Title: Why some Jehovah's Witnesses accept blood and conscientiously reject official Watchtower Society blood policy. comment on D. Malyon and on D. T. Ridley Source: Journal of Medical Ethics v. 26 no5 (Oct. 2000) p. 375-80 Journal Code: J Med Ethics Additional Info: United Kingdom Standard No: ISSN: 0306-6800 Details: bibl f. Language: English Review: Peer-reviewed journal Abstract: In their responses to Dr Osamu Muramoto (hereafter Muramoto) Watchtower Society (hereafter WTS) spokesmen David Malyon and Donald Ridley (hereafter Malyon and Ridley), deny many of the criticisms levelled against WTS by Muramoto. In this paper I argue as a Jehovah's Witness (hereafter JW) and on behalf of the members of AJWRB that there is no biblical basis for the WTS's partial ban on blood and that this dissenting theological view should be made clear to all JW patients who reject blood on religious grounds. Such patients should be guaranteed confidentiality should they accept whole blood or components that are banned by the WTS. I argue against Malyon's and Ridley's claim that WTS policy allows freedom of conscience to individual JWs and that it is non-coercive and non-punitive in dealing with conscientious dissent and I challenge the notion that there is monolithic support of the WTS blood policy among those who identify themselves as JWs and carry the WTS "advance directive".
Title: Sect-state relations: accounting for the differing trajectories of Seventh-Day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses. Source: Sociology of Religion v. 56 (Winter '95) p. 351-77 Journal Code: Sociol Relig Additional Info: United States Standard No: ISSN: 1069-4404 Details: bibl. Language: English Abstract: Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses share common roots; both began as apocalyptic sects with premillennial expectations; both rejected political participation as contaminating and distracting from their God-given purposes; both expected to be the object of persecution from the state; and both held theological positions that put them out of step with demands of the state, such as a refusal to bear arms in wartime. However, over time they followed very different trajectories in the matter of relations with governments. While the Witnesses increased their intransigence and endured considerable persecution, Adventists increasingly compromised their original positions, prizing governmental approval. If, following Stark and Bainbridge, the degree of tension with state and society is involved as the measure of a religious group's position on the church-sect continuum, Witnesses are found to be an "established sect" while Adventists have traveled a considerable distance from sect towards denomination. This paper sets out to account for these differing trajectories. In doing so, it focuses on the evolution of the relationships of these sects with governments, paying particular attention to these relations in times of war and heightened nationalism. The data lead to an interpretation that finds several related, interacting factors. These include the degree organizational openness, ideological rigidity, apocalyptic urgency, the intensity with which they indoctrinate converts, and the extent to which they have faced persecution. These factors together shape the group's relations with the state and society, and consequently also its position on the church-sect continuum. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.
Title: "It separated the wheat from the chaff": the "1975" prophecy and its impact among Dutch Jehovah's Witnesses. Source: Sociological Analysis v. 50 (Spring '89) p. 23-40 Journal Code: Sociol Anal Additional Info: United States Standard No: ISSN: 0038-0210 Details: bibl. Language: English
(Note: I have this article and it is a very, very good one)
Title: Domestication, Sacralization, Instrumentalization of Sexuality: The Case of Jehovah's Witnesses and the Hassidim Domestication, sacralisation, instrumentalisation de la sexualite: le cas des Temoins de Jehovah et des Hassidim Source: Social Compass 1996, 43, 1, Mar, 67-79. Additional Info: United Kingdom Standard No: ISSN: 0037-7686 CODEN: SLCSAZ Language: French Abstract: The social influences on intragroup sexual relations for members of the Jehovah's Witnesses & the Lubavitcher Hassidim are explored. The outcome of processes of domestication, sacralization, & instrumentalization of sexual practices are identified among these religious groups, especially for women. For both the Jehovah's Witnesses & the Hassidim, the "natural impurity" & nonexternal nature of sexuality require measures that domesticate & sanctify sexuality & also sustain the organizational & charismatic legitimacy of the group leaders. While Jehovah's Witnesses exhort members to keep families small in relation to the household economy, the Hassidim are urged to procreate & establish large families. The organizational & leadership power of both groups derives from the sacralizing & legitimizing modification of the normal ethical code, a response to challenges by Roman Catholicism & the modern Westernized world. 52 References. Adapted from the source document.
