Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement [Paperback]

Andrew Holden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 24, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0415266106 | ISBN-13: 978-0415266109 | Edition: 1

This is the first major study of the enigmatic religious society. By examining the Jehovah's Witnesses' dramatic recent expansion, Andrew Holden reveals the dependency of their quasi-totalitarian movement on the physical and cultural resources have brought about the privatization of religion, the erosion of community, and the separation of 'fact' from faith.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Why do people convert to the Watch Tower Society? How can these Jehovah's Witnesses persist in their belief that the end of the world is imminent? In this academic study, Holden, a British sociologist, attempts to understand why the strict and austere Watch Tower Society continues to enjoy rapid growth. This is neither a primer on the danger of "cults" nor an endorsement of the Witnesses' distinctive beliefs, but a balanced ethnography that draws upon interviews with both adherents and ex-members to help readers understand what it is like to be part of the Society. Holden's main thesis that the Watch Tower is engaged in careful and ongoing negotiations with the secular culture that surrounds it is a nuanced one, especially compared to previous studies that have depicted the movement as little more than an extremist rejection of modernity. The study bears the marks of the dissertation that it once was: it overexplains how data were collected and analyzed, surveys the historiography of the topic (which, as Holden points out, is all but nonexistent in the case of the Witnesses) and relies heavily on a few theorists (in this case, Clifford Geertz and Mary Douglas). But the topic is compelling enough that readers who are interested in the Watch Tower will be obliged to put aside Holden's academese and be grateful for what he has given them: a thoughtful book that takes the Witnesses' own beliefs and words seriously.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

'... a thoughtful book that takes the Witnesses' own beliefs and words seriously.' - Publishers Weekly

'It is a clear, accurate, well-constructed, high-quality academic, sociological analysis of a modern millenarian movement ... The author is a skilled and experienced sociologist, and this book is an example of the clearest writing and the best research that can be produced by this important academic discipline.' - The Revd Thaddeus Birchard, Church Times

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (February 24, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415266106
• ISBN-13: 978-0415266109
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #433,864 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Other Denominations & Sects

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29 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars solid sociological study if a bit inaccurate, May 22, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement (Paperback)

Having read and written a number of ethnographies and also having been involved in the religion of Jehovah's Witneses both inside and outside of the group (I have served as a regular pioneer and I have also been disfellowshipped), I can say that this study does present many accurate highlights of Jehovah's Witnesses, their paradigm and what motivates them.

The other reviewer obviously didn't read the book carefully, because Holden does interview former members of the faith. He tries to be objective, claiming to use caution when listening to the stories told by the different people he talks to, but he chooses to believe (and makes the statement) that JW's quote scriptures out of context and misapply them. Apparently, the author doesn't realize that Jesus himself quoted scripture out of context, as seen by the Sermon on the Mount.

Curiously, he claims that JW's don't participate in juries and believe that the universe was created in seven days. I know that JW's can participate in juries if they so choose and also that they do not believe the seven creation days were seven literal days, but rather seven creative periods of time. One can't help but wonder how closely he was listening to the subjects of his ethnography. If he got these little details wrong, what else did he get wrong?

Holden attempts to make some original statements or insights about JW's but instead ends up quoting from other sociologists/ethnographers. I just finished reading the book last night and can't think of a single original thought he came up with.

The author recognizes that many JW's try to seperate themselves from the secular world by strictly limiting the kind and amount of worldly entertainment they watch. He comments that parents won't allow their children to read fairy tales or stories involving magic, but fails to explain what scriptures they base this on. It would have been more interesting if he had studied and questioned those JW's who do allow themselves to watch movies and TV shows that have magic as the subject matter. For instance, do they experience any cognitive dissonance (or, in JW terms, "does their conscience bother them?") when watching movies like, Shrek, or TV shows like the X-Files?

What about those witnesses who continue to watch PG-13 movies, all of which contain at least one profanity, something JW's are supposed to avoid?

I can't help but feel the other reviewer deliberately made false statements about the book in the hopes that Jehovah's Witnesses in good standing would read the book (and thereby the statements made by former members of the religion.)

