Why are the Spanish speaking congregations apparently doing well in the US? (page 2)

Tuesday

There aren't as many back publications available in Spanish?

Maybe the Watchtower loses something in the translation?

well based on my experiance with the culture and my wifes experience in the cong, I would say that as a culture, the Spanish speaking JW's are less likely to challenge anything that is written in a WT or a comment from the podium. Honestly, alot of these people coming over hear can barely read and write Spanish.

Tired of the Hypocrisy

They are filled with scared illegals. They are hoping for some sort of help from the JWs. Usually the sisters offer to help them with this or that. Usually a ride tot eh store etc. Then they guilt them into going to meetings and having a study. These people had no idea how much better off they were back south of the border.

jws

Surely Spanish speaking Americans have access to the internet and the news the same as everyone else?

I live in an area with a large immigrant population. These people are poor and work very hard. Sometimes you have a lot of guys living in the same house just to afford it. I'm just guessing a computer and internet connection isn't exactly tops on their lists.

Many of these immigrants don't speak a lot of English. Even if they did have the internet... Well, I'm reading this list in English and most of the sites about JWs are also in English, which doesn't help them a lot.

And as far as news, they don't have the same news as everyone. The cities with larger immigrant populations at least have Spanish channels, but it's not as wide of a variety as English-speaking channels. Not everything has a second-channel with Spanish audio and I would suspect I'd rather watch programming geared towards my culture than some dubbed (pardon the expression) TV show. So they're probably missing the investigative reports on child molestation, etc.

This is just my take on it, and it might be stereo-typing, but the immigrants I know seem to be more community oriented than a lot of us white guys. They spend their time with their friends doing things, not just sitting around poking around the internet or looking for things to watch on TV.

A lot of immigrants have a hard life. The JW teachings have always seemed to appeal more to people who aren't doing so well. You offer them hope of something so much better than what they have, they get hooked. I heard the JW expansion after World War 2 was also big. When times are hard, people turn to religion more and some of what they turn to is JWs.

So all-in-all, I don't think immigrants have the same access to information that exposes the Watchtower. In the Spanish speaking world of immigrants, it's kind of like the boom periods for the JWs. Back before apostates had books and were on the internet. I don't really think they have access to a lot of opposing views.

neverendingjourney

Illegal Immigration.

The growth is not limited to illegal immigrants. The Spanish congregation I attended had a bunch of legal immigrants as well. A lof of them were already JWs. The U.S. congregation gained members, but it wasn't true growth. A congregation in Latin America lost a publisher and a U.S. congregation picked one up. The instant sense of community is appealing to all immigrants, whether they're here legally or not.

leavingwt

neverendingjourney,

Thank you for those comments. I believe you are correct.

-LWT

WTWizard

Education, or the lack thereof. When someone enters a country (legally or otherwise), they are at a disadvantage. They have to learn the new language. They have to learn how things work (or do not work) in their new country. And that is hard for those who come in from Mexico, because that is not a wealthy country compared to people in the States.

So, you have the Washtowel Slaveholdery taking full advantage of the situation. A Mexican in the States is likely to be confused, and so the witlesses will "help" them right into the cancer. They feel they belong in, and it is a real hardship for most of them if they ever choose to walk out on the cancer. So, most are stuck going in. That is where most of the growth comes from among the Spanish congregations.

Meanwhile, those in the regular congregations are walking out.

rekless

Ignorance is bliss.

Jeremy C

I believe that Catholicism has a lot to do with the growth. People who are born and raised Catholic are notoriously ignorant of the Bible. This allows them to be swayed by the Watchtower’s faulty logic and fanciful doctrines much easier.

Many of them begin to find the cold austerity of their services and faith to be insufficient. These people are ripe for the picking when a JW shows them a paradise tract. They are impressed that their is no clergy within the congregation and that the elders are "just one of the bunch".

When Catholics come from the somewhat impersonal services of their church and experience the "love bombing" at the Kingdom Hall, this helps to solidify their faith in the Watchtower.

True, this is not the case with all Catholics. But of all of the JWs that I knew who came from the Catholic church; this is a common thread.

PrimateDave

I recently attended a Sunday morning Catholic service. I'm basically non-theist, but what the hey. Yes, the rituals are different from those in a KH, but I would hardly classify them as sterile or uninteresting by comparison.

If anything, I would suggest that much of the recent growth in Spanish speaking congregations may be due to a lack of Catholic churches in areas where Hispanic immigrants have found work. I used to live in a southern state north of Florida, probably near where sir82 lives, and the predominant religions are Protestant.

Some of the Protestant Churches have reached out to the immigrant Hispanic community, but few seem as organized as the Witnesses. I suspect that the Churches have better motivations than simply filling out time slips at the end of the month.

Dave

Why are the Spanish speaking congregations apparently doing well in the US?