activities, they are described as ordained ministers (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022h).
Individuals who are not baptized, but participate in recruitment efforts, such as potential recruits
and children, are called unbaptized publishers. Individuals who stop reporting recruitment efforts
for 1 to 5 months are considered irregular publishers, and after 6 months, they are considered
inactive publishers (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022u; Kuchman, 2020). A potential recruit is referred
to as an interested person, a return visit, or a (Bible) study, depending on where they are in the
JW recruitment process.
Anointed ones are individuals who self-identify as one of the 144,000, or as having the
WAKING UP 39
heavenly hope, because they believe that they will go to heaven when they die or are raptured
during the great tribulation (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2019h). Their role in the congregation is
ceremonial in nature and while they are purported to become judges and co-rulers with Christ
once they are in heaven, they have no authority in the organization unless they are in a role of
oversight (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2018i). Because their number has increased despite being
expected to diminish as Armageddon draws near, WT suggests that some individuals may
mistakenly identify as being anointed because they have mental or emotional problems
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 1996b, 2016p).
Women, who make up 65% of JWs in the United States (Lipka, 2016), are very limited in
what they can do because WT is a very patriarchal organization (Alt, 2023; Holden, 2002;
Weishaupt & Stensland, 1997). Female JWs cannot instruct male JWs or have any authority over
them (Casarona, 2019; Knox, 2018)
23
. They may be congregational publishers, pioneers, or
special full-time servants (but not circuit overseers), and they can be anointed, but female JWs
may never instruct the congregation
24
(Kuchman, 2020). In 2017, WT modified the lyrics of one
its songs to avoid putting women “in the awkward position of telling others what to do”
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2017r, p. 7). Female JWs are also precluded from attending certain
meetings (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2013g).
Relationship with Outsiders: Being no Part of the World
JWs call their non-JW environment the world, this system, or the system of things
25
, and
non-JWs are labelled worldly (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2016e). JWs consider themselves to be in
23
This can result in adult female JWs having to submit to decisions by adolescent or juvenile male JWs.
24
In front of an audience, female JWs either answer a male JW who asks them a question, or they participate in
demonstrations where they do not instruct the congregation (Kuchman, 2020).
25
The world is typically used in religious and moral contexts and contrasted with the truth that WT represents, while
this system or this system of things is often used in temporal contexts, contrasted with the new system or paradise
that JWs expect to come.
WAKING UP 40
the world temporarily, but not to be part of it (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2011k). WT teaches that the
Devil rules the world, that the world hates JWs and will soon attack them, as indicated in Figure
6, and that they are “in a relentless life-and-death struggle that will not stop until God has
destroyed Satan’s world” (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2016e, p. 60).
Figure 6
JWs Expect an Imminent Attack by the World’s Governments
Note. JWs expect that “The nations will ‘devise an evil plan.’ They will seek to vent their long-standing rage and
hatred on Jehovah’s worshippers.” (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2018f, p. 187–188)
JWs feel alienated from the world: 59% of JWs see a conflict between being devout and
modern society, and they are among the least satisfied religious groups in the US (Pew Research
Center, 2008). JWs are prohibited to pledge loyalty, perform patriotic ceremonies, vote, serve in
armed forces or join political parties, are urged to cut ties with outsiders, and to establish
friendships only with JWs or individuals that are potential recruits (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2021d;
Knox, 2018; Scorah, 2019). JWs have a reputation of being trustworthy and honest individuals
WAKING UP 41
and are represented in the US Federal Prison system to a comparable degree as in the general US
population (Chalabi, 2015; Penton, 2015). Other religions, a term that has a derogatory
connotation to JWs, are viewed as enemies of God and must be strictly avoided. Celebrating any
religious holidays, participating in interfaith activities, or singing religious songs can result in
being expelled from WT (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2021d, 2022u; Knox, 2018).
WT has historically taken steps to influence the world: In 1933, WT lobbied the
government of Nazi Germany, emphasizing alignment with its principles and ideals (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 1933), and it has engaged in sustained and repeated efforts to lobby governments and
politicians
26
(Hendricks, 2010; Jehovah's Witnesses, 1968b, 1993d). From 1992 until 2001, the
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York was associated with the United Nations
(United Nations, 2004). WT makes intensive use of the legal system in vigilant litigation, to
defend itself, and to further its goals
27
(Cote & Richardson, 2001; Dearen & Rezendes, 2022;
Knox, 2018, p. 299; Richardson, 2011). The GB prescribes views on social issues like abortion,
birth control, or gay rights to JWs
28
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2017a, 2017k, 2022w), and does not
condone social or charitable engagement (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022u; Zygmunt, 2000).
Material Culture
WT is not financially transparent and has never disclosed any kind of financial statement,
refusing to reveal the extent and nature of its resources (Charity Intelligence Canada, 2022;
Penton, 2015). Early in its history, WT sold miracle wheat and advertised a cure for cancer
(Jerome, 2020; Russell, 1915; The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1911), and sold its literature until 1990
26
WT engaged JWs in global letter writing campaigns to appeal to authorities in Jordan, South Korea, Malawi and
Russia (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2017h, 2017i).
27
WT pursued Supreme Court cases in Switzerland, Romania, the Netherlands, Canada, Serbia, Turkey, and the
United States, and appealed to the European Court of Human Rights in a dispute with Greece (Jehovah's Witnesses,
2014b).
28
In 2014, 75% of JWs favored making abortions illegal, and 76% were against gay marriage (Lipka, 2016).
WAKING UP 42
when, due to the Jimmy Swaggart ruling that rendered such sales taxable, it started providing it
for free and accepting donations for it instead (Kuchman, 2020). Currently WT does not sell
anything but relies on donations for its funding (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022m). It operates one of
the largest registered charities in Canada, where it received CAD 95.2 million in cash donations
in 2021 (Charity Intelligence Canada, 2022), and its US branches are expected to receive about
$130 million dollars annually (Vivlon, 2021). WT pursues legal tax exemption rigorously
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2018a) and often obtains real estate and other tax exemptions
29
, which
saved it $368 million dollars on its headquarter buildings in Brooklyn, NY in the 12 years prior
to 2016 (Anuta, 2016).
Economic System, Donations, and Real Estate
A 2014 Pew survey found that 48% of JWs in the United States reported a household
income below $30,000 per year (Pew Research Center, 2015). WT views materialism
30
as a
Satanic trap, discourages JWs to pursue secular careers, and recommends they minimize their
commercial involvement with the world (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1994b, 2012f, 2017l). WT claims
that it does not solicit donations (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022m) and that its Charitable Planning
Office merely provides information
31
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2010a), but WT asks, encourages,
and reminds JWs to donate regularly (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2018h, 2018k): Every November
29
WT pursued 15-year long legal fights in Germany (Deutsche Welle, 2005) and France (Alli, 2012), won a
compensation award for tax discrimination in Belgium (The Brussels Times, 2022), and pursued but lost state
subsidies in Norway in 2022 because it violated the conditions for grants according to the Religious Communities
Act (Gilje & Mjølsneset, 2022; The Norwegian Ministry of Children and Families, 2022).
