An Analysis of Conversion Narratives of Jehovah’s Witnesses and Their Relationships to Stages of Religious Judgment
This article examines the processes of those converting to Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the effects of those conversions. Based on the analysis of 9 conversion narratives using biographical interviews, I argue that conversions to Jehovah’s Witnesses are located on a continuum dependent upon the backgrou...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2006
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| In: |
Research in the social scientific study of religion
Year: 2006, Volume: 17, Pages: 1-38 |
| Further subjects: | B
History of religion studies
B Social sciences B Religionswissenschaften B Religion & Gesellschaft |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article examines the processes of those converting to Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the effects of those conversions. Based on the analysis of 9 conversion narratives using biographical interviews, I argue that conversions to Jehovah’s Witnesses are located on a continuum dependent upon the background of converts. On one side, converts originating from (mostly) Catholic backgrounds grew up in a relatively rigid Christian environment, which they regarded as largely meaningless, and their conversions were fostered by the need for a clear-cut interpretation of the Bible. On the other end of the continuum, converts reported disorganized backgrounds. I will also discuss the relationship between these conversions and Fritz Oser’s theory of religious judgment. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Research in the social scientific study of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/9789047411413_005 |