The denomination requires adherence to a strict moral code, which forbids premarital sex, homosexuality, gender transitioning, adultery, smoking, drunkenness and drug abuse, and blood transfusions.
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.
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.”
Thus, Jehovah's Witnesses regularly refuse transfusions for themselves and their children because they believe the procedure creates a risk of losing eternal salvation.
Jehovah's Witnesses don't celebrate birthdays, Christmas, or Easter. Members of the church "believe that such celebrations displease God" and are rooted in pagan traditions.
Members are instructed to not even greet shunned individuals. Disfellowshipped individuals can continue attending public meetings held at the Kingdom Hall, but are shunned by the congregation.
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.
BELIEFS RELATED TO HEALTH CARE
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 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.
The 'anointed'
Based on their understanding of scriptures such as Revelation 14:1-4, Jehovah's Witnesses believe that exactly 144,000 faithful Christians go to heaven to rule with Christ in the kingdom of God.
The Witnesses have nothing against weddings or funerals, but they do have strict religious beliefs that impel them to avoid certain activities and celebrations which, they believe, violate moral principles found in the Bible.
Members believe that only Jehovah's Witnesses will be saved at the end of the world, and of those, only a limited number of the most faithful. Witnesses believe in Heaven, but do not believe in Hell.
A Jehovah's Witness funeral service usually takes place either at the funeral home or in Kingdom Hall, their place of worship. The Congregation Elder will conduct the service, which will include Bible readings and prayers. It may or may not be an open-casket service.
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.
Jehovah's witnesses are not a paying gig.
There is no pay. It's all volunteer work. Anything you'd do as a Jehovah's Witness is voluntary. Unpaid.
Jehovah's Witnesses – According to the Watch Tower Society, the legal corporation for the religion, Jehovah's Witnesses do not encourage organ donation but believe it is a matter best left to an individual's conscience. All organs and tissues, however, must be completely drained of blood before transplantation.
“To us, going door to door is an expression of our God's impartiality,” he said. “We go to everyone and let them choose whether they want to hear us or not.” Even in pre-pandemic times, door-knocking ministry came with anxiety because Witnesses never knew how they would be received at any given home.
A simple phrase. If you say it and don't know that the person is a Witness (and doesn't celebrate birthdays), you're likely to hear, “Thanks.” And that's it. If you say it and you know the person is a Witness and you also know he/she doesn't celebrate birthdays, then you're just committing a faux pas.
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.
blood.” Adherents do not accept blood products, regardless of the possibility of death. For Jehovah's Witnesses, receiving blood products may lead to excommunication from their community and fear of eternal damnation. It's not uncommon for my clinic to have a Jehovah's Witness patient.
A baptized Witness who unrepentantly accepts a blood transfusion is deemed to have disassociated himself from the group by abandoning its doctrines and is subsequently subject to organized shunning by other members.
Individuals vary in their choice and it is important to clearly establish the preference of each patient. Nearly all Jehovah's Witnesses refuse transfusions of whole blood (including preoperative autologous donation) and the primary blood components – red cells, platelets, white cells and unfractionated plasma.
Different forms of Christianity have offered differing views on tattoos are believed to be a sin or not. Jehovah's Witnesses point to Leviticus, a chapter in the Bible that says a person “must not make tattoo markings”on themselves.
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.
Compared with U.S. Christians overall, Jehovah's Witnesses are especially likely to say they attend religious services at least once a week (85%, compared with 47% of all U.S. Christians), pray daily (90% of Jehovah's Witnesses vs.