30
WT defines materialism as “a preoccupation with or stress upon material rather than intellectual or spiritual
things” and explains “materialism is rooted in our desires, our priorities, and our focus in life” (Jehovah's Witnesses,
2003d, p. 20).
31
The 32-page brochure Charitable planning to benefit kingdom service worldwide (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2010a)
discusses estate planning, charitable planning, and gifts of money, securities, real estate, other personal property,
conditional donation trust arrangements, charitable trusts, gift annuities, bank accounts, remainder interest in a
personal residence or farm, other arrangements with real estate, retirement plans, wills, bequests, revocable living
trusts, life insurances, and annuities. The Donate website of WT discusses the donation of jewelry, rewards points,
etc. (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022j).
WAKING UP 43
edition of The Watchtower discusses how JWs can donate (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2015h), and
dedicated articles and sermons are used to tell JWs that their financial support to WT will
strengthen their friendship with God (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2017l, 2022k). In the September 2021
JW Broadcast, a GB member stated that “Jehovah doesn't approve of us coming empty-handed
... when it comes to contributions on a monthly basis or whatever ... even if we're in the poor
range” (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2021p, 41:34). Even children are encouraged to make donations
and to save up or use their pocket money to do so (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022q, 2022r).
In 2014, WT proposed that JW congregations transfer ownership of their kingdom halls
and any related mortgages to WT and establish a resolved monthly donation at least in the
amount of any previous mortgage payment, centralizing all real estate and mortgage payments
(Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, 2014). This was compared to “a bank telling
homeowners that all their loans were canceled and that they should merely send in to the bank
each month whatever they can afford” (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2015h). But in 2021, WT
prescribed a fixed donation amount per publisher, replacing the self-determined resolved
monthly donation (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2021l; Vivlon, 2021). In 2022, WT told JW
congregations in Spain to close their bank accounts and transfer their funds to the WT branch
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022ae).
JWs donate labor in addition to making financial donations: In 2015, WT stated that over
the previous 15 years, unpaid JW volunteers had built over 28,000 kingdom halls, about five
such facilities per day (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2015i), and in 2020, JWs built or renovated over
1,700 kingdom halls and completed over 100 construction projects for local branches (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2022n). When WT moved its headquarters from Brooklyn, NY to Warwick, NY, it
reported that in 4 years, over 27,000 volunteers built a building complex of 1.6 million square
WAKING UP 44
feet, and that a lot of the volunteers moved into the area in order do so (Jehovah's Witnesses,
2017g). The facilities in Brooklyn were ultimately sold for $2.2 billion dollars (State of New
York, 2019), replaced by a facility that was built with donated funds and labor. WT is suspected
of flipping real estate for profit
32
, listing properties for a total of $2.4 billion dollars for sale
between 2011 and 2020 (Maslin Nir, 2015; Watchtower Property Sales Tracking, 2022).
Organizational Spending
The 2022 edition of WT’s publication, How Your Donations Are Used (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2022n), describes how WT uses some of its funds: $13 million dollars were spent on
the maintenance of translation facilities in 2020, $24 million dollars were spent on various
publishing activities
33
from 2019 through 2021, $33 million dollars were spent on disaster relief
efforts
34
in 2021, but the majority was spent on recruitment and teaching activities. An annual
Grand Total report indicates that WT spent $242 million dollars on special full-time servants in
2022 (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2023a)
35
. WT does not publish how much they spend on real estate
acquisitions, construction
36
, for administrative or legal purposes
37
.
32
In 2021, WT purchased the 384-unit luxury apartment complex Woodgrove at Sterlington in Sloatsburg, NY for
an undisclosed sum, that it plans to sell in 2026 (Traster, 2021).
33
$20 million dollars were spent on the production of Bibles in 2019, $1.5 million dollars were spent on providing
online content in 2020, $2.3 million dollars were spent on the publication Enjoy Life Forever in 2021, etc.
34
This number describes financial spending, but JWs frequently volunteer construction expertise and labor to
support the rebuilding of kingdom halls and JW residences in disaster-stricken areas. In return, WT accepts
insurance payout donations, so disaster relief efforts may be profitable for WT (Kuchman, 2020, p. 241).
35
A comparison between How your donations are used (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022n) and the Grand Totals report
for 2020 (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2020b), indicates that WT spent $27 million dollars on missionaries, and $204
million dollars on special pioneers and circuit overseers.
36
In 2023, WT won a $1 million-dollar environmental award for plans to build a $168 million dollar, 645-unit
residential building complex in Ramapo, NY. These units are planned to accommodate the staff of a co-located 1.7
million square foot film studio. The land for the studio was bought in 2009 for $11.5 million dollars (New York
State Energy Research and Development Authority, 2023; Rockland County Business Journal, 2022).
37
While ultimately settled or reversed, several legal awards against WT indicate potentially significant legal
expenses: In 2012, WT was ordered to pay $28 million dollars to Candace Conti before the award that was lowered
to $2.8 million dollars (The Associated Press, 2012; Bundy, 2015). In 2013, WT was ordered to pay $4,000 dollars
per day for withholding internal documents about alleged child sex abuse in the Osbaldo Padron case, and ended up
paying over $2 million dollars until the case was settled (Bundy, 2017). In 2014, WT was ordered to pay $13.5
million dollars to Jose Lopez in damages for covering up child sexual abuse (Davis, 2014). In 2018, WT was
WAKING UP 45
WT has no charity arm and does not provide any material charity for the poor, stating that
the best way to help suffering people is through spiritual, not material help (Kuchman, 2020;
Penton, 2015; Jehovah's Witnesses, 2017j). WT established patient visitation groups, but their
focus is spiritual
38
: Congregations are instructed to not participate in charitable donation
programs or fund-raisers. (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022u, 29:10). Regarding the support for JWs
affected by the COVID-19 pandemic WT instructed:
elders should first consider if needs can be cared for through fellow family members or
by means of governmental or social programs ... When needs cannot be met through
these means, often individual brothers in the congregation can offer some assistance ...
congregation or circuit funds should no longer be used to provide humanitarian assistance
to affected families. (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2020g, 1–2, emphasis in original)
Organizational Demands
WT is among the most demanding religious groups, requiring intense personal
commitment, participation, exclusivity, and imposing behavioral and social restrictions (Cox,
2014; Hookway & Habibis, 2015; Scheitle & Adamczyk, 2010). This commitment is indicated in
the questions for baptism, which is also referred to as dedication, when candidates are asked to
affirm publicly
39
that they understand that their baptism identifies them “as one of Jehovah’s
Witnesses in association with Jehovah’s organization” (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2021d, p. 206).
ordered to pay $35 million dollars in Montana for maliciously preventing the reporting of child sex abuse, before the
verdict was reversed due to clergy-penitent exceptions to the state’s mandatory reporting laws (Dearen & Rezendes,
2022; Larson, 2018).