Although Jehovah's Witnesses did have expectations and beliefs that didn't come true (for example, about certain years like 1914 and 1975) so did Jesus Christ's apostles (Luke 19:11, "they imagined the Kingdom was going to display itself instantly" and John 21:23, "In consequence, this saying went out among the brothers, that that disciple would not die. However, Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but: "If it is my will for him to remain until I come, of what concern is that to you?".") Jehovah's Witnesses have never claimed to be infallible, unlike the Pope.

Just because someone is anointed by holy spirit, doesn't mean that they will always get it right. The prophet Samuel, for instance, thought that David's brother would be the next king of Israel, but Jehovah God told him he was not the one. (1 Samuel 16:6, 7: And it came about that, as they came in and he caught sight of E·li'ab, he at once said: "Surely his anointed one is before Jehovah." But Jehovah said to Samuel: "Do not look at his appearance and at the height of his stature, for I have rejected him. For not the way man sees [is the way God sees], because mere man sees what appears to the eyes; but as for Jehovah, he sees what the heart is.)

If you choose to read this book, do so with a grain of salt and be aware that the author has his own beliefs and values. He is not free from ethnocentricity. I preferred an older sociological study, "The Trumpet of Prophecy: A Sociological Study of Jehovah's Witnesses" by James Beckford, which is the cumulative result of a group of people working together, unlike "Portrait", which is the work of one individual.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too many errors, September 22, 2008

By 

Persson Rud (Sweden) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement (Paperback)

Sociologsts may try to be neutral and therefore many people would rely on books about religion written by sociologists. But not infrequently such writers have not done their research properly. This certainly is the case with the book on Jehovah's Witnesses written by Andrew Holden. It has too many errors of fact to be recommended. One glaring example is that the author states that Charles Taze Russell was influenced by seventh day adventists. He never was, but he was initially influenced by other adventists. Also, Holden claims that acadmeic studies of the Witnesses are barren. He fails to give credit to the best academic book on the market about Jehovah's Witnesses, namely APOCALYPSE DELAYED by history professr M. James Penton. Unlike Holden, Penton knows the historical facts about the movement. Another very useful book is A PEOPLE FOR HIS NAME by Tony Wills. Both works are still in print.

In spite of its shortcomings, Holden's book shows insight here and there, particularly with regard to life among Jehovah's Witnesses today. But anyone looking for in-depth knowledge about the Witnesses should get the above mentioned books before they buy Holden's book.

Rud Persson

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A SOCIOLOGISTS STUDIES THE WATCHTOWER SOCIETY AND ITS MEMBERS, April 4, 2011

By 

Steven H. Propp (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement (Hardcover)

British sociologist Andrew Holden wrote in the Preface to this 2002 book, "And so to the objectives of this book. I write for an academic community, or indeed for anyone with a sociological interest in religious movements... In the pages that follow, I offer a glimpse of the modern world through the eyes of a group of religious devotees... The book is ethnographic and, as such, it is concerned with the Witnesses' version of reality... the book is not about comparative religion but about the lives of a group of people who claim to be IN but not OF the world."

Here are some quotations from the book:

"(Charles Taze Russell) also sold what he called 'miracle wheat' to credulous farmers at $60 a bushel. The fraud was eventually stopped by the federal authorities, who made him refund the money." (Pg. 18)
"If there was one feature of the Watch Tower community that occupied my thoughts in the initial stages of my fieldwork, it would have been the absence of mysticism." (Pg. 58)
"...someone claiming to have had an experience of a transcedental nature would be most unlikely to find solace in a Kingdom Hall. At no point in meetings is time made available for individual prayer... Although short prayers are recited, these last no more than two or three minutes and serve mainly to open and close meetings." (Pg. 64)
"Several members told me that they preferred to partake in those aspects of Witness life such as Bible study and attending large meetings rather than ministry work because of the rejection from large numbers of uninterested sceptics." (Pg. 75)
"Young Witnesses who intend to undergo baptism rarely progress to college or university. This can be a source of regret in subsequent years among those who are reared in the organization but who later defect." (Pg. 135)
"Speaking to a huge audience of Witnesses in 1976, (Frederick) Franz attempted to explain why the (1975) prophecy had failed. He told them, 'It was because YOU expected something to happen.'" (Pg. 152)
"Any Witness found reading literature that attacks Watch Tower theology risks disfellowship..." (Pg. 158)