Did your congregation have cliques?

Lost in the fog

Ours did. Usually centred around two competing elders (or the elder's wife). It could made obvious by whether you got to answer in the WT study. The same ones got taken again and again even if there were newer students trying to answer.

I know some young ones would bet in advance of the meeting among themselves that brother so-and-so or sis such-and-such would hold the floor and answer more times than any other person. Lol.

I met a JW recently and we were chatting and I asked them in a jokey way if there were still the same cliques. They rolled their eyes and said it had got a lot worse because of pioneers who had moved in, followed by more of their family members, and even a few from the pioneers former Cong. Resulting in a new cult of the personality!

A cult within a cult. I'm sure it was the same in your hall?

Simon

I think every congregation did, but then I think every group of a few dozen people or more tend to as it's just human nature.

LongHairGal

LOST IN THE FOG:

Just host a party sometime and watch the people as they mingle. After fifteen minutes you will see little groups assemble and talk among themselves. Can’t help it.

I definitely saw cliques in the JW congregation. I believe the Witness religion lends itself to cliques in the first place because of all the labels they have. And they are just a bit nastier than ‘worldly’ cliques with their hateful gossip.

I was a single working woman and I was in a clique all by myself. Luckily, I’m a loner. I didn’t really need anybody there..People from other cliques barely said hello. But, so what? I accepted this as normal and I have been Out so many years that this means nothing now.

mickbobcat

Every cong. I was ever in had several clicks. They would talk down about the others when they were not around. I never saw a difference in the JW cult than in any other org. The face the cult GB puts on it is a total lie.

Pete Zahut

Looking back, if you were lucky there'd be a Clique in your congregation made up of the more "normal" people...the ones who were JW's but didn't go overboard about it and who liked to do things other than what was JW related. Sometimes it was only a few people in the congregation that you could relate to and the rest seemed to be misfits for one reason or another. One way or another, we always managed to be in one of those cliques and had friends from all over that were in the same kind of cliques in their areas and that's what made being a JW tolerable. The Conventions were a big Clique meet-up. What they were talking about on stage was secondary....it was all about what would happen after the assembly.

punkofnice

There were cliques even in the Body of Eldubs.

If you were in the right gang, you'd get parts on CONventions and A$$emb£ies. If not, you were considered an misfit.

Funnily enough, the favoured clique guys were the ones with big houses and money. Funny that!

mickbobcat

Yes Punk, I saw in all the cong. I was in the elders had groups they would hang with. They would suck up to those elders they liked and would make fun of those that they did not. The picture the cult paints of the elders is almost total bull shit.

Overrated

Yes, the hell(hall) I grew up in had cliques that you would not believe. Working in circus was almost difficult because if you are not high on the social ladder you would be working by yourself. Gossip ran wild and soft shunning was par for the course. Real nice people.

LongHairGal

OVERRATED:

When you talk about the ‘social ladder’ 🙄 and the ‘soft shunning’ that was definitely a reality there. The JW religion is just filled with judgment and hateful attitudes. These attitudes must come from the top down!

I think of what I went through because I worked at a full-time job at the time. Why, you would think I had a scarlet ‘A’ embroidered on the front of my clothing or that I had committed some crime! I remember telling a former ‘friend’ in the religion that because I was so criticized for my job I would never tolerate anybody coming up to me looking for money - and that they better Go ask somebody ELSE!! She didn’t like hearing that but too bad!

Good thing I was a loner who had contact with people outside. I was glad I wasn’t raised in the religion and it made it easier to ‘Fade’..They really Do push people out (whether that was their real intention or not)..but I am glad I’m Out many years.

Overrated

Longhairgal- It was hard for me to fade since I was a born in. I had to wear a mask and do alot of fake stuff to get by. Buying my time till I got on my own and out. I never liked those self righteous people anyway. No great lost for me when I faded.

Did your congregation have cliques?

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