38
Pioneers who serve on patient visitation groups and who are approved may claim a preaching hour credit towards
their recruitment effort goals (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022u).
39
JW baptisms commonly occur during conventions that are attended by thousands. They require a full submersion
in water and follow a baptismal sermon, during which baptismal candidates sit in a dedicated area, and at the end of
which they are asked to stand up and loudly affirm two questions in front of everybody: 1. Have you repented of
your sins, dedicated yourself to Jehovah, and accepted his way of salvation through Jesus Christ? 2. Do you
understand that your baptism identifies you as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in association with Jehovah’s
organization? (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2021d, p. 206).
WAKING UP 46
Once baptized, WT tells JWs they must accept all its teachings (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1986b, p.
31) and “must be ready to obey any instructions … whether these appear sound from a strategic
or human standpoint or not” (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2013o, p. 20), demanding uncritical
obedience and submission (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2021d, p. 22). WT describes baptized JWs as
property and slaves
40
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2005c, 2016u), a sentiment that is echoed by ex-
JWs, who often describe their experience as captivity and slavery (Holden, 2002; Pannofino &
Cardano, 2017; Schnell, 2002). Most demands revolve around studying, meeting, and recruiting.
Studying
JWs were expected to read over 3,000 pages of WT literature in 1981
41
(Penton, 2015),
and while WT has reduced the amount of print material
42
, in part substituted by videos, this
count still indicates the time commitment expected to consume all WT-produced content. Many
weekly JW activities are a kind of study
43
in a highly structured questions and answer format
(Kirsch, 2007) designed to systematically absorb large amounts of WT material (Holden, 2002)
—as indicated in Figure 7—and are often preceded by an individual or small-group pre-study to
prepare (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2016l). WT encourages the daily consideration of an annually
published booklet called Examining The Scriptures Daily, which contains a scripture and a
commentary from a The Watchtower article, that JWs are encouraged to think about throughout
the day (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2020f, 2023f). WT states that its publications are necessary to
40
A GB member told Bethelites: “…we all know that we are slaves of God. We have been bought and paid for. But
we’re happy slaves, aren’t we? We work diligently to please our owners, Jehovah and Jesus. And that’s what bethel
is all about too. We work hard as slaves. To be a slave of Jehovah is a cherished privilege. Just to be owned by God
—to belong to him— is the best thing that could happen to any one of us.” (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2016u, 1:53–2:19).
41
Penton (2015) refers to the amount of material that was published to be read in 1981: “1,536 pages from Awake!
and The Watchtower + 208 pages from The Watchtower for weekly studies + 48 pages from Our Kingdom Service
+ 384 pages from a bound book for mid-week studies + 384 pages from the 1981 Yearbook + 360 pages from
material for the Theocratic Ministry School + 258 pages of Assembly releases” (p. 316).
42
The public 32-page The Watchtower and Awake! magazines were published by-monthly at the time, and are now
published annually with 16 pages (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2013a, pp. 17–18). The Yearbook was discontinued in 2018.
43
For example, Watchtower study, personal study, family study, or congregation Bible study.
WAKING UP 47
understand the Bible
44
, to develop qualities that God loves, and warns that not keeping up to date
should even be a concern when choosing a marriage mate (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2016s, 2022ah).
Figure 7
Organizational Demands: JW Personal Study
Note. Depiction of a JW doing personal study. WT states “In addition to reading the Bible every day, we need to
study it with the help of our publications, such as The Watchtower and Awake!” (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2016s, p. 25)
44
WT states: "Jehovah God has also provided his visible organization, his “faithful and discreet slave,” made up of
spirit-anointed ones, to help Christians in all nations to understand and apply properly the Bible in their lives. Unless
we are in touch with this channel of communication that God is using, we will not progress along the road to life, no
matter how much Bible reading we do" (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1981f, p. 27), “Of course, help is needed. It is unlikely
that someone who simply reads the Bible without taking advantage of divinely provided aids could discern the light.
That is why Jehovah God has provided “the faithful and discreet slave,” ... Today that “slave” is represented by the
Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses." (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1992b, p. 31), “We do well to ask ourselves: ‘How
much do I love the truth? Do I keep up-to-date with our present understanding as set out in the pages of this
magazine and other Bible-based publications provided for the worldwide congregation of God’s people?’”
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2013q, p. 8)
WAKING UP 48
Meetings and Conventions
JW’s spend between 6 and 10 hours per week with their congregation (Knox, 2018).
Outside of recruiting efforts, these weekly religious activities take place in kingdom halls and are
called meetings, a term that describes the activities better than worship, which holds a residual
position (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2000g; Wilson, 1977). The GB prescribes the structure and
content of the meetings in minute-level detail
45
, provides outlines for all sermons, the material to
be studied, instructs which songs are to be sung, what scriptures should be read, which questions
should be asked, and what the answers to those questions are (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2012a;
Kirsch, 2007; Knox, 2018). As a result, many meetings have a school-like atmosphere with the
elders functioning as teachers
46
, as shown in Figure 8 (Ingersoll-Wood, 2022; Penton, 2015).
Preparation, attendance, and participation are encouraged and viewed as an indication of spiritual
maturity (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2016d, 2016l).
WT organizes annual conventions and other large scale conferences in WT-owned
convention centers or in rented facilities, such as sports stadiums, as shown in Figure 9, which
last between 1 and 3 days (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2023d). These are mass gatherings that are often
attended by hundreds, if not thousands of JWs. The international JW convention that took place
in 1958 in New York City’s, NY Yankee Stadium had over 250,000 attendants (Knox, 2018).
45
See Appendix C for the program of the mid-week meeting for the week of September 26, 2022.
46
The GB’s Teaching Committee directs various WT schools that qualify JWs to be appointed to certain
organizational privileges upon graduation: School for Branch Committee Members and their Wives, School for
Circuit Overseers and their Wives, School for Congregation Elders, Gilead School, School for Kingdom
Evangelizers, Bethel Entrants’ School, Pioneer Service School, and others (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2018a, 2022x).
WAKING UP 49
Figure 8
Organizational Demands: Attending JW Meetings
Note. JWs during a kingdom hall meeting as depicted on WT’s website (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022l)
Figure 9
Organizational Demands: Attending JW Conventions
Note. A JW district convention, baptism, and the release of a new book (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2023d).
Conventions are viewed as spiritual banquets because they are often used to release new
WAKING UP 50
publications, share major announcements, and to baptize recruits, and are effective at creating a
sense of unity, enthusiasm, and fervor among attending JWs (Hoffer, 1966; Jehovah's Witnesses,
2000b, 2021e). Attending 3-day conventions often requires JWs to save money, take time off
work, and travel, which is viewed as a display of faith, overcoming trials, and making
worthwhile personal sacrifices (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2014a). WT publications regularly feature
accounts of JWs who forfeited personal ambitions, closed their business, lost their jobs, or sold
property to attend conventions (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1986c, 2001c, 2011g).
