Report from Japan (page 2)

Awakenednow

Maybe that's why they chose a Japanese appearing theme for the wife of Lot drama?

nowwhat?

Always encouraging to hear of a good report from far away lands!

Annon

Interesting that the percentage of population in Japan with Internet access is 93.33%

slimboyfat

Discussion of Mormon growth in countries with Internet:

http://cumorah.com/index.php?target=view_case_studies&story_id=339&cat_id=8

Not sure internet access is an important variable.

Difficult to be certain I know, but looking at J.W. yearbook figures I can almost predict which countries have low growth by looking at the percentage Internet access first. Conversely many countries with high growth have low Internet access. But certainly there could be other factors such as education level etc.

ToesUp

The internet is blowing WT out of the water!!! Thank you internet!

slimboyfat

The thing is that Internet access is a factor that is difficult to distinguish from other potentially more significant factors such as wealth and security of a country.

To prove that the Internet is independently a determinant of JW activity you'd need to find poor/insecure countries with high Internet access and vice versa to test it out.

Pippa Norris showed that religiosity generally is higher in counties with low security and development.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sacred-Secular-Religion-Worldwide-Cambridge/dp/1107648378/

I suspect JWs follow the same pattern as outlined in this study, although I've never done the numbers.

In fact I think I can think of a counter example. Internet access has taken longer to grow in Germany than the UK for example, despite Germany being more prosperous. Yet JW growth has been more sluggish in Germany over the past two decades than in the UK. It's weak evidence either way, yet if the Internet significantly slowed growth we might expect the opposite pattern, ceteris paribus.

steve2

ToesUp,

The internet hypothesis implies that JWs disconnect from JW organization on the basis of what they find out on the net.

It is a mere correlation that countries with the most difficulties in terms of JW growth are also highly connected to the internet.

I have a more prosaic hypothesis: As a whole, JWs are not that studious and that the disconnect and consequent decline has more to do with apathy than with apostasy.

Simply put, JW organization is more at risk of member-apathy than member-apostasy. Boredom effects more disengagement than active apostate thinking ever does.

JW GoneBad

Thank you wifibandit!

The internet is indeed a factor to consider when the subject of JW decline is discussed. How many on this forum have learned TTATT on-line? In much of its publications, the WTBTS demonstrates a great deal of concern over the 'misuse' of the internet...especially the need to avoid anti-JW propaganda.

An active JW in good standing would never and I mean never share with anyone in the congregation negative commentary he's read online for fear of being called into the back room.

Diogenesister

Not sure internet access is an important variable.

I know co-relation is not causation but come on - the only countries with any real growth are the poorer lands in Africa and some South American countries which common sense would dictate have way less access to the internet.

Report from Japan

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