Becoming ‘part of the world’: helping former Jehovah’s Witnesses adjust to

life outside the religion

Natasha Freestone

Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs) are taught to address mental health difficulties through prayer and the support of
their congregation. They are permitted to take medication, but – fearing the influence of those outside the
group – Jehovah’s Witnesses are wary of psychotherapy. Those who pursue the difficult process of leaving the
religion may nonetheless seek clinical help at that time or in the period following defection.

This paper is intended as a resource for those working therapeutically with ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses. In Section
1, I describe the religion’s central tenets, focusing on those aspects of its culture that may be relevant to the
psychological challenges of leavers. In Section 2, I detail some of those challenges, and offer potential
therapeutic responses. There is a wide variety of literature on assisting those who leave cultic groups and this
review is by no means exhaustive; the issues relating to Jehovah’s Witnesses that are highlighted here are
those that have emerged from recent research studies and my psychotherapeutic work.

In this paper I refer to the Jehovah’s Witnesses variously as a ‘religion’, ‘sect’, ‘community’, ‘group’ and
‘cultic group’. JWs self-identify as a Christian religion; from a historical perspective, they are one of several
Adventist sects. Sociologists sometimes categorize the JWs as a New Religious Movement (NRM), although
the group has been active for well over a century (Trompf, 2012, p.65). My use of the word ‘cult’ to describe
the Jehovah’s Witnesses is based upon on an understanding of the term as meaning any group ‘employing
unethical, manipulative or coercive techniques of persuasion and control […] designed to advance the goals
of the group’s leaders, to the possible or actual detriment of members, their families or the community’
(Langone, 1993, p.4).

Section 1: Inside the Organization

The JW Context

The Jehovah’s Witnesses are a Christian sect founded in Pennsylvania, United States. Emerging
from the Bible Student movement led by Charles Russell in the 1870s, the group now claims 8.3
million active members worldwide (The 2017 Yearbook, 2017). The religion is deeply
authoritarian: through an extensive and well-organised bureaucracy, the group’s leaders – eight
men known as ‘the Governing Body’ – regulate every aspect of members’ lives. The sect displays
characteristics common to other Christian fundamentalist groups, such as an adherence to an
apocalyptic ideology; a belief in biblical inerrancy; intolerance of dissent or debate; and a
profound antipathy towards intellectualism and pluralism (Strozier, 1994; Holden, 2002).

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The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (which is the legal name of the group, and often
abbreviated among members as ‘the Society’ or ‘the Organization’) is directed by the Governing
Body from the movement’s worldwide headquarters in Warwick, upstate New York. It is the
Governing Body alone who – regarded by adherents as God’s representatives on earth – may
interpret the meaning of Scripture. Any challenge to the status of the Governing Body is
considered to be apostasy. Men also hold all the positions of authority within the wider group,
as women are not permitted to take on leadership roles. Within Witness families, wives must
defer to their husbands as the ‘head of the household’.

Figure 1: The worldwide headquarters of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Warwick, New York.

Official membership of the group is marked by public baptism, a full-body immersion in water.
For those brought up in the religion, this baptism – a process that also involves an eighty-question
interview – usually takes place during the teenage years, although children may be baptised at
ages as young as nine or ten. Upon leaving school, all young Witnesses are encouraged to serve
as pioneers (who preach 50-70 hours monthly), missionaries (who are sent abroad as pioneers) or
Bethelites (who work voluntarily in the various JW administrative headquarters, known as
Bethels, across the world). Bethel complexes are composed of offices and extensive factories that
print Bibles and JW literature. Life at Bethel often involves long hours of physical labour or
repetitive tasks for those who volunteer there. However, Bethelites are held in high esteem by
rank-and-file JWs: to ‘serve’ in this way is considered to be an honour and a mark of spiritual
maturity.

Ordinary congregation members also follow a busy schedule. Preaching is obligatory for every
JW, and each hour dedicated to this activity is logged. At the end of each month, these data are
forwarded to the JW headquarters, where they are collated and published annually. In addition
to their intensive evangelism, JWs must attend several meetings per week, studying set texts in
preparation for those meetings, as well as engage in daily prayer and family Bible study. Witness
men give regular ‘talks’ (sermons) to the congregation and are told to reach out for ‘privileges’,
which can include everything from setting up the microphones at the meeting hall to becoming
an elder (there are several elders in each congregation). Activity forms the core of the Jehovah’s
Witness way of life: members who fail to regularly participate are regarded as spiritually weak and
therefore a potential danger to other adherents, even if they still believe in the doctrines of the
sect.