Recruitment
JWs refer to their recruitment activities as preaching
47
. In 2022, JWs reported 1.5 billion
hours spent recruiting, an average of 3.3 hours per publisher per week, and reported 145,552
converts, which means that JWs spent on average over 10,300 hours, or about 5 work-years, to
recruit a single new member (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2023a). WT’s 2016 JW song book contains
32 songs about preaching
48
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2016i). Preaching gives JWs purpose
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2003e), and serves as a protection from bloodguilt (Jehovah's Witnesses,
2015f), which is the concept of being held responsible for someone’s death during Armageddon
because one has not preached enough to them (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1973a, 2012c; Wilson,
2002). A member of the GB explained: “If your hands are not clean because you've been out
warning, then they have blood on them, and you're gonna lose your life” (Evans, 2018d,
1:47:28).
Recruitment is obligatory, and JWs count time that they spend doing so, time that is
47
Sometimes alternative terms are used to refer to particular types of recruitment activities, such as informal
witnessing, phone witnessing, letter writing, going out in the ministry, going out in field service, cart witnessing,
doing return visits, or conducting a study. When talking to outsiders or to emphasize the cognitive component of
recruitment, JWs might refer to their activities as teaching (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2004d).
48
The book contains 151 songs in total, Our Ministry is the most frequent subject (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2016i).
WAKING UP 51
monitored as shown in Figure 5 (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1958, 2015c, 2018g). If a publisher does
not report enough time on their monthly report, the elders will talk with them (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2022u). JWs derive a lot of their self-worth from their recruitment activities:
Sufficient preaching is necessary to qualify for organizational promotions, and not preaching
enough may result in a loss of status, privileges, or being viewed as not in good standing
(Holden, 2002; Jehovah's Witnesses, 2021d; Knox, 2018; Penton, 2015). To maximize their
time, JWs are encouraged to seek out informal recruitment opportunities at work, in doctor’s
offices or hospitals, in grocery stores, parking lots, gas stations, parks, etc., and may count time
spent on other activities to report the highest numbers possible
49
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2014f;
Wilson, 2002). Even non-religious conversations or smiling at a stranger, when done with the
intent to recruit, can count under certain circumstances
50
(Scorah, 2019), and children are
encouraged to preach at school (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022p).
The recruitment process is methodical and consists of six steps
51
(Schnell, 2002). Initial
contact is made in formal or informal settings, through conversations, phone calls, letters, the
placement of literature, or showing a video, as indicated in Figure 5. Favorable responses by
interested persons are often tracked
52
and receive return visits that JWs will attempt to turn into a
regular Bible study. Bible studies have a catechistic, programmatic format and are carried out
using WT publications and the WT’s version of the Bible (Holden, 2002; Jehovah's Witnesses,
49
Regular pioneers may receive an hour credit for participating in construction projects, disaster relief, or
congregation meetings in prisons, supporting Hospital Liaison Committee or Patient Visitation Group efforts, or
working at conventions, at assembly halls, as temporary volunteers at bethel, commuter Bethelites, remote
volunteers, bethel consultants, local design/construction department field representatives, maintenance trainers, etc.
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022u, 9:11)
50
Amber Scorah was preaching in China, where WT is banned and JW recruitment activities illegal (Scorah, 2019).
51
Schnell refers to a six-step indoctrination program (Schnell, 2002).
52
JWs will often collect private data on anything that might facilitate future recruitment efforts, such as the
background of individuals, their family relationships, medical conditions, interests, concerns, or problems they may
have shared (Case of Jehovah's Witnesses v. Finland, 2023; YLE News, 2023).
WAKING UP 52
2005b, 2016d). Their goal is to “make disciples” by “trying to motivate people to make the truth
their own by applying what they learn, dedicating their life to Jehovah, and getting baptized”
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2004d, 2019g, p. 11).
A Bible study often takes over a year (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1998). A progressive bible
study student will be encouraged to attend WT meetings, where they will be love bombed
53
to
create affective bonds (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2013f, 2016d, 2021i). They will be asked to make
lifestyle changes, and to participate in recruitment activities themselves, at which point they will
become an unbaptized publisher (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2016d, 2018w). Eventually, they will
start identifying as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and will be expected to get baptized (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2018l, 2021d). Being baptized as a JW means that the recruit agrees that the GB is
God’s channel of communication (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1981f), accepts all teachings of the GB
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 1986b), starts a “lifetime of service” to the organization (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2016d, p. 128), and makes any necessary sacrifices (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2021i).
Self-Sacrifice: Putting the Kingdom First
A Pew survey in 2014 indicated that 85% of JWs in the United States attend meetings at
least once per week, and 76% of JWs engage in recruitment at least once per week (Lipka, 2016).
WT refers to the prioritization of organizational activities
54
as putting the kingdom first
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2006e), stating that it is God who expects JWs to keep busy in their
pursuit (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2019g) and that they deserve the greatest prominence in a JW’s life
53
Love bombing is a manipulative attempt to influence individuals through attention and affection: JWs are
encouraged to demonstrate joy, peace and unity to visitors, to be warm and friendly, strike up conversations, invite
them to sit with them, share their song books and publications, show them around – and make arrangements to
follow up on any interest (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2013f; Pannofino & Cardano, 2017). JWs are told to befriend
potential recruits, engage with them socially, and introduce them to other JWs (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2021i).
54
WT’s organizational activities may be referred to as kingdom interests, theocratic pursuits (Jehovah's Witnesses,
2012d), spiritual activities, sacred service (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2006e), worship of Jehovah (Jehovah's Witnesses,
2007a), or similar.
WAKING UP 53
as a result (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2007a). The more time JWs spend on WT-related activities, the
better (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2011j, 2013l). WT even suggests that JWs cultivate a self-
sacrificing attitude (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2012d; Pannofino & Cardano, 2017), and to be
“willing to run into the fire for Jehovah and for his organization” (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2023l,
9:11), which occasionally affects the physical and mental health of some JWs
55
(Penton, 2015).
This self-sacrificing attitude is the reason why some JWs choose not to have pets
(Wilson, 2002), do not marry (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2002b), or do not have children (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 1999b), so they have more time and energy for the organization. Self-sacrifice is also
expected when it comes to severing relationships with non-JW family members and non-JW
friends (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2017o, 2021i, 2022ad) and pursuing educational goals or careers
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2000f, 2011i). JWs are told to not let secular demands interfere with their
WT-related activities and to use vacation time (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2007d), adjust their work
schedules, or change jobs to be able to attend all meetings and spend more time recruiting
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 1997a, 2000d, 2022z). They are also encouraged to attend meetings when
going on vacation and to engage in recruitment efforts at their destination and while traveling
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 1994d).
