2019 service report is out (page 5)

alanv

Interesting stats about Scotland. However how does anyone know the actual figures from Scotland. They are part of the United Kingdom so the figures come under the title of Britain.

LV101

Is the retention of JW children in Scotland because of the chokehold and shunning the religion has in place like in the US?

I think quite a few people imagine the JWs as being wealthy. I had more than a couple of people ask this years ago -- people in the service industry - manicurists, etc. I couldn't believe people actually thought this -- what a dichotomy -- others noticed how unkempt/neglected their yards were and how old, dilapidated their cars, etc., were. I'm sure this is not the case for many JWs and some really know how to bargain shop. With all the membership requirements re/JWs time, money, auto expense, etc., and other contributions, it's amazing they can afford much for themselves. They save money on holidays, college and that's huge! The governing goon squad wants all that extra cash.

sir82

I think quite a few people imagine the JWs as being wealthy.

Depends on your perspective.

In the US, for example, a typical US native wouldn't think so.

But for a recent immigrant, one who came with virtually nothing and now works 60-80 hours a week and sends 80% of their earnings back home, seeing other JWs "just like me" with nicer clothes, a functioning rust-free car, and a house, well, JWism seems like the path to a much better life. So why not listen to them?

Virtually all growth in the USA is in foreign language congregations, and virtually all of that growth comes from immigrants who are the target of those congregations.

I imagine it is similar in other countries.

slimboyfat

The figure for the number of JWs in Scotland 1960 was supplied to the sociologist John Highet by a JW elder at the time called J. Hay, as acknowledged in his book “The Scottish Churches”.

For 2020, I arrived at 9000 as a fair estimate of the number of JWs in Scotland, based on a few things. For example, we know that there are 120 congregations in Scotland (including foreign language) give or take a handful. Given that there are 1618 congregations in Britain as a whole, and 134,000 (average) publishers in Britain as a whole, if the publisher number in Scoland is proportional to the number of congregations that would suggest a total of 9938 publishers in Scotland. It is reasonable to suppose that Scoland has more remote and small congregations than England, so the publisher figure may be slightly lower than the proportional calculation would suggest. So I reduced the estimate by nearly 1000 to ensure a conservative estimate.

If there are 9000 JWs in 120 congregations in Scotland, this would suggest an average figure of 75 publishers per congregation. This seems like a reasonable average figure for Scottish congregations, with central belt congregations being larger and remote congregations being smaller.

In the 2011 census 8543 people self-identified as JWs in Scotland. This figure is 9 years old. On the one hand it includes children and on the other hand not all JWs may have identified themselves for one reason or another. So it’s only a rough guide, but suggests a ballpark figure similar to my estimate.

Attendance at the national convention in Scotland varies between around 8000 and 9000. As I understand it the attendance figure only includes those sitting in seats at any given time, so is only a rough guide, but generally confirms the other sources.

I used all these data combined for a reasonable estimate of 9000 JWs in Scotland in 2020. If it is wrong, then it is not so wrong that it invalidates the trend since 1960 or the comparison with other groups.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that 9000 is an estimate of JW publishers in Scotland, which is a stricter measure of membership than most other churches apply. For example there are 325,000 members of the Church of Scotland, but only around 130,000 attend Sunday services on average.

Phizzy

I think your Calcs. must be very close to the reality for Scotland Slim. In an earlier Post, you said " but they are doing well compared with many other groups in secularising societies."

I wonder if you have any ideas on why the J.W's are more successful at keeping members, despite the way Society is going ?

slimboyfat

Why are JWs doing better than other groups?

I think the threat of shunning is a huge factor. Most other churches don’t have this. Even other churches that practice disfellowshipping, such as Christadelphians, are much more relaxed about enforcement. It doesn’t usually mean cutting ties completely, as it often does with JWs. For the vast majority of churches it is pretty much expected that children will probably not follow parents in attending church, and there is no impact on family life whatever.