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The religion prohibits numerous activities: smoking, drunkenness, body piercings, tattoos,
swearing, sex outside of marriage, homosexuality, divorce on grounds other than adultery,
masturbation (which JWs believe can lead to homosexuality), pornography, gambling, and
dabbling in the occult (which includes astrology, meditation and yoga) are all forbidden.
Witnesses are not permitted to celebrate any holiday (birthdays, Christmas, national holidays),
engage in politics in any form (JWs do not vote or pledge the oath of allegiance), visit ‘apostate’
websites, socialize with ex-members, or join the military. Medication and medical treatment are
allowed, with the exception of blood transfusions.

School-age children are discouraged from associating with classmates outside of school and from
participating in extracurricular activities, so as to minimize the time spent with non-JWs. After
puberty, Witnesses must avoid spending time alone with members of the opposite sex, and are
accompanied by chaperones when dating. There are many directives from the Organization
regarding dress and appearance, with Witnesses instructed to be ‘modest’ in dress (avoiding both
expensive brands and revealing clothes). Witness females must avoid ‘masculine’ hairstyles and
should wear dresses or skirts to congregation meetings and when preaching; Witness males are
warned against following fashion trends that the Governing Body deems ‘feminine’, such as
wearing skinny trousers. Men are expected to be clean-shaven if they hold positions of authority
in the congregation.

The Organization discourages adherents from having children, and has done so for decades,
considering child-rearing to be a distraction from ‘the urgent work’ of evangelism: ‘Many
Christian couples decline to have children so as to become more fully involved in the urgent
work that Jehovah has given his people to do. Some couples have waited for a time before having
children; others have decided to remain childless and consider the possibility of bearing children
in Jehovah’s righteous new world’ (The Watchtower, 2000). Despite this advice, starting a family
is the norm among members. Moreover, the group’s future sustainability depends on having
children born into the sect, given that the annual growth rate has fallen from an average of 5%
between the years 1928 and 2000, to under 2% in the year ending 2016 (The 2017 Yearbook,
2017; Holden, 2002, p. 1).

Being ‘no part of the world’

The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe the world to be controlled by the Devil and so, in order to
protect themselves against his corrupting influence, they limit their contact with non-JWs as
much as is practically possible, citing Christ’s words at John 16:17 as a guiding principle: ‘Be no
part of the world, just as I am no part of the world’. Alluding to this scripture, JWs refer to
everything outside of the religion as ‘the world’. For instance, a JW might say, ‘She married
someone in the world’, meaning ‘she married a non-Witness’. In contrast, Witnesses talk of
themselves as being ‘in the truth’.

JWs are taught that reporting the transgressions of fellow members is an act of brotherly love, as
it keeps the congregation ‘clean’. Those who violate the rules must appear before a committee of
elders who will decide whether the transgressors have sufficiently repented of their ‘sin’. This
process includes the transgressor giving a detailed account of the sin in question to the
committee. If the transgressor is judged to be repentant, it will be announced to the congregation

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that the member has been ‘reproved’; if deemed inadequately remorseful, the person will be
announced to have been ‘disfellowshipped’: expelled.

With the aim of avoiding ‘worldly’ contamination, adherents tend to rigorously self-censor,
especially as they believe they are under God’s constant watch: ‘Jehovah does not tolerate
hypocritical worship. As his eyes “are roving about through all the earth”, he can detect those
whose heart is not “complete toward him”’ (The Watchtower, 2014). Unable to meet Jehovah’s
exacting standards, JWs frequently experience feelings of unworthiness, and these are
compounded by the Organization’s reminders to dedicate ever more resources to the group:
‘Jehovah encourages us to let nothing stop us from giving our best to him […] We should ask
ourselves: Is doing Jehovah’s will more important to us than anything else? Can we think seriously
about our life and plan how we can do more to support God’s Kingdom in these last days?’ (The
Watchtower, 2013).

