I have never seen beards on any brother in Sweden or Finland. But I think Denmark is i bit more liberal with facial hair.
Differences Between JWs in the US and Europe
by BU2B 44 Replies latest jw friends
-
-
dazed but not confused
I was doing the sound for a year or so. Once before the meeting I didn't shave and had about 2 days of stubble. An elder came up to me and told me I needed to shave. He let me do the sound for that meeting but wanted me to be warned not to come to the meeting unshaved again. They are facial hair Nazis here in Colorado. They will allow a nicely trimmed mustache.
#control freaks
-
metaspy
A sister in a neighboring hall dated a brother from Germany. She lived with him in his families house until they married. In the USA or at least the Cong I was in - that would have been JC worthy
-
Gorbatchov
In The Netherlands (Holland) JW's go to disco, visit and watch most films (also R-rated), listen to all kinds of music, visit and organizing coctail party's, celebrate Queens day, copying CD's, DVD and software, have beards if they want... and drink a lot of alcohol...
So there is a difference with the US...
Gorby
-
Pickler
I'm Australian, but, lived in the UK. In my experience Australia was more hard line.
Some things really surprised me...
1) in the UK I met young JWs, with university degrees. No one looked down on them, no one reproved them. Where I was from they would have been out, out, out for this.
Now I know people on here have doubted this, but, it's true. A the time it was absolutely devastating to me that I couldn't go to uni, if there had been any way that didn't involve me getting DFd, I would have......but...they were very clear that this was wrong.
2) in the UK I met a brother who lived on welfare (quite nicely I might add) lovely apartment, good clothes, good food, spent his days having coffee. No one seemed to care.
In Australia, he would have been out!!! The old "if a man doesn't work, then he shouldn't eat" was quoted a million times. I knew a brother who didn't work, I think he may have had mental health issues. Anyway, he was greatly frowned upon in the congregation & talked about a lot. Which, in hindsight doesn't seem very loving at all.
What was funny was that the UK witnesses didn't know that other places were different & vice versa, seemed like we all lived in our own little bubbles back then.
The Internet has sure changed things now though.
-
Nika Bee
Where I am from (Southern Germany, close to the Austrian border), it seems to be more laid back nowadays than in the US, from what I have been told from the older generations, this is a relatively "recent" trend - loosiening up during the last 30 year maybe?
When I went to secondary school it was still fairly unusual, to send your children to the type of school, that would eventually allow a university entrance exam. Now it is a bit more common, although I know only one other JW who went to university eventually.
The beard question really depends on the congregation.
On some things thex seem to be stricter though. For example, when one sister reported from a relative in the US, who counted the driving to the field service to the reported hours, this was a big NO for us.
When I left Germany to live in the US, I was told to be careful because cases were known, where someone went over there, and "found it too strict and then left". -- Well in a sense they were right, at least, this was one of the things that started me thinking.
-
TheOldHippie
Swedes are rather stiff people, whereas the other Nordic peoples are not. Germans are very stiff, Mediterranean ones open and outwardly and including. I guess the JW communities are rather similar to the people of the area in general. Some JWs from a more open part of the country move to another part and are surprised at how stiff people are in the congregation there and vice versa. But non-JWs doing the same, experience the same. Some areas are more closed than others. And a couple of strong personalities might influence a whole congregation. Tell a joke as part of your talk if you hold talks in other congregations, and you will find that in some congregations they will laugh heartedly, whereas in others not a facial muscle will move - which might be rather embarassing for you as a speaker .....................
But one thing I notice, and that is the more or less reverential attitude the US JWs obviously have towards the GB. Not so here, in general. But I guess that is because to us, they are remote, physically, they are at the other side of the Earth and strangers to us. I was at a convention here quite some years ago, when four of them were guest speakers, and those four were the among old ones, Henschel et al., but no-one cared, they pretty much stood together as a group during breaks, and there was no crowd of hangarounds to say hello. But by the way, a couple of years ago another one visited, and it was announced from the platform that it sould be possible to have one's photo taken together with him afterwards - but that flash should not be used .............. reminded me of a pop star's visit .............. so perhaps the new members are not as "shy" as the old ones.
-
smiddy
I`m an aussie and in the 33 years I was in the "truth" I tried a couple of times to sport a beard , it was tolerated for a couple of weeks then the heavies were put on me to remove it .However a moustache was ok , just no beards or goatee`s.
smiddy
I left the "truth" in `93 and have had a beard ever since.
-
Ucantnome
I found the attitude to beards and dress and grooming to be the same in the UK and the US. We felt the US congregations that we were part had more materialism than the UK ones we had been part of. I found the sisters more attractive in the US.
-
likeabird
I would retitle this more the differences between JWs in the US, UK and continental Europe. In comparison to continental Europe, the UK is much more like the US.
Some examples would be European brothers love of sporting jackets with colours on all spectrum of the rainbow, a notable example being COs who love giving their talks in lobster pink colored jackets. Yes, jackets and overlarge ones at that. In the UK and the US a brother would be slammed or not allowed to even say a prayer at a meeting if he wasn't wearing a matching suit. Tough one for those living on welfare or minimum wages. Same is true for colored shirts which in Europe can include bright purples, pinks, bright and dark greens and equally wacky ties. Unless things have changed in recent years, in the US brothers are expected to only wear monochrome aka white shirts. Looney Tune ties are probably off limits too.
In the US the memorial is the time to go out and buy a new outfit, whereas in Europe you may even be looked down on for doing so. The most you will see is a little extra attention on makeup and hair and for brothers a haircut.
Beards are a no no in the US. In Europe many young brothers sport a styled goatee. Beards are only off limits for giving talks at assemblies, so for those that have skin problems that mean they cannot shave, some of the better speakers are denied parts.
I believe panty hose are a big thing for sisters in the US. This is something never brought up in Europe and sisters rarely wear them in warm weather. Yes, short skirts (just above the knee even) and bare legs are common sights. It is the same for makeup, with sisters pretty much free to choose whether or not to wear it. Appearance is never really a subject of criticism for sisters in Europe. They pretty much do what they want.
Education as we know is off limits in the US and apart from a short window opening around 1995 is/was also off limits in the UK. In Europe, a university education is quite normal among JWs. Many go to university and relatively few appear to leave the organization as a result. There are even a small minority that do PhDs.
And finally I would say (and this is purely observational) that in Europe people tend to be more independent thinkers and don't really care as much what people think of them. They are less conformist and more direct in what they say. They have little problem saying what they think even if they know the person isn't going to like what they say.
I guess the further you get away from the centre point of GB influence/activity, the less hardline the JWs are. Perhaps a bunch of things get lost/toned down in translation too.