should-i-become-a-jehovahs-witness
Compare the benefits to the cost. You'll need to conform to a set of constricting rules, meaning that many of the options available to you now will be off the table and many decisions will be made for you. You might prefer not having to make as many decisions such as choosing how to dress
You'll acquire a community, but you don't need that religion or any religion to do that.
You'll be expected to associate preferentially with other JWs.
You may be expected to go door-to-door for them. You'll almost cetainly be required to give them money regularly.
People will view you as belonging to a cult.
You'll risk shunning if you change your mind, but I don't know how much of a negative that would be unless it included family members or came after so many years of inclusion that your social network was mostly or exclusively other JWs.
Cult is just another word for sect
Disagree. The Presbyterians are a sect but not a cult. The Branch Davidians were both.
JWs don't check off as many items on the cult checklist as the Branch Davidians, but come a lot closer than the Presbyterians.
- Absolute authoritarianism without accountability
- Zero tolerance for criticism or questions
- Lack of meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget
- Unreasonable fears about the outside world that often involve evil conspiracies and persecutions
- A belief that former followers are always wrong for leaving and there is never a legitimate reason for anyone else to leave
- Abuse of members
- Records, books, articles, or programs documenting the abuses of the leader or group
- Followers feeling they are never able to be “good enough”
- A belief that the leader is right at all times
- A belief that the leader is the exclusive means of knowing “truth” or giving validation
The JWs might tend toward the other six items. I can't say.
I'm sure that they are authoritarian but might feel accountable to obey the law.
Their tolerance for criticism and questions might be more than zero, but likely not much more.
Abuse of members is subjective unless it goes as far as shaming or inappropriate physical contact. I'm not aware whether the latter is relevant to the JWs.
With 7, 9 and 10, we might need to substitute the governing board for leader.
I highlighted number 4 because of my experience with JWs and their extreme nihilism for society. In my experience, they almost all see the world as a horrible place needing rescue, and they alone are the antidote. I lost the interest of the last JWs at my door when I told them although I was aware that though many lives were miserable, that my world and that of most of the people around me was pretty nice. I'm not exaggerating when I say that at that point and without further discussion, they politely said goodbye and left.
You’re right they do still promote shunning as part of their official teachings, which is awful for the people born into it who don’t have a support system outside of it
Awful, perhaps, but a helpful transition. A shunned JW will simply have to do like the rest of us non-JWs have already done - begin associating with other kinds of people and building a social support system outside of that religion.
