10. A small group of Bible students led by Charles Taze Russell founded the Jehovah’s Witnesses organisation in Pennsylvania in the late 19th century.[1] Mr Russell had become disillusioned with mainstream Christianity, which he argued had strayed from the first century vision of Christianity described in the Bible. By 1884, Mr Russell’s group had become the Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society. The society was incorporated and carried on the business of publishing and disseminating millenarian literature – that is, literature based on the belief that the end of the world is imminent.[2]

11. Internationally, the primary legal entity used by the Jehovah’s Witness organisation is the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.[3] The headquarters of this organisation is in Warwick, New York, and is known as ‘Bethel’, meaning ‘House of God’.[4]

12. The governing body of eight Elders in New York provides directions to all congregations internationally, creating a uniformity of doctrine and conduct across all jurisdictions in which the faith operates. Spiritual elements are consistent worldwide, and whether a faith meeting is held in London or Auckland, the content is the same, and often given at the same time across the world.[5]

13. The movement grew significantly in Aotearoa New Zealand after 1945,[6] and Kingdom Halls (the place of worship for Jehovah’s Witnesses) are now found in most cities in Aotearoa New Zealand.[7]

The role of Elders within the faith

14. Congregational responsibilities sit with Elders and ministerial servants. The Jehovah’s Witnesses told the Inquiry that in 2023 there were around 1,576 Elders in Aotearoa New Zealand.[8]

15. The Elders “shepherd” the congregation and oversee spiritual matters. Their primary responsibilities also include organising field work (door-to-door preaching or “witnessing”), running congregational judicial committees, leading religious services, bible studies, and pastoral care of the congregation.[9] Elders decide how each congregation operates based on the procedures and policies set out for this purpose in the handbook Shepherd the Flock of God, communications from the local branch office, and other printed publications of the Jehovah’s Witnesses such as Watchtower.[10]

16. Former Elders who provided evidence to the Inquiry noted that Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught to believe that Elders are appointed by the holy spirit,[11] and are strongly encouraged to cooperate with what they say.[12] The faith says the requirements for being appointed to be an Elder are set forth in the Bible, inspired by the holy spirit. Elders are said to have “been appointed by holy spirit as the qualification for appointment is the manifestation of spiritual qualities which evidence that holy spirit is operating in their lives” such as being irreprehensible, moderate in habits, sound in mind, orderly, hospitable, qualified, balanced in the use of alcohol, and not lovers of money.[13] Congregation members are taught to seek Elders out for advice and to confess serious sins.[14]

17. Groups of Elders sit as judicial committees, described further below, which determine a wrongdoer’s standing in the faith,[15] whether he or she can be found to be scripturally repentant based on Biblical standards, and if the wrongdoer should be reproved (reprimanded or punished). If the wrongdoer is not repentant, they will be disfellowshipped or removed from the congregation.[16]

18. Former Jehovah’s Witness Jasmine Grew described a patriarchal hierarchy in the Jehovah’s Witness leadership. She said that in the community, male members strive to become Elders, which “means respect and authority”.[17] Once a member becomes an Elder, Ms Grew said: “They rule the place. Everything goes through them.”[18] One Jehovah’s Witness stated that her mother trusted all Elders implicitly.[19]

19. The faith’s doctrine reflects the role of Elders, referring to them acting to deliver Jesus’ message and direction. The 2010 version of the handbook Shepherd the Flock of God states, quoting scripture:

“Jehovah has appointed Jesus Christ as Head of the Christian congregation. (Eph 1:22, 23) Revelation 1:20 depicts Jesus as holding the anointed elders in his right hand, thus, by extension, indicating that he controls all bodies of elders for the purpose of accomplishing Jehovah’s will.”[20]

20. Similarly, Watchtower (February 2022) refers to the governing body as the “faithful and discreet slave” giving direction to the Elders, and says that congregants show they trust Jehovah (God) by following the Elders’ directions:

“Today Jehovah leads the earthly part of his organization by means of the ‘faithful and discreet slave.’ (Matt. 24:45) Like the first-century governing body, this slave oversees God’s people worldwide and gives direction to congregation elders. (Read Acts 16:4, 5.) The elders, in turn, implement the direction in the congregations. We show that we trust in Jehovah’s way of doing things by heeding the direction we receive from the organization and the elders.”[21]

21. Elders are assisted by ministerial servants, who mainly help with routine organisational tasks. These include assisting with the maintenance of the Kingdom Hall and ensuring there are sufficient stocks of bibles and religious literature. The assistance provided by ministerial servants enables Elders to focus on their shepherding and teaching responsibilities.[22] There are no females appointed to this role.[23]

Relevant features of the faith

22. Being a Jehovah’s Witness is typically a way of life for members. Baptised Jehovah’s Witnesses are expected to adhere to all religious doctrines that the governing body establishes through its interpretation of the Bible.[24]

23. Members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught to be obedient and submissive to those in positions of authority in the organisation, including Elders.[25] Other beliefs of the faith relevant to this case study include:[26]

a. Strict interpretation of the Bible and reliance on first century principles to set practice, policy and procedure;
b. A belief that the end of the world is imminent;
c. ‘Male headship’, or the belief in a strict patriarchal authority structure involving obedience and submission in both the organisation and the family;
d. Maintaining a separateness from, and exercising caution in associating with, those who are not members of the organisation;
e. The importance of door-to-door preaching, or evangelising.

