Watching the World: Feb 2009 - Society reports 44% switch religions but omits JW retention rate

by truthseeker 4 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  truthseeker

  In the February 2009 issue of Awake!, the Watching the World article reports:

  "According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, "44% of adults have either switched religious affiliation, moved from being unaffiliated with any religion to being affiliated with a particular faith, or dropped any connection to a specific religious tradition altogether." - U.S.A.

  Is this report true, and if so did the Society leave anything out of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life?

  http://religions.pewforum.org/reports

  Key Findings and Statistics on Religion in America

  More than one-quarter of American adults (28%) have left the faith in which they were raised in favor of another religion - or no religion at all. If change in affiliation from one type of Protestantism to another is included, 44% of adults have either switched religious affiliation, moved from being unaffiliated with any religion to being affiliated with a particular faith, or dropped any connection to a specific religious tradition altogether.

  The above report is consistent with the Watching the World report.

  Now, what did the Society conveniently leave out?

  Jehovah's Witnesses have the lowest retention rate of any religious tradition. Only 37% of all those who say they were raised as Jehovah's Witnesses still identify themselves as Jehovah's Witnesses.

  The fastest growing religion in America is losing more and more of its born-ins.

  Now that is something you won't find in the 2009 year book of Jehovah's Witnesses.
• 

  Alpaca

  Interesting.

  Without retaining "born-in" Dubs, I honestly don't see the BORG lasting.

  The BORG is a shadow of its self when it was in its heyday of growth and zeal in the 1960s. There is another active thread that talks about the pathetic caliber of the writing in the publications and the mind-numbing Q&A format (with the pre-programed answers provided) for many of the meeting parts. And, with the concept gone of the 'generation of 1914 not passing away before the end would come'--there is no urgency of purpose.

  Of course, the internet is the biggie. Now, kids are exposed to the internet and are taught how to research things at school from the earliest grades. The BORG is trying to hold back a flood of damning information with the proverbial finger in the dike. Eventually, they will be overwhelmed.
• 

  Trevor Scott

  Great post. Only a third of those raised as JWs still claim to be JWs. The fact that the WTS would quote from this very report shows just how confident they are that individual JWs won't do independent research of any claims made by the Society. And why should they?

  But in Jehovah's organization it is not necessary to spend a lot of time and energy in research, for there are brothers in the organization who are assigned to that very thing, to help you who do not have so much time for this, these preparing the good material in The Watchtower and other publications of the Society. –The Watchtower, June 1, 1967, page 338.

  If we have love for Jehovah and for the organization of his people we shall not be suspicious, but shall, as the Bible says, 'believe all things,' all the things that The Watchtower brings out, in as much as it has been faithful in giving us knowledge of God's purposes... –Qualified to be Ministers, 1955, page 156.
• 

  besty

  Even with more recent quotes eg the notorious Sep 2007 KM QFR the publisher sits there thinking:

  "Am I being told to do something, or am I being told not to do something?"

  Its a binary thought process and clearly the rank and file know they are not meant to use the Internet to validate JW teachings or check the context of a quote.

  I think the Borg is undergoing significant change in its core demographics - from white Western blue collar to blue collar immigrant or 3rd world peasant. For now they are modestly keeping pace with population inflation but that is masking the demographic shift. So they can still claim growth.

  The trends I see are the marginalisation of organised fundamental religion - see Europe - I exclude the rise of African Evangelical movements in Europe - they don;t influence anything/anybody important and in some cases are also spiritually abusive. And yes there are very successful well supported white middle class evangelical churches, but again the exception - the rule is most people are improving their houses or hobbying at the weekend.

  Beyond that freely accesible information will lead to cults becoming smaller not larger in the Western world at least.

  I was at a Cisco technology seminar yesterday and one of their VP's (reports directly to CEO) was talking about the effect of the GenY's coming into the workplace. These are kids born after 1980. He says they are different to anything Cisco has seen before. They learn differently, their brains work differently, they multitask much better. And its a challenge for employers to keep pace and keep them stimulated.

  I think these kids will make the WTS long for a 37% retention rate :-)

  Not the death of the Borg - just a speeded up readjustment in who buys the BS.
• 

  undercover

  Good catch...

  I remember when this survey came out and seeing some of the more damaging aspects of it to JWism.

  Now they quote from it, leaving out anything that casts a bad light on themselves.