JWs are restricted in the type and manner of their employment. They must not be
employed in a way that associates them with other religions, gambling, or political organizations
or they are expelled from WT (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022u). Accepting employment that
requires being armed disqualifies a JW from any WT privileges (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2005d).
JWs who work in professions that require confidentiality, such as medical doctors, lawyers, or
accountants, are told to inform potential JW clients that they will report anything that would be
55
Penton references psychologist Dr. Lawrence Onda as stating that JWs "try so hard to please Jehovah that they
become mentally ill" (Penton, 2015, p. 382).
WAKING UP 54
considered as a wrongdoing to the elders, because compliance with the organization’s rules
should take priority over complying with secular law (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1987b). JWs who
work as medical doctors or nurses may not recommend, order, or administer blood transfusions
under any circumstances (Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, 2018).
No Blood
In 1945
56
, WT introduced a medical mandate
57
forbidding the use of blood, including the
storage, donation, and transfusion of blood
58
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2017d, 2021c; Knox, 2018).
The refusal blood is one of the distinguishing doctrines of WT: Unrepentantly accepting a blood
transfusion results in expulsion from the organization (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022u;
Singelenberg, 1990, 2001). To prevent the administration of blood transfusions, JWs are told to
always carry a signed advance health care directive/durable power of attorney (DPA), shown in
Figure 10, on their person
59
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2011b, 2022d), and WT trains and deploys
hospital liaison committees (HLCs), described under peer pressure below.
Elders are asked to remind JWs about maintaining their DPAs, to assist them with it, and
to keep a copy on file (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2004e). The DPA states:
I am one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and I direct that NO TRANSFUSIONS of whole
blood, red cells, white cells, platelets, or plasma be given me under any circumstances,
even if health-care providers believe that such are necessary to preserve my life. I refuse
to predonate and store my blood for later infusion (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022d, p. 1,
emphasis in the original)
56
As late as September 1945, WT stated that God had never issued decrees that prohibited blood transfusions
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 1945).
57
Until 1952, WT also prohibited vaccinations, describing them as devilish, and, until 1980, organ transplants were
forbidden and described as abhorrent cannibalism (Knox, 2018, pp. 155–156).
58
The prohibition extends to veterinary treatments (Knox, 2018, p. 149).
59
JW children are provided with an identity card with medical information (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2021o)
WAKING UP 55
Figure 10
No Blood. The JW Durable Power of Attorney
Note. WT’s advance health care directive document (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022d) that JWs are mandated to carry.
The refusal of blood is not negotiable, and as a result some JWs die (Jehovah's Witnesses,
1990a; Shaner & Prema, 2014), with some estimates going as high as 1,000 deaths per year
(Wilson, 2005). Graves, who worked in the bethel department that instructs and advises HLCs
who visit JWs facing blood-related situations, states that during the 3.5 years of his tenure,
thousands of JWs died after refusing blood transfusions
60
(Evans, 2021b). WT frames the death
from a refusal of blood as a demonstration of loyalty to God, as shown in Figure 11, and uses the
stories of child martyrs for propaganda purposes and as templates for expected behavior
61
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 1994e, 2019d).
60
Two studies of the effect of refusing blood that analyzed 422 JW women who had 507 deliveries, determined that
JW mothers are at a 44-fold to 65-fold increased risk of maternal death (Massiah et al., 2007; Singla et al., 2001).
61
WT quotes a girl, who ended up dying, as saying “I have served Jehovah all my life, 12 years. He has promised
me everlasting life in Paradise if I obey him. I will not turn away from him now for six months of life. I want to be
faithful until I die. Then I know in his due time he will resurrect me from death and give me everlasting life. Then I
will have plenty of time for everything I want to do”, and reports that another girl, who died at 12 years old, said
“that she will scream and struggle and that she will pull the injecting device out of her arm and will attempt to
destroy the blood in the bag over her bed” (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1994e).
WAKING UP 57
Shunning
WT demands the shunning of ex-JWs, which it describes as the stopping of “any willful,
continued, unnecessary association with disfellowshipped or disassociated individuals”
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022u, 12:17.1; 2017d). JWs are instructed to not spend any time or talk
with ex-members, not even saying hello (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2015g). This requirement extends
to the shunning of any family members, unless they are minor children who live with their JW
parents (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2002e, 2016a, 2022ag). Shunning will be discussed in detail in the
behavior control section of the cult mind control description below.
Socialization and Social Control
WT uses different methods and degrees of pressure to imprint its behavioral norms onto
JWs (Penton, 2015). It uses social learning by highlighting role models and their behavior (Beel,
2004), formal productivity controls to monitor recruitment behavior, as well as extensive sets of
rules (Cote & Richardson, 2001; Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022u). Conformity is achieved through
self-policing (Kuchman, 2020), policing each other without regard for privacy and
confidentiality (Knox, 2018; Muramoto, 2000), private admonition which is sometimes
presented as encouragement (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022u), peer pressure (Shaner & Prema,
2014), and coercive compliance processes such as public shaming and shunning (Anthony &
Robbins, 2004; Joyce, 2021).
Social Learning and Norms
WT uses role models to leverage social learning, the process of learning expected
behavior by observing others, and shape a distinct JW culture, when it suggests which behaviors
should be imitated through images, text, and video (Aronson & Aronson, 2018; Beel, 2004). For
example, in 2022, WT published an article called “Wisdom to guide our lives” (Jehovah's
WAKING UP 58
Witnesses, 2022ac), in which it contrasted a wise JW, who uses his four-door car to support
others to preach and attend meetings, with an unbalanced JW with a two-door car, implying that
the type of car indicates the JWs’ spirituality, as shown in Figure 12 (Kuchman, 2020).
Figure 12
Modeling Expected Behavior: Car Ownership
Note. The caption reads: “John and Tom are two young brothers who are in the same congregation. John spends
much time caring for his car. Tom uses his car to assist others to share in the ministry and to attend congregation
meetings.” (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022ac, p. 25).
The pressure to conform to unspoken rules can be strong
62
and affects the dressing and
grooming, language, mannerisms, and facial expressions of JWs, which are noticeably
62
Rajtar, a social anthropologist, who attended WT meetings during her research, mentions the influence of pictures
in WT literature on notions of proper appearance and reports that she purchased dresses because she felt
uncomfortable being the only woman wearing trousers (Rajtar, 2009).
WAKING UP 59
homogenous
63
(Bisha, 2011; Rajtar, 2009; Wilson, 2002). Special full-time servants and
pioneers, who are often highlighted as worthy of imitation, are expected to be exemplary, and
being considered exemplary is a requirement for organizational privileges
64
, especially when it
comes to recruitment, which is reported and tracked (see Figure 5; Jehovah's Witnesses, 2012b,
2018a, 2018g, 2022u).