24. The Jehovah’s Witness faith is not merely an association based on friendship, common interests, work or a home. Being part of the faith is considered a pathway to salvation and to escape the perils of an imminent Armageddon (a conflict that signals the end of Earth’s history). Jehovah’s Witnesses consider themselves a unified spiritual family. They see and refer to each other as spiritual brothers and sisters.[27]

25. Jehovah’s Witnesses require members who commit “gross sins” (such as child sexual abuse) to be reported to the Elders. These sins are investigated by what the faith describes as an ecclesiastical judicial committee to determine whether a person should be “disfellowshipped” (rejected from the faith), a sanction imposed by Elders.[28] Many Jehovah’s Witnesses are expelled from the faith by disfellowshipping.[29]

26. The purpose of disfellowshipping is said to stem from the need to protect the group from harmful behaviour.[30] The practice is defined by the faith as an expression of love, with the aim of helping the individual to the desired path and a way to protect the congregation.[31]

27. A Jehovah’s Witness can also voluntarily seek “disassociation”.[32] Members who leave by either disassociation or disfellowshipping are usually excluded from social contact with remaining members of the community, including their families. Disassociation and disfellowshipping are referred to in international research as exclusion practices as those members are consequently shunned by remaining members of the faith. When shunned, members can lose their families, their friends, and their social network, without anything outside of the congregation to fall back on.[33]

28. An American investigation into the impact of shunning by Jehovah’s Witnesses found that the willingness of family and friends to participate in shunning occurs within the context of the broader strictures of the faith. For example, members of the faith are required to attend regular meetings, usually twice a week or more, as well as participating in monthly witnessing or preaching work. The investigation found that “those who do not participate in the preaching work are considered to be ‘blood guilty’. Due to the belief in Armageddon, those who do not preach are seen as withholding lifesaving information from their fellow humans.”[34] The study concluded that shunning threatens four basic social needs: belonging, self-esteem, control, and meaningful existence. It removes a person from their identified group, threatening belonging, and creates feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt, threatening self-esteem.[35]

29. Disfellowshipping and the consequent shunning can have severe and long-lasting consequences for the individual. If an individual is disfellowshipped, an announcement is read aloud in the presence of the congregation stating that the individual is no longer a member of the congregation.[36] Those who experienced shunning told the Inquiry it had a severe emotional or psychological impact on them and others they observed in the same position.[37] One said the fear of being excommunicated was emotional and psychological abuse.[38] Former Elder Shayne Mechen told the Inquiry, “when young people are disfellowshipped or shunned, their whole support system is taken away … Some leavers are so impacted by being separated from everything they know that they become suicidal.”[39]

Becoming a Jehovah’s Witness

30. As with any faith, Jehovah’s Witnesses were either born into a family who were members of the faith or chose to join. Some members the Inquiry heard from joined the faith during particularly vulnerable periods in their lives, for example when they had been recently widowed,[40] or were in financial difficulty.[41]

31. Jasmine Grew described her family’s pathway into the faith:

“When I was two years old, my mother and father were cannabis-smoking hippies when Jehovah’s Witnesses knocked on their door … My mother was only 24, and a very vulnerable solo mum. It seemed inevitable that she would split up with my father, anyway. She was not working. Both my parents were susceptible to a convincing approach by a religious faith. The Jehovah’s Witnesses prey on people who are most vulnerable. They give false hope. They provide the vulnerable with a community and a family and a sense of belonging … They work their way into your life, so the relationship becomes very tight. They also instill [sic] in you fear of the outside world. So, in anticipating becoming a solo parent, my mother knew she had children to protect. My father decided against becoming too involved in the religion and my mum said, ‘Well I’m going,’ and they split up over it. Our congregation was Gloucester Street from then on. My father took a different direction and I did not see him again until I was 14 years old.”[42]

32. Recent data suggests that a disproportionate number of members of the faith in Aotearoa New Zealand are Māori (30 percent) and Pacific (16 percent),[43] however, the Inquiry does not have any data on the ethnicity of members during the Inquiry period.