Jehovah’s Witnesses have a policy of ‘shunning’ those who either leave the religion voluntarily
(known as disassociation) or are disfellowshipped.1 JWs are instructed not to talk to or associate
with ex-members, a policy that the Organization frames in terms of life or death:

Imagine two hikers waiting to be rescued on a cold winter day. Because it is so cold, one
hiker gets very tired and wants to sleep. But if he falls asleep in the snow, he will die. To
help him stay awake, his friend slaps him in the face. Even though this hurts, it could
save his life. David expressed a similar idea when he said: “Should the righteous one
strike me, it would be an act of loyal love.” (Psalm 141:5) David recognized that even
though discipline was painful, it would help him. Just like that slap, disfellowshipping is
often what a person needs to come back to Jehovah. (The Watchtower, 2015)

There are a few exceptions to the shunning rule that are worth noting. Married JWs do not shun
their disfellowshipped spouses, except in cases of adultery (which is the only permissible grounds
for divorce). Nor does the shunning rule apply to those who have never been baptized; a teenager,
for example, may disaffiliate before reaching the point of baptism. Some families may thus keep
in contact with their ex-JW relatives while others may not. To complicate matters further,
individual members vary in their observance of the shunning rule, with some maintaining secret
or discreet contact with loved ones who are disfellowshipped.

Those who are disfellowshipped can return to the religion and be ‘reinstated’ (re-admitted), but
this process can take many months and sometimes longer. Those wishing to be reinstated must
attend congregation meetings but sit at the back of the meeting hall. They are not permitted to
talk to others until their reinstatement is announced to the congregation.

Becoming ‘inactive’ (avoiding meetings and evangelism) is often an individual’s preferred exit-
strategy in order to preserve family ties. Those who are inactive are usually ostracised by the
congregation, but not officially shunned. Becoming inactive is sometimes known among ex-JWs
as ‘fading’. Inactive members may still be disfellowshipped at a later date if it is reported to

1
Not all who leave voluntarily choose to notify the Organization. Some of these members are
disfellowshipped in absentia; others are simply deemed ‘inactive’.

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congregation elders that they have engaged in forbidden practices, such as celebrating Christmas
or living unmarried with a partner.

‘Spiritual Food’

Adherents study only material written by the Organization, and are warned that independent
research, especially on the internet, leads to apostasy. Information that contradicts JW doctrine
is deemed to be the work of Satan, as is any negative media coverage. The Jehovah’s Witnesses
publish their own version of the Bible, along with many Bible commentaries. They also run a
website (https://www.jw.org) and produce video sermons, presented by members of the
Governing Body. In addition, the Organization creates cartoons designed to appeal to young
JWs, featuring the model Jehovah’s Witness children, ‘Caleb and Sophia’.

Figure 2: A scene from the ‘Caleb and Sophia’ cartoons. In this cartoon, Caleb learns that he must resist the
temptation to play with a toy wizard because it is a Satanic influence.

Although the Jehovah’s Witnesses place a strong emphasis on studying, the authority of the texts
set for ‘study’ each week cannot be challenged. This reading material, produced by a team of
writers on behalf of the Governing Body, is referred to as ‘spiritual food’ that, by implication,
congregation members are invited to ‘eat’. ‘Studying’ within the JW community might thus be
understood more as a bodily ritual that signals obedience and membership, rather than as an
activity that encourages critical thinking.

The Last Days

Jehovah’s Witness literature rejects the doctrine of hellfire, and instead warns of a fast-
approaching apocalypse, referred to as Armageddon. Armageddon will not entail the destruction
of the Earth itself; JWs look forward instead to being among the handful of surviving inhabitants
who will transform the Earth into an Edenic paradise, under the rule of Christ. As believers
equate being a non-JW with pending death, they feel compelled to remain members and to
persuade loved ones to do the same.

In the daily lives of Jehovah’s Witnesses, there are few outlets for assertion or aggression. The
group condemns violence, and members are instructed to be ‘sheep-like’ and ‘slow to anger’. The

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fantasy of Armageddon, however, provides a vehicle for the more hostile impulses of the group:
many hours can be spent collectively imagining the triumph of the righteous few and the
catastrophic destruction of the Other. Murderous rage is the monopoly of Jehovah and, as
Charles Strozier observes, this ‘shift in agency allows individual fundamentalists to separate
themselves from the violence that suffuses their ideology’ (1994, p.165).

