Being Jehovah’s Witnesses: Living in the World Without Being Part of It

This paper aims at furnishing some useful interpretative keys to understand, on the one hand, the decision to become Jehovah’s Witnesses and, on the other, the consolidation of this choice through identification with an organization that stands in a unique positi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of CESNUR
Main Author: Di Marzio, Raffaella 1958- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: [2020]
In: The journal of CESNUR
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Rambo, Lewis 1943- / Conversion (Religion) / Model / Jehovah's Witnesses / Social identity
RelBib Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
AE Psychology of religion
AZ New religious movements
Further subjects:B Lewis Rambo
B Conversion: Psychological Models
B Religion / Affiliation
B Religious Conversion
B Jehovah’s Witnesses
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
Description
Summary:This paper aims at furnishing some useful interpretative keys to understand, on the one hand, the decision to become Jehovah’s Witnesses and, on the other, the consolidation of this choice through identification with an organization that stands in a unique position within society. The chosen reference framework is the multi-disciplinary model, which Lewis Rambo and others developed to study the conversion/affiliation process, within the reference framework of the psychology of religion. Through bibliographical research, it was possible to single out studies that explore these converts’ characteristics and the kind of relationship-identification that forms between each member of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the religion they have affiliated with. Differently from what some have argued, becoming Jehovah’s Witnesses does not mean to “isolate” oneself or oppose the world, but rather to relate to the world as evangelizers, who aim to motivate those “on the outside” to share their doctrine, intended as a possible way to salvation for anyone who accepts it.
ISSN:2532-2990
Contains:Enthalten in: The journal of CESNUR
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.26338/tjoc.2020.4.6.6