I was thinking more about groups that are similar in size, but the Roman Catholic church is certainly a good example of a traditional church that is in rapid decline in Britain, and other western countries, in contrast with continued JW growth.
Brazil. JWs up 26% in 10 Years
by Joker10 126 Replies latest jw friends
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free @ last
Not only are Mormons less reliant on poorer developing countries to fuel growth - Cedars
That's some positive spin right there. In fact Mormons are much less represented anywhere outside of America than JWs. Something like only 10% of their worldwide membership is outside of the Americas. Apart from Britain their presence is negligible in Europe. But nice try painting this as success." - SBF
I read the whole thread and I saw the same spin that SBF saw.
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cedars
free @ last
That's some positive spin right there.
The statement "Mormons are less reliant [than JWs] on poorer developing countries to fuel growth." Is fact, not spin - no matter what spin you put on it! Please read the sentence again and think about it.
slimboyfat
I was thinking more about groups that are similar in size, but the Roman Catholic church is certainly a good example of a traditional church that is in rapid decline in Britain, and other western countries, in contrast with continued JW growth.
Do you have any figures to quote, or are you leaving it up to me to back up your assertions? I would suggest that Roman Catholics are far more widely spread around the world than JWs are, irrespective of diminishing numbers.
Cedars
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Finkelstein
Brazil. JWs up 26% in 10 Years
Shit happens
Take any poorly educated population along with a low standard of living and people can be easily swayed to join religious cults like the JWS.
Why is the growth so stagnate in countries which have a better standard of living as well education ?
The reasons should be obvious.
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free @ last
If you start from the premise that the 'true religion' would be equally accessible to all races and nationalities then the comment
Not only are Mormons less reliant on poorer developing countries to fuel growth - Cedars
makes little sense at all.
When I was a witness 'even spread' was a positive attribute. You made it sound like a cop out that witnesses were perhaps more 'reliant on developing countries for growth'. Perhaps it's just your Eurocentric view peeking out.
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cedars
free @ last
lol, now I'm "Eurocentric"! I love receiving criticism from people who don't know me! The inevitable stabs in the dark can yield some entertaining results.
I shouldn't really need to explain this, but here goes.....
If you read the quote in context, you will see that comparisons were being drawn between Mormons and JWs. slimboyfat insisted that the two religions are "comparable", and I gave a list of ways in which they aren't. One of those ways is that, as you yourself have noted, the core membership of Mormons is based in wealthier countries (specifically the USA) where people can afford to donate. By comparison, though JWs are more "finely spread" around the world, this also leaves them financially vulnerable, because they cannot rely on donations from poorer countries that are fuelling growth.
Nothing in that statement is unfactual, or "spin" - so I don't get your point. I don't think you get mine either - but welcome to the discussion anyway. If nothing else, it's entertaining to have someone who likes to fire off before thinking.
Cedars
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steve2
it is a remarkably evenly spread world religion that continues to grow while many other denominations are in decline.
Actually this collapses two points into one - so I have to agree with Cedars. Sure, compared to other denominations such as 7th-Day Adventists, JWs continue to enjoy better growth in a few third world conutries. But the point about their being more "evenly spread" is demonstrably incorrect. From very high ratio of JWs to population in countries as diverse as Zambia and New Zealand, to minuscule presence despite more than 100 years presence in subcontinent India. More importantly, they are on a par with almost every conceivable Christian denomination in their abysmal failure to meaningfully penetrate the Moslem curtain. Moreover, 7th-Day Adventists beat the JWs hands-down in Pacific Island states - where there are piddling numbers of JWs. If the end-of-year report of the JWs demonstrates, JWs in common with other "Christian" religious groups are extremely unevenly spread around the globe.
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daniel-p
Brazil itself grew a lot in that decade, so much of the growth can be attributed to simple population expansion. http://www.ibge.gov.br/english/presidencia/noticias/noticia_visualiza.php?id_noticia=1766&id_pagina=1
The rest of it is surely due to the post-Catholic effect. JWs and other evangelical faiths always mop up after catholicism, who are nearly always the first ones to pave the way for Christianity.
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tootired2care
It's not too surprising that they have some decent growth down there, where do you think all the single pioneer brothers have been going to? Step into macedonia ass land, and see the belssings that await you! Add to that It's all part of their secret plan to lure more brothers into the org to serve and shore up the congregations.
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slimboyfat
According to the English Church Attendance Survey 1,991,000 Catholics attended church on Sunday in England in 1979. By 2005 this number had dropped to 893,100. That is a decline of well over 50%. During that same period the number of JW publishers increased from around 75,000 to 125,000, an increase of 65%. That is a dramatic difference in fortunes. If those trends carry on even at a reduced rate it is not inconceivable that there could be more JWs than Catholics in the United Kingdom within decades.
JWs are better spread than Catholics in that they represent similar percentages of the population in countries as disparate as Norway, Italy, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Japan. Catholics do well in their heartlands but not so well in as broad a spread of countries as JWs.