Title: Jehovah's Witnesses and Bible Students. Who Are the Schismatics? Temoins de Jehovah et Etudiants de la Bible. Qui est schismatique? Source: Social Compass 1977, 24, 1, 33-43. Additional Info: Belgium Standard No: ISSN: 0037-7686 CODEN: SLCSAZ Language: French Abstract: Russell's failure to provide his movement with a clear authority structure, together with the disappointment of 1914 when the prediction of the world's end failed to be fulfilled, led to central & local schisms after his death in which informal elites in the Movement struggled for power. Jehovah's Witnesses split into different groups, each emphasizing a part of the message. The Pastoral Bible Instit catered to the introversionist perspective of individual character development & contemplative study; the Laymen's Home Missionary Movement emphasized the exegetical & doctrinal complexity surveyed by a charismatic leader; the Watch Tower Society under Rutherford concentrated on evangelization & concomitantly promoted a rigid centrally located sect structure; & the Dawn Bible Student Assoc catered to those in Russell's following who avoided extremes & moved toward a denominational position. Rutherford, through the Watch Tower Society, succeeded in changing all aspects of the sect from 1919 to 1932 & created Jehovah's Witnesses--a charismatic offshoot of the Bible student community. The relationship between the various Witness groups is used to illustrate a number of sociological issues. An "introversionist" group which stresses its esoteric doctrine can be indifferent to numerical growth, & even discourage it; on the other hand, there have been numerous revolutionary sects for which recruitment has been an end in itself. Russell's group has been caught between these two contradictory tendencies because its doctrine of the elect is not ideally congruent with its goal of worldwide evangelization. The development of the Dawn Bible Student Assoc illustrates how external-internal recruitment tends to transform a sect into a confessional denomination. Appropriate belief modifications have taken place (eg, deemphasis on millenarianism). It is difficult to predict whether the Witnesses will continue their revolutionary ideology or opt to become a denomination. Modified HA.
Title: An Introduction to Research and Analysis of Jehovah's Witnesses: A View from the Watchtower Source: Review of Religious Research 2001, 43, 2, Dec, 161-174. Additional Info: United States Standard No: ISSN: 0034-673X CODEN: RVRRAU Language: English Abstract: The Jehovah's Witnesses are one of the world's fastest growing religious groups. They are well known for their distinctive beliefs, door-to-door proselytism, political neutrality, & legal battles for religious freedom. However, as Rodney Stark & Laurence R. Iannaccone have recently noted, research on the Jehovah's Witnesses is surprisingly scarce. This paper seeks to assist non-Witness scholars interested in studying Witness teachings, activities, & institutions. The Watchtower, Awake!, annual yearbooks, & many other Witness publications are primary sources, readily available in Witness congregations throughout the US & the world. Most congregations also maintain archives of past publications in their libraries. Any researcher can use these & many other sources to document Witness statements, statistics, trends, & organizational developments. 10 References. Adapted from the source document.
Title: Jehovah's Witnesses and Child Custody Cases in the United States, 1996-1998 Source: Review of Religious Research 2001, 42, 4, June, 372-386. Additional Info: United States Standard No: ISSN: 0034-673X CODEN: RVRRAU Language: English Abstract: Disputes over children's religious training between divorced or separated parents can become the most acrimonious of judicial disputes. When one parent is a member of a nonmainstream or minority religion, the religious differences can be an added source of tension. This study sought to provide basic demographic & litigation-related data about US child custody cases involving Jehovah's Witnesses, & to explore the relationship between various litigation variables & the outcome of child custody cases. The data were collected from cases in which the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York, the corporate entity for Jehovah's Witnesses, activated a file for the purpose of monitoring, consultation, or litigation, 1996-1998. Outcome & other data about the parents were collected from the congregation elders where the parent attended meetings. While this study was exploratory & preliminary in nature, the results suggest that the religious beliefs & practices of Jehovah's Witnesses were not the primary factor related to the dissolution of the marriage. While religion is commonly labeled as the principal issue at the beginning of the litigation, it is rarely a factor in the conclusion or settlement of the case. Studies examining the relationship between a child's involvement in these cases & their future social/psychological adjustment & religious preferences may provide important & meaningful information. 8 Tables, 2 References. Adapted from the source document.