WT uses injunctive norms in the form of guidance and rules that baptized JWs must
comply with (Aronson & Aronson, 2018; Evans, 2018a). Guidance can be anything the GB has
published, and JWs often scrutinize WT literature to determine what to do, among other things,
because not respecting such guidance can result in organizational sanctions. Some WT rules are
documented in books and letters that are not public. For example, the book Shepherd the Flock of
God (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022u), is a 274-page book with rules that govern the organization on
the congregational level, which non-elders are forbidden to read, and which many JWs don’t
know exists
65
(Kuchman, 2020). WT claims that its rules are based on Biblical principles
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2002c), but the GB decides what those rules and principles are, which
carry more weight, and how JWs should apply them
66
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2002a, 2021d).
63
Bisha documents that JW men’s absence of beards and hairstyle seems to reflect images in WT literature, and
when asked was told this was the “theocratic look” that was “only a requirement … in as much as a Witness will
naturally want to follow the ways of God” (Bisha, 2011, p. 12).
64
“By way of contrast, being “exemplary” involves more than simply being in good standing. An individual whose
conduct and worship are considered worthy of imitation is exemplary. His meeting attendance, share in the ministry,
family life, choices of entertainment, dress and grooming, and so forth are good examples for others. An individual
must be exemplary to represent the congregation in prayer, to serve as an auxiliary or regular pioneer, or to enjoy
other special privileges” (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022u, 2:4).
65
The book Shepherd the flock of God (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022u), also referred to as elders’ book received
publicity and was made publicly available when it was introduced as evidence during the Australian Royal
Commission’s (ARC) inquiry into institutional responses to alleged child sexual abuse, a public hearing in 2016
(Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse, 2016).
66
An example is the prohibition to celebrate birthdays, which is, in part, based on two Biblical accounts that
mention non-believing rulers who celebrated their birthdays and commanded that someone be executed. The GB
interprets this as the Bible purposefully casting a bad light on birthday celebrations, and declares this to be a
significant reason to not celebrate birthdays (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1994g, 2016e). A second example is the
discouraging of tattoos (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2023m).
WAKING UP 60
Conformity and Compliance
JWs are expected to conform their beliefs, their way of thinking, their emotions, and
behavior to the organization’s standards (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2007a, 2022e, 2023h)
67
. In a
study of over 40 inactive JWs, all reported resentment over the lack of freedom, independence,
and the organization’s intrusiveness, which indicates the degree to which JWs experience
pressure to conform (Penton, 2015). Because conformity can serve as a criterion of acceptance
by the group, the appearance of conformity is more important than genuine agreement or belief,
which can result in hypocritical behavior or the leading of a double life (Jehovah's Witnesses,
2018s, 2022u; Wilson, 2002).
WT has a strong informant culture where JWs police themselves and monitor each other
(Knox, 2018; Kuchman, 2020). Lifton (1961) describes this behavior as a cult of confession that
demands that one confesses sins, thoughts or desires that are not acceptable to the group, and
where extensive information is conveyed to the leaders. JWs are told to confess serious sins
68
themselves, and to urge others to confess their sins or else report them to the elders
69
(Jehovah's
Witnesses, 1987b, 2021c). JWs who do not take the initiative and confess serious sins voluntarily
to the elders are likely considered unrepentant and might be disfellowshipped (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2022u). JWs who do not report others are considered to be sharing in the sin of the
offender (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1985, 1988b).
WT encourages JWs to think of themselves as always being observed, and recommends
using the internet only in the presence of others, which restricts critical and independent research
67
The degree to which WT exerts undue influence on JWs is discussed in the section about cult mind control.
68
JWs have a general understanding what constitutes sin, based on guidelines in the organized book that they
receive when they become publishers (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2021d), but what exactly constitutes a serious sin is
described in the elders’ book (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022u), which non-elders do not have access to.
69
WT considers only WT-appointed elders as qualified to help and to judge repentance (Jehovah's Witnesses,
2022u).
WAKING UP 61
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2007f, 2014e). An organizational imposition on privacy is especially
noteworthy in regard to the blood issue in medical settings, where WT undermines medical
confidentiality, engages in organizational monitoring, and organizational coercion (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 1987b; Muramoto, 2000; Shaner & Prema, 2014). For this study, the privacy
restrictions and informant culture at bethel are particularly relevant. WT demands that Bethelites
leave their door open when in a room with someone of the opposite sex and are told to report any
unbecoming conduct (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2004a). Casarona describes bethel as “a paradise for
snitches. Most everyone there was on vigil, looking for any minor or major infractions of the
many written and unwritten laws”
70
(Casarona, 2019, p. 143), which included laundry
inspections and room inspections
71
.
WT embraces peer pressure as a form of influence (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1999a; Wilson,
2002), and increases its normative effect by imposing itself as a JW’s spiritual family, which
isolates and insulates JWs from the larger society and makes them more dependent on the
organization (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2017o, 2021j; Penton, 2015). JWs are instructed to not
stumble one another, i.e. to avoid anything that could offend another believer (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2019e), which often results in the most compliant believer in a group of JWs dictating
the group’s behavior (Kuchman, 2020). Nonconforming individuals, both JWs and nonbelievers,
are labeled bad association and are subject to elected ostracism
72
(Evans, 2018a; Jehovah's
Witnesses, 1991b). Peer pressure is of particular concern in medical settings where WT deploys
HLCs, who are instructed to ask JWs about their DPAs (see Figure 10) when visiting them in
70
The rule book for bethel, which is not to be removed from bethel, is called Dwelling together in unity (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2004a). It contains 34 pages that include the Vow of Obedience and Poverty, and rules on the use of
books, telephones and computers, room cleanliness, dining room etiquette, the use of elevators, tight-fitting jeans, or
t-shirts with slogans.
71
Housekeepers and authorized bethel personnel are explicitly granted permission to enter the room of any Bethelite
unannounced, without permission, and without their presence (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2004a, p. 23).
72
This is not the mandated shunning, which is the result of an organizational decision and enforced.
WAKING UP 62
hospitals, and whose objective is the avoidance of blood transfusions, even if doing so results in
the JW patient’s death (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2013g, 2022f; Evans, 2022a). HLCs have been
described as intimidating
73
(Smith, 2016a, 2016b), and a medical ethics case study described the
pressure to reject blood transfusions, exerted by HLC members and other JWs, as a potentially
coercive influence that undermines a JW patient’s ability to exercise their free will (Shaner &
Prema, 2014). In a video seminar for HLCs the speaker stated:
It is essential to bear in mind, that a successful outcome, while not wanting to appear
cold, a successful outcome, nonetheless, is when we have assisted our brothers and sisters
to avoid a God dishonoring blood transfusion. Even if that means that, in the short term at
least, that their life is not prolonged
74
. (Evans, 2022a, 0:25:02)
If necessary, WT demands compliance through its overseers, in the form of counsel to
congregations or individuals, or in the form of a disciplinary process called judicial hearing,
which can be triggered by a JW’s refusal to comply with an elder’s counsel (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2022u). JWs are urged to comply with the counsel and the decisions of elders,
because they represent God and communicate God’s decisions (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1957c,
2020m, 2021d). A JW who goes through a judicial hearing and is determined to be unrepentant
will be stripped of their organizational privileges and publicly shamed by being announced to the
congregation of having been reproved or disfellowshipped, which is the punishment by severe
75
73
HLC elders’ visits can be a reminder of the organization’s rules and satisfy the organizational requirements to
have two witnesses to establish the committing of a sin, i.e., if the elders observe a JW agreeing to, or accepting a
blood transfusion, this JW is viewed as having themselves disassociated unless moderating circumstances or
repentance are established.
