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Jehovah's Witnesses in Canada: Champions of freedom of speech and worship by M. James Penton. Penton, who is a professor emeritus of history at University of Lethbridge (a former member of the Jehovah's Witnesses), examines the history of legal activities that led to expansion of religious freedoms in Canada.
Jehovah's Witnesses suffered religious persecution by the Nazis because they refused military service and allegiance to Hitler's National Socialist Party. [344] [345] Of those, 2,000 were sent to Nazi concentration camps, where they were identified by purple triangles; [345] as many as 1,200 died, including 250 who were executed.
Chapter II. Organizational Beginnings: (1873–1912) Charles Taze Russell from Barbara G. Harrison's Visions of Glory: A History and a Memory of Jehovah's Witnesses, New York, Simon & Schuster, 1978. See also chapters IV and VI. Works of Charles Taze Russell and their effect upon Religion in America 1974 Bob Chastain, Master's Thesis
A U.S. law magazine noted how Jehovah's Witnesses had helped shape the course of constitutional law, remarking: "Through almost constant litigation this organization had made possible an ever-increasing list of precedents concerning the application of the 14th amendment to freedom of speech and religion".
Jehovah's Witnesses are directed to study the Bible using Watch Tower Society publications. Jehovah's Witnesses regard secular education as fundamental, but they emphasize their preaching work as the top priority in their life. Therefore, they promote moral and spiritual education over secular education. [173]
In 2016, Jehovah's Witnesses had the lowest average household income among surveyed religious groups, with approximately half of Witness households in the United States earning less than $30,000 a year. [5] As of 2016, Jehovah's Witnesses are the most racially diverse Christian denomination in the United States. [6]
In all, Jehovah's Witnesses brought 23 separate First Amendment actions before the U.S. Supreme Court between 1938 and 1946. [36] [37] Supreme Court Justice Harlan Fiske Stone once quipped, "I think the Jehovah's Witnesses ought to have an endowment in view of the aid which they give in solving the legal problems of civil liberties." [38]
A professor emeritus of history at the University of Lethbridge in Lethbridge, Alberta, he was the author of three books on the history of Jehovah's Witnesses. Although raised in the religion, he was expelled in 1981 on the grounds of apostasy after criticizing some of the teachings and conduct of the religion's leadership.