Title: Social Upheaval, Organizational Change, and Religious Commitment: The Jehovah's Witnesses in Cuba, 1938-1965 Conference: Southwestern Sociological Association (SWSA ) (1979 : ) Language: English Abstract: Analysis of membership & activity data of the Jehovah's Witnesses in Cuba during 1938-1965 indicates two general trends: (1) Between 1938 & 1947, the membership increased from 100 to 4,000 members while the average activism levels (amount of religious activity per member) gradually decreased. The decrease in organizational commitment is associated with increasing congregational size, which in turn decreases the possibility of primary relations & the continuation of a sense of belonging & organizational loyalty. (2) Between 1948 & 1965, the size of the average congregation remained at roughly thirty-five members. This figure enabled members to develop a high degree of religious commitment, & this period is associated with increasingly higher per capita religious activity. This trend was maintained until the Cuban Watchtower Society was banned in 1965. The data suggest a need for a conceptual refinement of the church-sect model using the collective behavior & social movement approach. Aguirre, Benigno E.
Title: Watchtower Influences on Black Muslim Eschatology: An Exploratory Study Source: Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 1970, 9, 4, Win, 321-325. Additional Info: United States Standard No: ISSN: 0021-8294 CODEN: JSSRBT Language: English Abstract: Black Muslims appear to have been influenced in the early 1930's by Watchtower eschatological teachings. Using content analysis of the primary sources of both movements, 6 r's are discussed: 1914, deferred end of time; millennium now beginning; Battle of Armageddon; 144,000; New World on earth; & non-immortality of souls. A search of primary & secondary sources indicates that there is some evidence of direct contact between the movements during the incipient phase of the Black Muslim movement. One explanation offered for the apparent influence would emphasize the cryptic ambiguity of the Watchtower doctrines because they permit multiple interpretation. Cryptic ambiguity is attributed to those labyrinthine statements which, when conglomerated for interpretation, tend to denote more than one level &/or dimension of conceivable interpretation. It is possible that cryptic ambiguity enhances the prestige & hence the influenceability of the source.
Title: The influence of religion on President Eisenhower's upbringing. Source: Journal of American & Comparative Cultures v. 23 no4 (Winter 2000) p. 89-107 Journal Code: J Am Comp Cult Additional Info: United States Standard No: ISSN: 1537-4726 Details: bibl. Language: English Review: Peer-reviewed journal Abstract: A discussion of the influence of early Watchtower theology on President Eisenhower's upbringing.
Title: Papa was a Jehovah's Witness. with excerpt from Father's touch Source: Gay & Lesbian Review v. 9 no4 (July/Aug. 2002) p. 24-7 Journal Code: Gay Lesb Rev Additional Info: United States Standard No: ISSN: 1077-6591 Language: English Abstract: Part of a special issue on the crisis in the U.S. Catholic Church over gay priests and sexual abuse. The writer reflects on his experience of abuse as a child. He demonstrates how the abuser, his father, used the theology of the Jehovah's Witnesses to support his craving and justify his actions. He questions why victims of abuse are so slow at coming forward to report their experiences. He contends that, at least for boys, this is due to the culturally imposed shame that is attached to homosexual contact; while most victims are not gay, the fact that they were targeted for abuse somehow raises doubts about their masculinity. He concludes that, as the current crisis in the Catholic Church reveals, powerful institutions can stand as formidable barriers to the disclosure of sexual abuse.