74
This is a statement by Wayne Sorsby, a JW who works on the Hospital Information Desk of WT’s UK bethel.
This statement was made during an annual video conference with regional HLC members.
75
Noncompliance with mandated shunning can result in the expulsion of the noncompliant JW, resulting in them
being shunned (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022u).
WAKING UP 63
and potentially life-long
76
ostracism by the entire JW community (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022u).
The judicial hearing process will be discussed in detail in the behavior control section of the cult
mind control description below.
Everyday Life
The everyday life of JWs is strongly affected by WT: 73% of JWs in the United States
say they rely on their religion for moral guidance (Pew Research Center, 2008). WT’s culture
affects all aspects of a JWs life, ranging from how they dress to behavior around sex, marriage,
child rearing, and education (Knox, 2018). To outsiders this environment appears restrictive,
oppressive, and totalitarian, but JWs view their culture as safe from the Satanic influences,
liberated from false beliefs, and satisfying in its purpose (Holden, 2002). JWs are
consequentialist, which means they perceive their moral virtue and claimed ideological
correctness as rewarding (Anthony & Robbins, 2004), and assert that they are living the best life
ever, even if their religion were not true (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2016q, 2022v; Kuchman, 2020).
JWs are fixated on dressing and grooming. At meetings, proper appearance and behavior
are discussed almost as often as moral standards (Holden, 2002). WT publications discuss and
visualize the desired dress code and grooming
77
, as shown in Figure 13; as a result, JWs present
themselves in a very homogenous manner (Bisha, 2011; Rajtar, 2009).
Bethel applicants are evaluated in part on their appearance
78
(Jehovah's Witnesses,
2015j), and a four-page brochure is available for JWs who want to visit bethel that describes how
they should dress (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2016b). The October 2021 episode of JW Broadcasting
76
Disfellowshipped JWs often have to wait 6 months or longer until they are reinstated and the shunning is revoked.
Ex-JWs who do not get reinstated are shunned for the rest of their life.
77
In the United States, JW men must not have beards to have privileges or oversight. Only moustaches are allowed.
This originated with a request to the German bethel family in 1923 by J. F. Rutherford, the second president of WT,
who wanted to stop a trend of imitating the first president’s beard (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1975, p. 98).
78
See Appendix B Bethel Application, p. 4.
WAKING UP 64
highlighted a JW, who spent 1 year attempting to persuade a potential recruit to wear a skirt to
the meetings: She showed her pictures, discussed alleged Bible principles, and finally went into
her room to lay out clothes for her to change (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2021n, 26:28).
Figure 13
Modeling Expected Behavior: Dress and Grooming
Note. WT shows an example of immodest dress and extreme haircut. The caption reads: “Do not let yourself be
affected by those who are not taking a firm stand on Jehovah’s side” (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2018q, p. 25).
JWs refrain from participating in any celebrations that they view as tainted by false
religion: Religious festivities, or traditions that involve religious symbolism. Christmas, Easter,
Halloween, birthday celebrations, etc., are forbidden for adult JWs and for children, who may
ask to be excused from participating in any related activities in kindergarten or school (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2016e, 2022s). The same restrictions are in effect for any customs that have non-
biblical origins: JWs will not toast, throw rice at weddings, say greetings, or accept gifts that
WAKING UP 65
imply the celebration of a holiday, etc. (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2021c; Penton, 2015). JWs may not
attend a funeral if it is considered as mixing with false religion, due to the setting, the people
involved, or the funeral customs (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2009b; Wilson, 2002). Weddings,
anniversaries, and family gatherings are generally accepted but regulated
79
.
In the area of entertainment JWs are severely insulated from the wider community: WT
instructs JWs to avoid any movies, games, music, or literature that promotes the spirit of the
world or is suspected to be under satanic influence (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1983e, 2016n, 2020e).
Anything that involves magic, for example fairy tales, certain cartoons or Disney movies, the
Twilight, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Thor, and many other entertainment franchises, most
horror movies, adult entertainment, and many games are eschewed (Kuchman, 2020; Rusnak,
2022). Christian or gospel music (Wilson, 2002), yoga (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2002f), phrases like
“bless you” or “good luck”, and superstitions, considered to be rooted in false religion, are to be
avoided. Organized sports, dances, school clubs, and school plays are frowned upon, and chess is
cautioned against (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1973c; Penton, 2015).
A 1996 review of eight studies concluded that “the rate of mental illness among
Jehovah’s Witnesses is considerably above average” (Bergman, 1996, p. 1), and ex-JWs are at an
increased risk of destructive behavior toward themselves and others, likely due to the effects of
the organization’s mandated shunning (Göransson & Holmqvist, 2018). Despite these
indications
80
, WT traditionally had a hostile stance on therapy and psychiatry, describing certain
psychiatric interventions as demonic, and psychiatric counsel as dangerous because psychiatrists
might attempt to persuade a JW that their problems are caused by their religion (Jehovah's
79
JW celebrations will often by supervised by an elder, and ensure that any music, dancing, or any other activities
are acceptable.
80
Penton (2015, p. 382) indicates that the GB has been made aware that JWs experience intense guilt and
psychological pressure to live up to the organization’s demands, and some try so hard that they become mentally ill.
WAKING UP 66
Witnesses, 1960a). While the organization’s stance on mental health care has softened, the belief
in Satan and demons persists: Sometimes JWs attribute psychological problems to demonic
attacks, and elders may attempt exorcisms through prayer and the disposal of demonized items
instead of recommending the help of a mental health care provider (Penton, 2015).
Sex and Marriage
WT suspects demons behind the world’s immorality and promotes a strict purity culture
with many rules and restrictions, which account for most expulsions from the group (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2003b, 2022i, 2022u). Sex outside a heterosexual marriage and viewing pornography
can result in the loss of privileges or expulsion, masturbation is unclean (Jehovah's Witnesses,
2016k, 2022u), and flirting is inappropriate
81
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2016c). Unmarried couples,
even if they are not in a relationship, are to be chaperoned at all times, regardless of their age
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 1981e; Rajtar, 2009)
82
. As a result, some JWs marry young or after dating
a short time to have sex or to stop the peer pressure (Kuchman, 2020; Parker, 2023).
In 2014, 53% of JWs in the United States were married (Pew Research Center, 2015).