Outsiders may be puzzled as to how a group such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses can sustain a belief
in the imminence of the end for well over a century, despite many disappointments. This
phenomenon was investigated in Leon Festinger’s well-known study of cognitive dissonance
among members of a small apocalyptic group who believed they would be saved by a flying saucer
(Festinger et al, 1956). While some members of that group lost faith in the teachings when their
salvation failed to materialize, others would not accept that they had been mistaken and swiftly
adjusted their doctrine to account for the saucer’s non-appearance. Festinger and his colleagues
noted the crucial role of social support (both belonging to a group and recruiting others) in
sustaining beliefs in the face of disconfirmation. They also observed the difficulty of changing
course when a considerable commitment, both public and private, has been made to it. Similarly,
psychologist Robert Cialdini observes ‘our nearly obsessive desire to be (and to appear) consistent
with what we have already done. Once we have made a choice or taken a stand, we will encounter
personal and interpersonal pressures to behave consistently with that commitment. Those
pressures will cause us to respond in ways that justify our earlier decision’ (2007, p.57). For those
belonging to apocalyptic groups, something akin to the gambling mentality (or the ‘sunk cost
fallacy’) can be at work: as time passes, more emotional and financial investment is sunk into the
idea of a future reward, making withdrawal more psychologically painful than behaving
consistently by paying the cost of one more round.

For the leaders of a group, creating an apocalyptic narrative can be a powerful technique of social
control. When a state of emergency is perceived, individuals submit to authority more readily
and tend to ‘follow the herd’. Leaders of all stripes understand the potential of existential threats
(whether real or illusory) to heighten emotional arousal and foster dependency. This is
particularly the case within totalist systems, as Alexandra Stein notes: ‘Along with the deliberate
inculcation of fear, the group positions itself as the supposed safe haven – even though it is the
group itself creating the threat’ (2017, p. 71). The JW Organization uses various means to create
an atmosphere of anxious vigilance about the imminence of Armageddon. The group’s
publications regularly feature images and descriptions of the looming ‘destruction of the wicked’
and members are reminded to heed the warning of the Gospels to ‘keep on the watch’ (as
reflected in the titles of the JW magazines, The Watchtower and Awake!). At the religion’s annual
conventions, held all over the world, the Organization shows short films that depict the days
preceding Armageddon (the actors are JW volunteers).

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Fig 3: A still from a short film shown at the 2016 ‘Remain Loyal to Jehovah’ convention. The film depicts faithful
JWs confronted by armed police (all played by JW actors). Witnesses have been warned to expect similar scenarios
during ‘the time of the end’.

While JWs often ignore or postpone the priorities and milestones that are typical in the lives of
non-members (such as attending university, launching a career or planning for retirement),
certain world events (including major earthquakes, environmental catastrophes, or anything
involving the United Nations) are given close attention and enthusiastically greeted as ‘signs of
the end’. Their discourse about everyday life is thus imbued with particular meanings known
only to insiders, offering them a reassuring sense of control over the future and further
contributing to a powerful group bond.

The special situation of child-abuse

In recent years, pedophilia scandals involving the Organization have captured the attention of
the news media. Reporting child sexual abuse to outside authorities has not been encouraged by
the Organization, and elders conduct investigations only through internal disciplinary boards.
When dealing with allegations of child sexual abuse within congregations, JWs follow what is
referred to as the ‘two-witness rule’. This means that a congregational investigation takes place
only if allegations are made by at least two congregation members (i.e., the supposed victim and
a witness to the abuse), or if the alleged abuser confesses. The procedural handbook published
specifically for Jehovah’s Witness elders states:

If the accused denies the accusation, the investigating elders should try to arrange a
meeting with him and the accuser together. (Note: If the accusation involves child sexual
abuse and the victim is currently a minor, the elders should contact the branch office2
before arranging a meeting with the child and the alleged abuser.) If the accuser or the
accused is unwilling to meet with the elders or if the accused continues to deny the
accusation of a single witness and the wrongdoing is not established, the elders will leave
matters in Jehovah's hands. (The Watchtower, 2010, p.72)

Most likely in response to media focus on the Organization’s pedophilia scandals, the Governing
Body sent a letter to JW elders in April 2018, stipulating that pedophilia is ‘a crime’ which