When I say shunning keeps JW numbers up, I don’t think JW children often make the conscious calculation to remain a JW despite not believing it because they don’t want to be shunned. I am sure there are some people in that position, but they are perhaps outnumbered by people who simply never contemplate leaving JWs because their whole social and mental world is built around JWs and they can’t conceive leaving it behind. They probably don’t explicitly make the connection between shunning and remaining a JW, but it is the unspoken mechanism in background which makes the idea unthinkable for many JWs.

Another smaller factor is probably their preaching. As ineffective as JW preaching is, it still no doubt attracts the odd(!) person now and again to join the group. It may seem like tiny numbers, but baptising a member of the public, even one every couple of years or so per congregation, adds up, and is miles ahead of most others churches.

JWs also have a strong sense of group identity, history, and idea of the future, which are powerful narratives that inscribe lives with meaning and hold communities together. The JW message may be simplistic, but that may also be its strength compared with other groups that struggle to agree shared positions and outlooks.

Factors that don’t help JWs are how incredibly boring the meetings are, lack of freedom and creativity, and the simple lack of kitchen and social facilities in most KHs. If JWs could somehow improve the social and creative aspects of their religion I reckon they could be doing better than they are.

Earnest

I would suggest there are a number of reasons for the progress in Africa.

First of all Watchtower publications have been available in most African countries for many years. In South Africa since 1903, in Malawi since 1910, in Zambia since 1911, in Zimbabwe since 1916, in Namibia since 1928, in the DR Congo since 1930, in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania since 1931, in Ethiopia since 1935 and so on. In many of these countries the Watchtower publications were the first publications written (or translated) in their languages.

Secondly, this translation into African languages is ongoing. In 2019 alone there have been translations of the NWT in ten African languages - Kongo (Angola, DR Congo, Congo), Bassa (Cameroon), Nzema (Ghana, Ivory Coast), Luo (Kenya, Tanzania), Tiv (Nigeria), Shona (Zimbabwe), Venda, Afrikaans, Xhosa, and Kwanyama (South Africa). Needless to say, the Watchtower and other publications are also available in all these languages.

Try and imagine that very little or nothing is printed in your native tongue. Now there is something. No wonder there is an increase.

slimboyfat

Good point Earnest, the print publications have been very important in spreading the JW message in Africa. There are a few studies which acknowledge this, for example the importance of print literature in JW religious life is discussed here.

Kirsch, T. G. (2007). Ways of reading as religious power in print globalization. American Ethnologist, 34(3), 509-520.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Thomas_Kirsch3/publication/27224560_Kirsch_Ways_of_Reading_as_Religious_Power_in_Print_Globalization_2007/links/58ac714daca272af0663ef02/Kirsch-Ways-of-Reading-as-Religious-Power-in-Print-Globalization-2007.pdf

Plus there seems to be government support for some JW literacy programmes, as apparently advocated by a brother in this dissertation.

Chisenga, C. (2013). An Evaluation of the Literacy Programme Offered by the Church: A Case of Selected Jehovah's Witness Congregations in Chongwe District in Zambia (Doctoral dissertation, University of Zambia).

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/7452/d7652f6af4927facb108ed33d83e2ffc1203.pdf

Plus the similar importance of support for indigenous languages in Mexico documented in this dissertation.

Barchas-Lichtenstein, J. (2013). " When the dead are resurrected, how are we going to speak to them?": Jehovah's Witnesses and the Use of Indigenous Languages in the Globalizing Textual Community (Doctoral dissertation, UCLA).

https://escholarship.org/content/qt2c67f371/qt2c67f371.pdf

And journal article.

Hansen, M. P. (2010). Nahuatl among Jehovah's Witnesses of Hueyapan, Morelos: A case of Spontaneous revitalization. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2010(203), 125-137.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Magnus_Pharao_Hansen/publication/249930538_Nahuatl_among_Jehovah's_Witnesses_of_Hueyapan_Morelos_A_case_of_spontaneous_revitalization/links/548a12a40cf214269f1ac1da/Nahuatl-among-Jehovahs-Witnesses-of-Hueyapan-Morelos-A-case-of-spontaneous-revitalization.pdf

2019 service report is out

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