Religious beliefs and practices For instance, they teach that Jesus is the son of God but is not part of a Trinity. By traditional measures of religious commitment, Jehovah's Witnesses are one of the most highly religious major U.S. religious groups.
Witnesses hold a number of traditional Christian views but also many that are unique to them. They affirm that God—Jehovah—is the most high. Jesus Christ is God's agent, through whom sinful humans can be reconciled to God. The Holy Spirit is the name of God's active force in the world.
Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate Christmas, birthdays, or any holidays with a pagan origin. They are also prohibited from entering into what they consider unclean practices such as receiving blood transfusions, and entering military service is prohibited.
Jehovah's Witnesses originated as a branch of the Bible Student movement, which developed in the United States in the 1870s among followers of Christian restorationist minister Charles Taze Russell.
Jehovah's Witnesses reject foods containing blood but have no other special dietary requirements. Some Jehovah's Witnesses may be vegetarian and others may abstain from alcohol, but this is a personal choice. Jehovah's Witnesses do not smoke or use other tobacco products.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus is God's "only-begotten Son", and that his life began in heaven. He is described as God's first creation and the "exact representation of God", but is believed to be a separate entity and not part of a Trinity.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that after death the soul is unconscious or non-existent, until the end of the world when God will resurrect the dead to live in an earthly paradise or, for a chosen few, rule in Heaven.
Jehovah's Witnesses teach that salvation is possible only through Christ's ransom sacrifice and that individuals cannot be saved until they repent of their sins and call on the name of Jehovah. Salvation is described as a free gift from God, but is said to be unattainable without good works that are prompted by faith.
Jehovah's Witnesses accept medial and surgical treatment. They do not adhere to so-called “faith healing” and are not opposed to the practice of medicine.
Jehovah's Witnesses have also been criticized because they reject blood transfusions, even in life-threatening medical situations, and of failing to report cases of sexual abuse to the authorities. Many of the claims are denied by Jehovah's Witnesses and some have also been disputed by courts and religious scholars.
They believe Jesus' refusal to rule the kingdoms of the world as offered by the Devil, his refusal to be made king of Israel by the Jews, and his statements that he, his followers, and his kingdom are not part of the world, provide the bases for not being involved in politics or government.
Beliefs & Teachings about Death
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that when a person dies, their existence completely stops. This is because the Bible makes it clear that human beings do not have an immortal soul that survives when the body dies. Witnesses believe that Hell (as traditionally portrayed) does not exist.
Rapper The Notorious B.I.G., aka Christopher Wallace, was raised in the Jehovah's Witness faith by his mother Voletta Wallace, who is still active in the religion today. Actress and television host Sherri Shepherd was raised as a Jehovah's Witness but no longer practices the faith.
With this historic change, the number of Jehovah's Witnesses grew 3% in the United States in 2021 alone, matching the most significant increase for the organization over the past decade and the second-largest percentage increase since 1990.
Jehovah's Witnesses endeavor to remain "separate from the world", which they regard as a place of moral contamination and under the control of Satan. Witnesses refuse to participate in any political and military activity and are told to limit social contact with non-Witnesses.
The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT) is a translation of the Bible published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society; it is used and distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that exactly 144,000 faithful Christians from Pentecost of 33 AD until the present day will be resurrected to heaven as immortal spirit beings to spend eternity with God and Christ. They believe that these people are "anointed" by God to become part of the spiritual "Israel of God".
According to Jehovah's Witnesses, cremation is permissible. Whether a dead person is cremated or not, Jehovah is not limited in his ability to restore the person to life with a new body.
The Watchtower has stated that the use of wedding rings by Witnesses is acceptable, even though wedding rings may have first been used by pagans, based on its conclusion that there is no definite evidence wedding rings were used "as part of false religious practices" (emphasis from original).
Jehovah, artificial Latinized rendering of the name of the God of Israel. The name arose among Christians in the Middle Ages through the combination of the consonants YHWH (JHVH) with the vowels of Adonai (“My Lord”).
Jehovah's witnesses do not celebrate national or religious holidays or birthdays. The only day they do memorialize is Jesus Christ's death around the time of Easter and Passover.
6. They limit contact with non-Jehovah's Witnesses. Followers are discouraged from having close relationships with those who are not part of the faith. People who are “worldly” are seen as bad influences or “bad associations.”
Jehovah's Witnesses adhere to the Bible's view of marriage and divorce. Monogamy between one man and one woman and sex only within marriage are requirements in the Witness religion. But Witnesses do permit divorce in certain cases, believing that the only valid ground for divorce and remarriage is adultery.