2
The branch office is made up of JW officials who supervise the movement in any given country.

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congregation members may choose to report to the authorities:

We recognize that the authorities are responsible for addressing such crimes. The elders
do not shield any perpetrator of child abuse from the authorities. In all cases, victims
and their parents have the right to report an accusation of child abuse to the authorities.
Therefore, victims, their parents, or anyone else who reports such an accusation to the
elders are clearly informed by the elders that they have the right to report the matter to
the authorities. Elders do not criticize anyone who chooses to make such a report.
(Jehovah’s Witnesses’ scripturally based position, 2018)

Although the Organization’s clarification that pedophilia is a crime (rather than simply a ‘sin’) is
an important shift, there is no indication of a change to the two-witness rule for responding to
allegations of abuse. Adherence to this rule, within a culture that prizes loyalty and compliance,
has meant that countless allegations have not been thoroughly investigated. In some instances,
victims of sexual abuse have been shunned by the JW community for deciding to leave, while
perpetrators have remained in congregations, having been judged sufficiently ‘repentant’ by
elders or not having undergone proper investigation at all.

The inadequacy of JW child protection policies was examined by the Australian Royal
Commission, which concluded in its report:

The Royal Commission considers the management of the risk of reoffending to be an

essential factor in the development of an institution’s policies and procedures on the
protection of children from sexual abuse. There is no evidence before the Royal
Commission that the Jehovah’s Witness organisation has properly considered that risk
in developing its precautionary measures for dealing with known or alleged perpetrators
of child sexual abuse. This suggests a serious lack of understanding on the part of the
Jehovah’s Witness organisation about the nature of child sexual abuse and the risk of
reoffending, and it places children within the organisation at significant risk of sexual
abuse. (Australian Royal Commission, 2016 p. 69)

* * *

It is clear that various characteristics of the JW cult can have a deleterious effect on the
psychological well-being of members. These characteristics might be summarized as follows:

• The group’s leadership is authoritarian and exclusively male, headed by a small co-opted
clique and supported by a bureaucracy. The leaders are the sole moderators of ‘the
truth’.

• The culture prizes unquestioning obedience (framed as ‘loyalty’). This can elicit fear and
guilt, which can then be used to control the behavior of members.

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• The focus on a supposed ‘apocalypse’ creates anxiety and excitement, keeping emotional
arousal high. This can discourage rational analysis and induce compliant behaviors that
continually privilege the Organization’s needs over the individual’s.

• Dualistic thinking (good versus bad, ‘the truth’ versus ‘the world’) can evoke both a fear
of outsiders and a sense of superiority over them, resulting in a separation from the rest
of humankind.

• Intellectual curiosity is discouraged (and compared to the ‘sin of Eve’) and secular
education is seen as potentially harmful. Fear of ‘apostasy’ may deter members from
searching for information online. Members may thus be unaware of some concepts that
are embraced by mainstream society.

Section 2: Working therapeutically with ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses

It is important to note that being an ex-JW does not necessarily mean one is an ex-believer:
numerous former Witnesses remain committed to the idea that the religion is ‘the truth’.
‘Believing’ ex-members are sometimes referred to by other ex-JWs as ‘POMI’ (physically out;
mentally in). Those who are POMI may be wracked with guilt for having ‘dishonoured Jehovah’
and their JW families. They may feel unwilling or unable to return to the group, but still live in
fear of death at Armageddon.

Conversely, there are members who no longer believe the group’s doctrines but choose to delay
their exit, or even to remain Jehovah’s Witnesses. These members are sometimes referred to by
ex-JWs as ‘PIMO’ (physically in; mentally out). Those who are PIMO often feel they cannot leave
because of concerns about losing relationships with their family members.

Many different factors can prompt members to leave the cult. Younger JWs may yearn to escape
from the litany of rules, and find the social attitudes of the group stifling and dated (Habibis &
Hookway, 2013). Witnesses who are bi, gay or trans often feel they have little choice but to leave,
as the Organization condemns not only non-heterosexual sex but also non-heterosexual feelings,
so that even those who remain celibate inevitably fall short of what members refer to as ‘Jehovah’s
standards’ (Lalich & McLaren, 2010). Some members may have disagreements over matters of
doctrine and Biblical interpretation (Holden, 2002); others may feel uneasy about the
Organization’s conduct in particular areas, such as the handling of sexual abuse cases or the
treatment of ex-members. In some cases, leaving can be prompted by many of these factors
combined (Gutgsell, 2017).

