Why Opposition?: An Exploration of Hostility Towards Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses have experienced opposition since the Watch Tower Society's inception, and the history of opposition is traced here. Initially, grounds for disapproval were doctrinal, but spanned out to controversies about "miracle wheat" and founder-leader Charles Taze Russe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of CESNUR
Main Author: Chryssides, George D. 1945- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: [2021]
In: The journal of CESNUR
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Russia / Korea / Jehovah's Witnesses / Animosity / Anti-cult movement
RelBib Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
AZ New religious movements
KBK Europe (East)
KBM Asia
KDH Christian sects
Further subjects:B Religious Minorities in Russia
B Joseph Franklin Rutherford
B Charles Taze Russell
B Jehovah's Witnesses
B Religious Minorities
B Counter-Cult Movement
B Religious Minorities in South Korea
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Jehovah's Witnesses have experienced opposition since the Watch Tower Society's inception, and the history of opposition is traced here. Initially, grounds for disapproval were doctrinal, but spanned out to controversies about "miracle wheat" and founder-leader Charles Taze Russell's marital breakdown. Under second leader Joseph Franklin Rutherford, controversy surrounded patriotism and military service. The Witnesses' refusal to celebrate popular festivals attracted subsequent disapprobation, as did allegations of failed prophecy. The Society's stance on blood, disfellowshipping, and shunning have given rise to further unpopularity, and its New World Translation of the Bible has attracted hostility from Christian counter-cult critics. Jehovah's Witnesses have experienced political opposition, and particular attention is given to Russia and South Korea. Most recently, accusations of sexual abuse have gained publicity, and official investigations in Australia and the Netherlands. Finally, the advent of the Internet has enabled critics to organize opposition online. The author does not evaluate these criticisms or examine the Society's rejoinders, but notes that Jehovah's Witnesses continue with faith maintenance, regarding opposition as fulfilment of biblical prophecy.
ISSN:2532-2990
Contains:Enthalten in: The journal of CESNUR
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.26338/tjoc.2021.5.1.2