| Factors: | | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Low High |
1 | Internal Control: Amount of internal political and social power exercised by leader(s) over members; lack of clearly defined organizational rights for members. There is A LOT of internal control over members - mainly to do with disfellowshipping rule which prevents someone leaving unless they are willing to be shunned. | 1 | _________________________ |
2 | External Control: Amount of external political and social influence desired or obtained; emphasis on directing members external political and social behavior. The JWs Say you should be "without spot from the world" this prevents you being involved in social groups who are not JW and any social events that are not JW. Also, you cannot celebrate normal holidays. | 2 | _________________________ |
3 | Wisdom/Knowledge Claimed by leader(s); amount of infallibility declared or implied about decisions or doctrinal/scriptural interpretations; number and degree of unverified and/or unverifiable credentials claimed. The JWs, although not saying they are infallible, DO say that they are the ONLY group directed by Christ. The words of the Watchtower Governing Body are followed to the letter. | 3 | _________________________ |
4 | Wisdom/Knowledge Credited to leader(s) by members; amount of trust in decisions or doctrinal/scriptural interpretations made by leader(s); amount of hostility by members towards internal or external critics and/or towards verification efforts. The JWs (as stated above) believe that they are the only group approved by God at this time. They follow the Watchtower without question. Those who speak out are shunned and disfellowshipped. Reading literature other than JW literature is strongly discouraged. | 4 | _________________________ |
5 | Dogma: Rigidity of reality concepts taught; amount of doctrinal inflexibility orfundamentalism; hostility towards relativism and situationalism. The JWs say that their teachings are scriptural, when actually many many rules are going beyond scripture. Blood doctrine is one example - they now actually approve the use of blood components but not whole blood. This is beyond scripture and harms people. | 5 | _________________________ |
6 | Recruiting: Emphasis put on attracting new members; amount of proselytizing; requirement for all members to bring in new ones. Well, this one is obvious! | 6 | _________________________ |
7 | Front Groups: Number of subsidiary groups using different names from that of main group, especially when connections are hidden. This is not happening in JWs as far as I know, however I do know that most congregations claim to work independently of the Governing Body, yet they are actually just following the Watchtower society's direction in everything - right down to elders phoning up New York if there is a problem. | 7 | _________________________ |
8 | Wealth: Amount of money and/or property desired or obtained by group; emphasis on members donations; economic lifestyle of leader(s) compared to ordinary members. The JW organisation is a multimillion dollar company. They own numerous properties and although they don't ask for money for magazines in certain countries - what they won't tell you is that this arrangement is so that they can get more tax benefits as a "charity" | 8 | _________________________ |
9 | Sexual Manipulation of members by leader(s) of non-tantric groups; amount of control exercised over sexuality of members in terms of sexual orientation, behavior, and/or choice of partners. There are rules about who you may marry as a JW and many people are forced to marry too soon due to pressure. Sex practices not approved by the group will be met with disciplinary action. Other sexual practices that have been concealed however are paedophilia and rape by the elders in some congregations. | 9 | _________________________ |
10 | Sexual Favoritism: Advancement or preferential treatment dependent upon sexual activity with the leader(s) of non-tantric groups.
| 10 | _________________________ |
11 | Censorship: Amount of control over members access to outside opinions on group, its doctrines or leader(s). A JW is not allowed to read opposing literature and is not allowed to speak to a former member. Reading books about other religions is strongly discouraged, and attending another church (even once) could result in disfellowshipping. | 11 | _________________________ |
12 | Isolation: Amount of effort to keep members from communicating with non-members, including family, friends and lovers. JWs disfellowship former members, meaning that current JWs cannot speak to them. The watchtower also tells JWs that those who are not JW are "bad associations" and that we should avoid contact with non-jws. Even family are not as important as other JWs. | 12 | _________________________ |
13 | Dropout Control: Intensity of efforts directed at preventing or returning dropouts. Very intense "rules" to stop people leaving. Threat of losing your friends and family if you choose another faith. If you are JW and you speak out on a doctrinal issue, you are viewed as "gangrene" and are thrown out of the congregation - this is to prevent you telling the current members the truth. | 13 | _________________________ |
14 | Violence: Amount of approval when used by or for the group, its doctrines or leader(s). There is a hierarchy within JWs. If you are a "pioneer" (which means spending lots of time preaching 70 hours a month I think) then you are given special priveledges within the congregation and are invited to all social gatherings. If you are not a pioneer and don't spend much time preaching, you may be shunned. Men are encouraged to take "responsibility" in the congregation and are praised for performing menial tasks. Those who wish to simply attend without this extra work are considered "spiritually weak" | 14 | _________________________ |
15 | Paranoia: Amount of fear concerning real or imagined enemies; exaggeration of perceived power of opponents; prevalence of conspiracy theories. Oh this definately happens in JWs! Firstly, they show the "world" of non-jws as evil and dangerous. yes, the world is dangerous, but this is emphasised so much that JWs are AFRAID to leave the pseudo security of the JW organisation. Then there is the preoccupation with demons. JWs think that if you are not protected by Jehovah, demons will possess you. They may even get into your home via items bought second hand, or whatever. This paranoia is so extreme. | 15 | _________________________ |
16 | Grimness: Amount of disapproval concerning jokes about the group, its doctrines or its leader(s). JWs laugh at JW jokes. :) | 16 | _________________________ |
17 | Surrender of Will: Amount of emphasis on members not having to be responsible for personal decisions; degree of individual disempowerment created by the group, its doctrines or its leader(s). The JWs will follow the advice of the society for EVERY decision. Try asking your JW friend for advice on something fairly complex, and they will refer you to a recent watchtower on the subject. Independent thinking is actually discouraged. | 17 | _________________________ |
18 | Hypocrisy: amount of approval for actions which the group officially considers immoral or unethical, when done by or for the group, its doctrines or leader(s); willingness to violate the groups declared principles for political, psychological, social, economic, military, or other gain. They are false prophets but condemn other religions for being such. They harbour and protect paedophiles and rapists, they were an NGO for the United Nations whilst at the same time declaring that the UN was the "wild beast", the Watchtower originated with a man who was involved in the occult - yet they criticise other groups who have such associations....the list goes on. The JWs are a cult. Sirona | | |