Title: Jehovah's Witnesses and the Empire of the Sun: a clash of faith and religion during World War II. Source: Journal of Church and State v. 44 no1 (Winter 2002) p. 45-72 Journal Code: J Church State Additional Info: United States Standard No: ISSN: 0021-969X Language: English Review: Peer-reviewed journal Abstract: The writer examines the plight of Jehovah's Witnesses in Japan during World War 2. From 1939 to 1946, there were no communications from Jehovah's Witnesses in Japan; their experiences were completely unrecorded outside of the country until the publication of the 1947 Yearbook. Throughout World War 2, Witnesses in Japan faced a desperate battle for survival, enduring prison sentences, beatings, and torture. From the 60 Witnesses in Japan at the end of World War 2, there are now approximately 220,500. Even in the modern climate, however, substantial membership will not necessarily protect this or any other minority religion from the emotion-stirring forces of nationalism and patriotism. Although neutral to national politics, Jehovah's Witnesses can become the litmus test for human rights protection. Given that they are not outlawed in any country with minimum standards of religious freedom and the rule of law, it can be assumed that where their work is compromised, other groups, nationalities, and interests are also at risk.
Title: Disciplined litigation, vigilant litigation, and deformation: dramatic organization change in Jehovah's Witnesses. Source: Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion v. 40 no1 (Mar. 2001) p. 11-26 Journal Code: J Sci Stud Relig Additional Info: United States Standard No: ISSN: 0021-8294 Details: bibl. Language: English Review: Peer-reviewed journal Abstract: Jehovah's Witnesses' long-term development presents an interesting case of evolution in line with the "deformation thesis," an attempt at explaining dramatic shifts in organizational forms, activities, and even beliefs in controversial religious minorities. Derived from resource mobilization tradition, this thesis assumes that radical transformations result from major defensive resource allocation mandated by negative reactions of societal institutions. This is especially the case with reference to the adoption by Jehovah's Witnesses, a millenarian group, of a "disciplined litigation" strategy in the 1940s, a pattern later to be incorporated in religious activities and beliefs of the organization. Today, disciplined litigation and its successor, "vigilant litigation," seem legitimate ways to adapt to the prevailing religious climate and structure. As such, it can be conceived as a model for defensive moves taken by "younger" controversial religious minorities and reflects the enormous influence of the law and legal systems in shaping minority religions. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.
(This looks maybe up your alley.)
Title: Jehovah's Witnesses' request for recognition as a corporation under public law in Germany: background, current status, and empirical aspects. Source: Journal of Church and State v. 43 no1 (Winter 2001) p. 35-48 Journal Code: J Church State Additional Info: United States Standard No: ISSN: 0021-969X Details: bibl f. Language: English Review: Peer-reviewed journal Abstract: The writers examine the situation of Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany. They begin by outlining the harassment of Jehovah's Witnesses during the Weimar Republic and their persecution in Nazi German and in the GDR, showing how the major churches aided the actions of the state. They then detail the recent difficulties that have confronted this religious society in its efforts to be recognized as a corporation under German public law. In addressing allegations that the religious association of Jehovah's Witnesses presents a "danger" to the state and society and therefore does not fulfill the preconditions necessary for gaining corporate status, they analyze a survey of its members, focusing on data that are of particular interest in light of the current debate in Germany.
Title: When Festinger fails: prophecy and the Watch tower. Source: Religion v. 24 (Oct. '94) p. 293-308 Journal Code: Religion Additional Info: United Kingdom Standard No: ISSN: 0048-721X Language: English Abstract: An examination of the responses of Jehovah's Witnesses to failed predictions regarding the date for the coming of Christ's millennial reign. Within its history, the Watch Tower--a millenarian movement within the Jehovah's Witness Church--has often set dates for Armageddon, which have subsequently been disconfirmed. Leon Festinger has argued that such disconfirmations of prophecy lead only to deepened conviction and increased proselytism to convince others that the original belief was correct. Applying Festinger's hypotheses to the prophetic speculation of the Watch Tower, the writer contends that his model fails to recognize how complex organizations and systems of belief shape responses to disconfirmed prophecy. He concludes that it is the very power of the Watch Tower as a millenarian movement that allows not only the rationalization of disconfirmation but the retrospective denial of the prophecy itself.
