Most of those I know that were raised in it, remain in it. I think this speaks more of the need for contact with their families than it does of the need to remain a JW. That being said - even those lifers who leave and then come back have issues to deal with. I've known very few that actually left but then again, how much time does any JW give in thought to those that leave? Not much.
Only 37% raised in JW stay in
by White Dove 20 Replies latest social current
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hillbilly
it seems that statistic mimics what many on this forum have estimated over the years I have been here.
did CBS AP share there methodology for producing such a statistic ?... I'd like to see it out of curiosity. It would be a lark if those numbers come from the societies own figures.
~Hill
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read good books
The turnover at Bethel was amazing when I was there in the seventies, we were suppose to commit to four years but near half the group I came in with had left by the first year I was there, by the third year I was hard pressed to find more than a few members of my original group. The figure I heard after that was nintey percent who would leave Bethel would leave the org. after that. They tried to loosen the tight rules in response to the big exodus, but I hear they tightened them up again in the eighties. There needs to be a census on the global number of ex-jw's.
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BabaYaga
Here is the link to the AP article:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j1IgIhgpbmb1vaGeYJjrLd_8SkkQD8V1F9GO0
And here is a GREAT quote from it!
Hindus claimed the highest retention of childhood members, at 84 percent. The group with the worst retention is one of the fastest growing — Jehovah's Witnesses. Only 37 percent of those raised in the sect known for door-to-door proselytizing said they remain members. -
lrkr
Big mention of this during tonights "Real Time with Bill Maher" on HBO.
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mind my own
Well me and one of my brothers left...one more sibling to go!! Wish me luck...
MMO
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R.Crusoe
It is almost an irrelevance as to figures, apart from amongst they themselves who are addicted to numerology for inspiration!
Numbers do not in any way substantiate the validity of their belief system but simply reflect a niche in the human psyche which they have targetted with their dogma. This is true of many systems of large control groups. I do wonder on reading statistics how humans allow themselves to feel the most 'correct' methods must in some way relate to the big numbers.
We are all aware of their core flaw - a claim they alone are divinely inspired despite numerous faulty 'must belief else be shunned' ideas which are now proven false! And this in spite of them saying Jesus was in place since 1914 and passing them divine advice! Maybe Jesus also passed them a whole batch of 'duff info not yet disproven?
The claim to be representing a God of love when in fact they dictate what you should think and how your closest family should treat you is for pure and total control of you the individual and nothing less.
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Billy the Ex-Bethelite
At first I was surprised by that statistic, but when I thought about my peers, it sounds about right.
In my cong. about half are out, a quarter left & returned, and a quarter of us have stayed 'in' (God help us!). A neighboring congregation, I would guess, have only retained maybe 5% of my peer group.
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oompa
The same survey, which is Pew or Pugh...I cant recall, shows that we are also dead last in per capita income for any named religion! And I think the most undereducted...poor...stupid...and leaving.......................oompa
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Tatiana
Big mention of this during tonights "Real Time with Bill Maher" on HBO.
I was watching Bill Maher when he started to talk about this. I sat up straight, and was just waiting for him to say it, and he did!! I was thrilled. Because they are making such a huge deal out of being the fastest growing. They just don't give all the facts.