Footnotes

[1] Australian Child Sexual Abuse Royal Commission into Institutional responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Report of Case study no 29 (Commonwealth of Australia, 2016, page 13, section 1.1).
[2] Australian Child Sexual Abuse Royal Commission into Institutional responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Report of Case study no 29 (Commonwealth of Australia, 2016, page 13, section 1.1).
[3] Australian Child Sexual Abuse Royal Commission into Institutional responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Report of Case study no 29 (Commonwealth of Australia, 2016, page 14).
[4] Australian Child Sexual Abuse Royal Commission into Institutional responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Report of Case study no 29 (Commonwealth of Australia, 2016, page 14).
[5] Jehovah’s Witnesses interview transcript with the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care (8 March 2023, pages 18–19).
[6] Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Seventy-Five years of “legally establishing” the Good News in New Zealand (7 March 2022).
[7] This case study refers to the current position for the Jehovah’s Witnesses in New Zealand by way of context, and for the purpose of informing the Inquiry’s recommendations. Many of the Inquiry’s recommendations apply to all faiths, including the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the contextual information about the modern position of the Jehovah’s Witnesses has been considered in informing these broader recommendations. The Inquiry has not examined or made findings about the current position in the Jehovah’s Witnesses in New Zealand, in accordance with clause 15D of the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference.
[8] Jehovah’s Witnesses interview transcript with the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care (8 March 2023, pages 20–21).
[9] Australian Child Sexual Abuse Royal Commission into Institutional responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Report of Case study no 29 (Commonwealth of Australia, 2016, page 15).
[10] Witness statement of Edward Narayan (5 September 2022, pages 4-5).
[11] Witness statements of Robert Ker (6 April 2023, para 14) and Shayne Mechen (21 June 2023, para 4).
[12] Witness statements of Robert Ker (6 April 2023, pages 2-7) and Shane McNeil, Australia, (20 June 2023, para 90).
[13] Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses (Australasia) Submissions (24 November 2023, para 90).
[14] Witness statement of Edward Narayan (5 September 2022, page 4).
[15] Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses (Australasia), Jehovah’s Witnesses’ scripturally based position on child protection (undated, para 10).
[16] Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses (Australasia) Response to Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care Notice to Produce 1: “Shepherd the Flock of God” Chapters 12, 14, 16 and 22 (April 2021, page 20).
[17] Witness statement of Jasmine Grew (1 June 2022, page 9).
[18] Witness statement of Jasmine Grew (1 June 2022, page 9).
[19] Witness statement of Ms SC (1 March 2024, page 5).
[20] Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, “Shepherd the Flock of God” (2010, page 11).
[21] Watchtower February 2022 (page 4, para 8) as quoted in the witness statement of Edward Narayan (5 September 2022, page 20).
[22] Summary of Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Relevant Religious Beliefs and Practices (provided to the Inquiry on 1 December 2021, page 4).
[23] Witness statement of Edward Narayan (5 September 2022, page 5).
[24] Australian Child Sexual Abuse Royal Commission into Institutional responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Report of Case Study no 29 (Commonwealth of Australia, 2016, page 18).
[25] Australian Child Sexual Abuse Royal Commission into Institutional responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Report of Case study no 29 (Commonwealth of Australia, 2016, page 18).
[26] Australian Child Sexual Abuse Royal Commission into Institutional responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Report of Case study no 29 (Commonwealth of Australia, 2016, page 10).
[27] The Trustees of the Barry Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses v BXB [2021] EWCA (Civ) 356 (para 22).
[28] Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses (Australasia), Response to Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care Notice to Produce 1 (1 December 2021, Annexure – M. Expert opinion of Professor Patrick Parkinson, para 36); Letter from the Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses (Australasia) to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care (28 April 2023, para 69).
[29] Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses (Australasia), Response to Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care Notice to Produce 1 (1 December 2021, Annexure – M. Expert opinion of Professor Patrick Parkinson, para 36); Witness statement of Shayne Mechen (8 September 2022, page 2).
[30] Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society Pennsylvania, Keep yourself in God’s Love (2016, pages 35 and 207).
[31] Watchtower magazine, Study article 39: When a Loved one Leaves Jehovah (September 2021, page 26).
[32] Witness statements of Shayne Mechen (8 September 2022, page 15) and Edward Narayan (5 September 2022, page 19).
[33] Luther, R, What Happens to Those Who Exit Jehovah’s Witnesses: An Investigation of the Impact of Shunning, Pastoral Psychology, 2023; 72(1) (page 108).
[34] Luther, R, What Happens to Those Who Exit Jehovah’s Witnesses: An Investigation of the Impact of Shunning, Pastoral Psychology, 2023; 72(1) (page 108). Also see, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society Pennsylvania, The Watchtower, “Imitate Jehovah’s justice and mercy” (November 2017, pages 15–20), https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/402017643.
[35] Luther, R, What Happens to Those Who Exit Jehovah’s Witnesses: An Investigation of the Impact of Shunning, Pastoral Psychology, 2023; 72(1) (page 108).
[36] Grendele, W., Flax, M., Bapir-Tardy, S., Shunning from the Jehovah’s Witness Community: Is It Legal? Journal of Law and Religion (2023), 38: 2 (Cambridge University Press, page 293).
[37] Witness statements of Shayne Mechen (8 September 2022, para 4.14–4.15) and Elise Neame (11 July 2022, para 9.5).
[38] Witness statement of Sina Dubbelman (8 September 2022, paras 9.9).
[39] Witness statement of Shayne Mechen (8 September 2022, para 4.14).
[40] Witness statement of Deborah Oakley (31 May 2022, page 1).
[41] Witness statement of Mr UF (14 May 2023, page 1).
[42] Witness statement of Jasmine Grew (1 June 2022, page 3).
[43] Expert Opinion of Peter Lineham (4 April 2024, page 27).