Title: The First Amendment: The Finished Mystery Case and World War I. Source: Social Education v54 n6 p366-68 Oct 1990 Standard No: ISSN: 0037-7724 Clearinghouse: SO521464 Language: English Abstract: Introduces the censorship, and imprisonment of Jehovah's Witnesses who distributed, "The Finished Mystery," which contained antiwar statements deemed seditious during World War I. Asks students to examine a Justice Department document pertaining to the case. Helps students decide whether national security needs should override First Amendment freedoms. Also suggests a writing exercise on another constitutional question. (CH)
Title: Apocalyptic thinking, autonomy, and sociotropy. Source: Psychological Reports Vol 90(3,Pt2) (Jun 2002): 1069-1074 Additional Info: US; Psychological Reports; http:\\www.pr-pms.com/index.cfm?page=sub Standard No: ISSN: 0033-2941 (Print) Language: English Abstract: As the millennium approached there was a unique opportunity to examine beliefs about impending apocalyptic events. In March 1998, 60 English participants (aged 20-35 yrs), including 20 Jehovah's Witnesses, 20 Roman Catholics, and 20 Methodists, completed a four-dimension scale of Positive and Negative Autonomy and Positive and Negative Sociotropy and a questionnaire, Apocalyptic Thinking, on the millennium containing questions on apocalyptic beliefs. The aim of the study was to investigate the apocalyptic beliefs of a number of Christian denominations and examine the relationship between scores on apocalyptic thinking about the millennium and group cohesion. Jehovah's Witnesses scored highest on all scales except Positive Autonomy, and the Catholics had higher Negative Sociotropy and Apocalyptic Thinking scores than the Methodists. Negative Sociotropy scores correlated positively with Apocalyptic Thinking scores for all groups. These data suggest significant positive relationship between these Christian endorsements of the likelihood of apocalyptic events at the millennium and the extent to which they perceive nonmembers of their denomination as 'outsiders'. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2003 APA, all rights reserved)
Title: Translated Title: The Jehova's Witnesses - psychological aspects of membership and leaving the group. Source: Ceskoslovenska Psychologie Vol 46(4) (2002): 323-339 Additional Info: Czech Republic; Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences/Inst of Psychology; http:\\www.cas.cz/ Standard No: ISSN: 0009-062X (Print) Language: Czech Abstract: Examined the attitudes and experience of former members of the religious society Jehovah's Witnesses, focusing on circumstances of the first contact with the group, on the period of active membership, and on the mental distress accompanying leaving the group. The members report they are thoroughly indoctrinated and are usually strongly in support of the organization that asks for complete attachment from them. The level of confidence in the group is high and it is connected with the level of attained education. The first phase of membership is usually accompanied by a positive experience and positive emotions. During conflicts and leaving the group the evident increase of negative experience and negative emotions appears; these are related to length of membership. By means of Eysenck's Personality Questionnaire, the author determined that almost two thirds of respondents tended to introversion and 35 percent scored as emotionally unstable. In the milieu of Jehovah's Witnesses, signs characterizing sect groups occur, including the components of mental manipulation: controlled behavior, controlled thinking, controlled emotions and controlled information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2003 APA, all rights reserved)
Title: Wifely subjection: Mental health issues in Jehovah's Witness women. Source: Cultic Studies Journal Special Issue: Women under the influence. Vol 14(1) (1997): 106-144 Additional Info: US; American Family Foundation; http:\\www.csj.org Standard No: ISSN: 0748-6499 (Print) Language: English Abstract: Explores the relationship between women and the high-control social climate of the Watchtower Society (WTS), commonly referred to as Jehovah's Witnesses. This article reports the results of a survey of 20 female former members of WTS aged 21-74 yrs who had been in WTS for 1-35 yrs. The survey explored 3 areas: (1) the degree of patriarchal versus egalitarian attitudes Ss felt existed while they were members of WTS compared to what they experienced after having left the group, (2) Ss' perceived psychological distress while in the group and after exiting, and (3) Ss' perceptions of the degree to which the group controlled everyday life and isolated members from outsiders. The results indicate that while in WTS, women experience a higher degree of mental health problems than they do after they leave the group. They also report experiencing more egalitarian attitudes in their relationships with men after exiting the group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2003 APA, all rights reserved)
(This looks really interesting)
Title: Jehovah's witnesses: Recruitment and enculturation in a millennial sect. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International Vol 43(1-A) (Jul 1982): 203 Additional Info: US; Univ Microfilms International Brose, Alberta J.
Sorry I don't have the authors for most of these.......... Hope this helps.....
