Some of the doctrines and practices of Jehovah’s Witnesses go against human rights and damage society.
Let’s change that.
Shunning
Jehovah’s Witnesses doctrine mandates that any former baptized Jehovah’s Witness who has been either disfellowshipped by an internal judicial process or who has chosen to formally disassociate themselves from the religion must be shunned by all remaining members of their community, including close family members.
This doctrine goes against the fundamental Human Right of Freedom of Religion, which includes freedom to change religion or belief systems, and is an emotionally and psychologically damaging practice, especially considering that children as young as 6 can be baptized in the faith and face this level of exclusion if they ever change their belief system.
Child Sexual Abuse
Jehovah’s Witnesses practice around Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) has been exposed to be damaging to children and society as a whole. Their two-witness rule, closed community, ecclesiastical judicial secretism and aversion to using secular judicial system against members of the same religion put children in danger, both inside their organization and in the general public.
In one of the largest government enquiries of the matter to date, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Australia (Australian Royal Commission, or ARC, for short) uncovered that Jehovah’s Witnesses in Australia held a secret database of 1,006 perpetrators of CSA, some with multiple victims, of which 0 had been reported to the authorities since 1950, and just in the Australian territory.
What can we do?
For individuals
Stop donations
If you’re a Jehovah’s Witness who disagrees with their policies on shunning and CSA, you can simply stop donating to them yourself or asking for donations from others.
For Media Agencies
Visibilize the damage
The damage caused by the policies and doctrine of Jehovah’s Witnesses is very real. Visibilizing it in the media helps society react to it.
For Governments
Remove tax exemptions
Jehovah’s Witnesses benefit from state grants and tax exemptions as charities. Governments should remove them until they really act for the public benefit.
Telling your story
If you’re a survivor of shunning or CSA among Jehovah’s Witnesses you know first-hand how damaging their doctrine and malpractice can be.
If these experiences are not visibilized by the victims, through media and governmental authorities, they will never be addressed.