JWs may choose who they wish to marry
83
, but they will be disciplined if they marry non-JWs
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022u). The eligibility and desirability of marriage mates often revolve
around their compliance with organizational demands, which may be inquired from the elders
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022i; Wilson, 2002). Married women are required to submit to their
husbands, even if they are abusive (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1992; Penton, 2015). JWs wives are
expected to consult with their husbands on even personal decisions
84
(Jehovah's Witnesses,
81
WT issued a three-page worksheet to help JWs avoid flirty emojis when texting (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2016c).
82
Rajtar (2009) states that she was unable to talk to male JWs without the presence of other JWs during her study.
83
A Watchtower article from 1956 says of JW women, that, after Armageddon, Jesus will “give in marriage
whomsoever of them he pleases and to whomsoever he chooses” (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1956, p. 604).
84
"A married woman who favors having her ears pierced should rightly consult her husbandly head first" (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 1974b, p. 319)
WAKING UP 67
1974a), and their husbands will be invited to their judicial hearings but may exclude them from
their own (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022u). Until recently, marriage was discouraged (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2014b), so JWs would be able to dedicate more time and energy to organizational
demands, which resulted in some JWs remaining unmarried and childless (Jehovah's Witnesses,
1999b, 2002b).
WT prohibits divorce unless there is a proven
85
case of “illicit sexual relations outside
Scriptural marriage” (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2018v, p .12), a definition that reflects the GB’s
current understanding of porneia, a biblical term whose interpretation has changed over the
years
86
, and which is of critical importance to JWs. The adherence to this standard is so strict that
JWs who are victims of rape or other forms of abuse by their JW spouse must not get divorced,
even if their spouse may be disfellowshipped for their behavior (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1983b). In
the case of non-JW spouses, WT encourages JWs to endure abusive behavior, hoping this results
in their partners’ conversion, as indicated in Figure 14 (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2021f).
WT allows for separation in extreme situations, such as severe physical abuse or when an
unbelieving spouse threatens a JW’s participation in organizational activities, but they are not
allowed to get divorced and remarry (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2016k, 2021c). If they obtain a legal
divorce, but not one that is approved by the organization, based on evidence of porneia, a new
marriage is viewed as adultery and results in the disfellowshipping (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022u,
12:10). Some JWs separate from a partner who stopped believing, if they feel that their
spirituality is endangered by them (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2018v; Wilson, 2002).
85
Proof consists of a confession or testimony of two witnesses (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022u). This two-witness rule
has been used by WT to justify the cover-up of child sexual abuse (Royal Commission into Institutional Responses
to Child Sex Abuse, 2016, p. 65).
86
Until 1983, porneia was interpreted to exclude homosexuality and bestiality, which meant that these were not
accepted as grounds for a divorce (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1972a, 1983b, 1983c).
WAKING UP 68
Figure 14
Modeling Expected Behavior: Enduring Marital Abuse
Note. WT depicts a JW woman enduring insults, threats, and abuse from her unbelieving husband. The caption
reads: “When we show love for our persecutors, we may soften their heart” (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2021f, p. 24).
Moral purity is especially important in bethel, where Bethelites are viewed as role-
models for the larger organization. When applying to bethel, applicants are asked about viewing
pornography or homosexual activities, which can prevent their admission
87
(Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2015j). If admitted, a 30-minute-long onboarding video gives new Bethelites explicit
rules about sex and masturbation (Evans, 2018c; Jehovah's Witnesses, n.d.). Indoors, Bethelites
must leave the door to the room open when they are in the company of a Bethelite of the
opposite sex who is not a family member (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2004a).
87
See Appendix B Bethel Application, p. 2 (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2015j).
WAKING UP 69
Children
About 80% of JWs were raised as JWs, not recruited into the religion as adults, which is
common for established religious groups (Bromley, 2004; Langone, 2023; Penton, 2015)
88
. WT
emphasizes the indoctrination of children and adolescents, recognizing that it is easier to
socialize young individuals into deployable JWs (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1954, 2015l). JW
children are commonly baptized between the ages of 15 and 18, sometimes at much younger
ages
89
(The Norwegian Ministry of Children and Families, 2022). Children are subject to the
same organizational demands as adults: They are expected to study the same material (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2020h; Penton, 2015), to attend and participate in the same meetings
90
(Holden,
2002), to proselytize as shown in Figure 15 (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2013d, 2015k, 2018d), and are
subject to the same rules and disciplinary processes (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022u; The
Norwegian Ministry of Children and Families, 2022).
WT puts the welfare of JW children second to its demands, beliefs, and priorities, and JW
children learn that the love of their parents and other JWs is contingent on their conformity
(Hardman, 2004; Ingersoll-Wood, 2022). Children are regularly exposed to violent,
inappropriate, homophobic, and intimidating images and messages in WT publications and
videos
91
(Jehovah's Witnesses, 2020h, 9:19; 2023i; Malmen, 2020). Children are viewed as
88
In a survey conducted by the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) between 2014 and 2020, 106 out of
137 JW respondents (77.4%) reported having been raised as a JW (Langone, 2023).
89
WT literature has examples of children being baptized as young as 6 or 7 years old (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1992c,
2011a, p. 58).
90
Holden observed 4 and 5-year-olds participating in meetings (Holden, 2002, p. 127).
91
A GB member said in a public broadcast in May 2020: “We might mention that we’ve had just a few parents write
in expressing concern that some of our videos depict scenes that could have an effect on children who’ve been
protected from anything even hinting at an act of violence. However, when portraying a Bible account, we cannot
ignore the message Jehovah saw fit to preserve in his Word. We don’t feel comfortable watering down the inspired
insight that Jehovah has preserved for the benefit of true worshippers ... Jehovah wanted all, including the young
ones, to understand what was coming. Parents likewise need to give their children a realistic idea of what we all will
face in the near future. Many parents choose to help their children appreciate the graphic visual imagery of a Bible-
based video, while at the same time building trust in Jehovah, who will be with them in times of distress” (Jehovah's
Witnesses, 2020h, 9:19–11:36).
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sinners who need to be disciplined, obey, and surrender their desires to the organization
(Hardman, 2004; Jehovah's Witnesses, 2022o, 9:19; 2022t). WT historically encouraged corporal
punishment (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1973d, 1984b)
92
, and while it more recently stated that “not all
children need physical punishment” (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2006f, p. 5), it implies that some do,
and it is not unusual to see children getting pinched to keep them in line or awake or to see them
taken out of the auditorium to be spanked (Wilson, 2002).
Figure 15
Modeling Expected Behavior: Child Recruiting
Note. From the Watchtower article Train your child to serve Jehovah (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2015k).
92
A song in a songbook that was used for 25 years refers to children as “a possession to train and teach” and
instructs the singer to “use the rod” (Jehovah's Witnesses, 1984b, #164), using an expression that describes “all
forms of discipline .. including the literal rod used for chastisement.” (Jehovah's Witnesses, 2018c, p. 818).