In this section, I detail some of the challenges that JWs may face during the process of separating
themselves from the group and suggest possible therapeutic responses.

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Issues encountered by ex-JWs

Authoritarian culture

The simplistic answers of fundamentalism can provide refuge from a complex world, and a
protective shield against what Erich Fromm (1942) famously called ‘the fear of freedom’. Having
left a totalist structure, former members may look to new authority figures, such as therapists, to
provide immediate answers, quick fixes or grand narratives. They may be attracted to new groups
that claim to possess ‘the truth’ or special knowledge, and that rely upon similar dynamics of
domination and subjugation.

In his insightful study of ‘relational systems of subjugation’ in both families and cultic groups,
psychoanalyst Daniel Shaw describes how the narcissistic parent shores up a position of
dominance by attacking the subjectivity of the child, a relational pattern that lasts long into
adulthood: ‘The child traumatized in this way now strives to be the right kind of object for the
narcissist, because his separate subjectivity has been deemed of no value. The idol parent is the
only one who has something to give, and the adult child can either kneel at the throne, be
banished [or] disinherited’ (Shaw, 2014, p.194). Subjugation or banishment is a familiar choice
for Jehovah’s Witnesses. The group promotes self-negation, with adherents expected to prioritize
the demands of the Organization over their personal needs and desires. After the collapse of
idealized parental figures in the form of Jehovah and the Organization, former members can feel
betrayed and abandoned. As they come to realize the personal sacrifices they have made for the
Organization, the grief over lost time and missed opportunities can be overwhelming.

Control through the use of fear and guilt

The use of fear and guilt, along with (crucially) intermittent gratification, keeps members
dependent and ‘on their toes’ in a dynamic that is typical of abusive relationships. Indeed, the
after-effects of involvement in the group can resemble those of separating from a 1:1 abusive
relationship: anxiety, depression, identity confusion, poor self-care, and low self-worth
(Giambalvo, 1993; Shaw, 2014). The social isolation that results from the JW shunning policy
can evoke feelings of shame in ex-members, even among those who are convinced that the group
is a cult. Those who are able to maintain contact with their JW families frequently experience
the grief and frustration of feeling they cannot be completely honest with their JW relatives about
their lives or beliefs, for fear of being judged a malign influence and therefore losing contact
altogether.

Psychologist Meredith Friedson suggests that both current and former JWs may also struggle with
obsessive-compulsive difficulties: ‘People with obsessive–compulsive tendencies often strive for
perfection. They often have difficulty making decisions and vacillate between options because
they are afraid of making the ‘‘wrong’’ choice and losing out on their ideal. Sometimes this
indecision results in the loss of opportunity or a decision being forced upon them by default. In
a religion where even the most minor infractions (e.g., smoking a cigarette) must be confessed to

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a group of Elders (generally white, older men3) and can result in the person being
disfellowshipped, a high emphasis on perfection—and an inherent anxiety in evaluating every
act—is likely to result’ (Friedson, 2015, p.705).

Such anxieties can manifest themselves in the therapeutic process. There may be a reluctance to
commit to therapy due to an understandable fear of domination (i.e., that the emotional intimacy
of therapy will lead to their being trapped or manipulated) or of merger (for example, a fantasy
that the therapist secretly wishes to ‘convert’ them to their own worldview). In sessions, the
former member may fear displeasing the therapist and strive to be a ‘good’ client/patient who
expresses the ‘right’ emotions.

Apocalyptic and dualistic thinking

When JWs leave the sect, they ‘lose’ the promised immortality (which includes the resurrection
of loved ones) that they had once believed to be guaranteed. For those who adopt an apocalyptic
mindset, much of their emotional investment is in their future salvation. For some ex-JWs, it is
a disturbing shift to have to focus upon, and invest in, living now.

