The findings related to Jehovah's Witnesses

One major finding was that Jehovah's Witnesses "had the lowest retention rate of any religious tradition" – only 37 percent of those who were reared Jehovah's Witnesses still identified themselves as Witnesses as adults (2008, p. 26). The survey also concluded that the religious tradition most likely to switch affiliation (including to atheism) included not only the Witnesses but also the unaffiliated. The "affiliation change" data also included persons who were reared in one faith and switched to another faith. For the JWs, more than two-thirds of those who listed their faith as Witnesses were reared in another faith, or were not affiliated with any specific faith, as a child.

Also of interest is the fact that 80 percent of those who were reared in a religion are currently not affiliated with any religion (p. 27). This supports the finding that large numbers of Americans leave the faith in which they were reared. One reason for changing ones faith is mixed marriage and young people today are more likely to be in a mixed marriage than older adults were, supporting the trend today to marry outside of the religion in which one was reared. These findings support the common conclusion that the Witnesses are today a revolving door religion.

Education

The Witnesses had one of the lowest levels of education of all the religions surveyed. Nineteen percent had only a high school education or less, the lowest education level of all religions surveyed (p. 56). This compares to eight percent of atheists and only three percent of all Jews. In contrast, only three percent of the Witnesses had a post graduate degree and six percent were college graduates. This compares with 21 percent of atheists who had post graduate degrees, and the same percent were college graduates. Of the Jews, the comparable numbers were 35 and 24 percent (p. 56).

Income

About half (42 percent) of the Jehovah's Witnesses had incomes below 30,000 and only nine percent had incomes above 100,000 dollars. Only those involved in historically black churches had incomes below the Witnesses (p. 60). Of the Jews, a mere 14 percent had incomes below 30,000 but 46 percent had incomes above 100,000 dollars, or over 5 times the level of the Witnesses. Of those who labeled themselves Protestant, 32 percent had incomes below 30,000 and 15 percent above 100,000 dollars.

Gender

More females identified themselves with some theistic religious tradition than males for most all religious traditions, including the Witnesses. Of the Witness, the divide was greater than for most all religions, namely only 40 percent of all Witnesses were males, and 60 percent were females. For Protestant traditions the average gender divide was 46 and 54 percent, respectively. For the unaffiliated, the level of men who accepted this label was 59 percent and women 41 percent, the reverse of the Witness ratio. Also of interest is the fact that 14 percent of the Witnesses were divorced or separated, higher than all groups except historically black churches and "other faiths" (p. 67). No doubt the strain of Witness teaching also strains mixed marriages.

Family Composition

Of the Witnesses, 53 percent were married, 14 percent divorced, 11 percent widowed, and 20 percent were never married. Only one percent were living together, the lowest of all religions groups except Hindus (p. 67). In view of the fact that living together is a disfellowshipping offense, this low number is not too surprising. Of the unaffiliated, an average of 10 percent were living together and, of the Jews, six percent were living together.

Summary

This extensive survey confirms several common perception about the Witnesses. They tend to be female, poorly educated, and in a lower income bracket then the general population. They also tend to leave the religion of their upbringing more often than members of most churches. This is not unexpected considering the conflicts that Witnesses have with society and the pull of the secular values in modern culture on Witnesses youth, a pull which is also true of all youth.

Reference.

Miller, Tracy (Editor). 2008. U.S. Religious Landscape Survey. Washington, D.C.: The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

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written by Jane Austen , May 21, 2009

Since when does God discriminate in regards to education and income level?
By the way, Christ's apostles came from all walks of life, even fishermen. Jesus himself didn't have a high paying job, nor was he born into a rich family - stop discriminating!

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written by Paul Morrison , May 21, 2009

I can't see any discrimination in evidence in this article - the author is one of the most respected authorities on the Jehovah's Witness religion and the survey he has lightly analyzed was conducted by a well known organization. The facts are what they are - Jehovah's Witnesses tend to be from lower income groups, have a lower standard of education than average, and the lowest retention rate. It is what it is.

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written by Jane Austen , May 23, 2009

I simply find it extremely hypocritical that you would post an article of this nature on a site that claims to be non-judgemental (read the "About Page" again).

The article covers Education, Income, Gender and Family Composition - I'm wondering why these have anything to do with love of God and how you treat others, or in other words - your religion.

Or perhaps it's more important how much you're able to contribute financially. Perhaps you need a degree to serve God.

As for the retention rates quoted, it proves the opposite of what's so commonly believed: that Jehovah's Witnesses are 'brainwashed' and can't make their own decisions.

The article does proof that Jehovah welcomes everyone, even uneducated, low-income women. And at the end of the day, the choice to stay is still yours.

(Hey, perhaps I'm one of those uneducated, low-income women mentioned in the article. I definitely don't feel welcome on 'freeminds', perhaps I'll go through the 'revolving door').

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written by Travis , September 29, 2009

Once again I am late to the argument. . .

Jane: I also fail to see how this article discriminates. It is merely a presentation of facts. Facts do not discriminate.

You are correct, Education, Income, Gender and Family Composition: these have nothing to do with your love of God, however they have a lot to do with quality of life. Plus it shows the bias against tertiary education the society had/has. At University you are taught how to think critically about the world, therefore the amount of tertiary education any particular group has tells you a lot about how they perceive the world.

(Hey, perhaps I'm one of those uneducated, low-income women mentioned in the article. I definitely don't feel welcome on 'freeminds', perhaps I'll go through the 'revolving door')
What specifically makes you feel unwelcome? Why did you post this at the website that makes you feel unwelcome instead of just leaving? Are you here to confirm doubts you have about your faith, or are you here to confirm your beliefs about outsiders?

Travis

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