The apocalyptic outlook is one of searing clarity: it neatly divides the world into good and evil,
righteous and unrighteous. When Jehovah’s Witnesses leave the religion, they are cut adrift from
the comfort of this absolute certainty and, as a result, can feel deeply unsafe. If there is no
punishment and no reward, how does one make ethical choices? If the JW worldview is not ‘the
truth’, what is? If Armageddon is not coming, how will the world end? Worse: how can one bear
the anxiety of things not ending? Even when a former member no longer believes in Armageddon,
a tendency towards apocalyptic thinking can remain. This can manifest itself as an expectation
of future punishment, hyper-vigilance about world events or a more generalized sense of ‘living
on borrowed time’.

Having been raised in a self-isolating community, in which non-members are described as living
under the rule of Satan, many exiting Jehovah’s Witnesses are naturally fearful about forming
relationships with outsiders. They may have no social network outside the group. They may worry
about being perceived as foolish or peculiar for having been in the group at all, or feel they do
not know how to behave in certain social situations. This can mean that, despite leaving the
group, ex-members can continue to feel separate from ‘the world’. Moreover, there can be some
narcissistic wounding in no longer belonging to a special group or ‘chosen people’.

Discouragement of emotional insight and intellectual curiosity

In her important work on cultic groups, Alexandra Stein notes that in order to maintain power,
group leaders must not only stifle the intellectual curiosity of members, but also prevent them
from thinking about feelings. The leadership aims ‘to inhibit a person’s ability to reflect upon their
actual situation and sense perceptions, and […] impede the use of their higher-cognitive functions
to make decisions about how to act on those perceptions. In giving up that ability to think about
one’s feelings, the follower then hands over the power to interpret their reality to whoever places
themselves as the holder of the correct interpretation, namely: the leader’ (2017, p.140). As JWs

3
Friedson’s work refers to the experience of JWs based in the USA. This is not the case in other countries of the
world. However, seven of the eight members of the Governing Body are white, older men.

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are not encouraged to think about their feelings, especially those deemed negative or shameful
by the Organization, ex-members can be unfamiliar and uncomfortable with both reflecting upon
and experiencing particular feeling states.

Since the Organization discourages further education and punishes dissent, critical thinking skills
can be under-developed. There may be serious gaps in leavers’ knowledge about the workings and
beliefs of the outside world, and they may lack confidence in their ability to assess information.
Upon leaving the group, ex-members often have few educational qualifications for well-paid
work, and can face serious financial difficulties. This hardship is compounded if the ex-member
is forced to leave the family home due to shunning.

Therapeutic responses to the issues presented by former JWs

Psychotherapy with well-informed clinicians provides a precious opportunity to both create a new
life structure and explore past experiences. This dual process is well described in a paper by
therapist Doni Whitsett in Cult Recovery: A Clinician’s Guide to Working with Former Members and
Families (2017). Since some former members may be in the midst of both practical and emotional
crises when they seek clinical help, Whitsett notes that first attending to the ex-member’s present
life will serve to ‘lay the foundation for the more in-depth psychological work of the second
strand’ (2017, p.196). Published by the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA), The Cult
Recovery guide describes a wide variety of effective therapeutic approaches and is recommended
reading for anyone working with former members.

It is worth noting that as Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught to focus relentlessly on ‘the end’, they
can experience anxiety when an end is not in sight. To alleviate such tension, the client may try
to rush the therapy process in order to create an ending. Depending on the modality of the
therapy, clinicians may suggest a review after a particular number of sessions. This can enable the
ex-member to settle in to the therapeutic work within a temporal frame that feels both flexible
and safe.

Learning about the psychology of coercive control helps former members to place their
experiences of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in a broader context. Susceptibility to manipulation and
exploitation is, of course, universal, and the persuasive techniques used by the Organization are
powerful and well-honed. If former JWs are able to recognize both the universality of human
vulnerability to manipulation and the efficacy of the Organization’s techniques, this can help to
assuage the intense shame they may feel about their involvement. I have included Robert Lifton’s
Eight Criteria for Thought Reform as an Appendix to this paper; former members may find it a
useful comparative checklist with their experience of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Lifton, an
American psychiatrist, studied the process of ‘brainwashing’ (although he preferred the less
sensationalist term, ‘thought reform’). His ‘Eight Criteria’ are based upon research interviews
conducted after the Korean War with both American former POWs and Chinese defectors.
Written in 1961, Lifton’s work remains a seminal text in thinking about coercive techniques and
psychological manipulation.

The psychotherapeutic project – consisting, for the most part, of a non-judgemental exploration

12
of the inner life – runs completely counter to the Jehovah’s Witness culture, which offers absolute
certainty in exchange for the suppression of thoughts and feelings that do not correspond to the
JW ideal. Building the subject’s capacity to tolerate ambiguity and uncertainty serves as an
antidote to the temptations of dogma, and creates space for the suppressed aspects of the self to
emerge. Clinicians are conscious of the transferential pull to adopt the role of the idealized all-
knowing authority figure; their ability to manage the state of not knowing, their willingness to
learn and to admit mistakes should contrast with the impervious grandiosity of the
Organization’s leaders (see Dubrow-Marshall, 2017, p. 224).

As JWs are encouraged to have a passive attitude to knowledge, allowing the Organization alone
to confer meaning upon life, a part of the recovery process can therefore involve kindling the
spirit of intellectual curiosity and openness that former members have previously regarded as
sinful and threatening. Furthermore, living without an apocalyptic narrative means re-
interpreting the world in a very different light, and might call for an engagement with subjects
that had previously been taboo, such as evolutionary biology, theology, philosophy, psychology,
and non-JW versions of history.

During the recovery process, ex-JWs can be encouraged to focus upon their own well-being, and
to register the differences between relationships based on mutual esteem and those based upon
paradigms of subjugation and dominance. As Linda Dubrow-Marshall and Rod Dubrow-Marshall
note, ‘Former members of cult-like groups may find it hard not to view self-care as a selfish
indulgence that is bereft of the formerly all-consuming and more important world-changing
group mission and identity. Psychotherapists can help them to rebuild a sense of self that
supports their individual needs for nurturance and well-being, particularly if the psychotherapists
are also seen to be following this advice themselves’ (2017, p.225).

An understanding of the external dynamics of domination and subjugation can be used to shed
light upon intra-psychic dynamics. Jehovah’s Witnesses are encouraged to subjugate themselves
to the Organization, but also to identify with its infallibility and righteousness. Such splitting can
leave aspects of the self inflected with a harsh authoritarianism or grandiosity, while others are
burdened by shame and vulnerability. The therapeutic aim is not to collude with the fantasy of
purging every trace of these JW selves (as JWs attempt to do with their ‘worldly’ selves when they
convert), but to enter into a more conscious relationship to them. As the ex-member becomes
more aware of the moments when they adopt a fundamentalist stance, or resort to self-destructive
behaviors as a response to uncertainty, they can gradually devise alternative strategies for
managing life’s unpredictability.

Such internal struggles are not particular to ex-JWs, but reflect wider, perhaps universal, tensions
between our more fanatical tendencies and what Robert Lifton, in his foreword to Cults in Our
Midst (1995), calls the ‘protean self’: ‘The protean self, in contrast to the fundamentalist or cult
self, is open and many-sided; rather than narrowly prescribed, it calls forth odd combinations,
and includes important elements of humor and mockery. The protean self is not without its
difficulties in its constant quest for an ethical core. But it has the virtue of avoiding absolutes and
dead ends and holding out an ever-present possibility for transformation and change’ (Singer &
Lalich, 1995, p.xii).

There are Jehovah’s Witnesses in over 200 countries; the life experiences and attitudes of ex-

13
members are therefore diverse. After leaving, some JWs endorse liberal and often atheistic views;
others, in contrast, remain deeply uncomfortable with secular society and may commit to new
religious groups, sometimes with equal fervor. Between these poles one encounters ex-JW
agnostics, socially liberal Christians, or those who reject organized religion but still maintain the
JW position that the Bible is God’s guidebook to life.

Unsurprisingly, tensions among these divergent communities become visible on the many forums
and support groups for ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses and there have been conflicts between the more
prominent ex-JW activists. This said, the online experiences of ex-JWs tend to be overwhelmingly
positive and sometimes profound: some members have secretly visited ex-JW websites for months
or years before making the decision to leave the group themselves. As it is often the only space
where Witnesses can openly discuss and critique the Organization, the internet frequently plays
a key role in JW ‘exit stories’. For all its flaws, online peer support can be invaluable for members
during the leaving process.

Leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses is not a single event, but a long and often arduous journey.
However, thousands of JWs leave the group each year, and begin a process of recovery that can
lead to greater psychological freedom and equilibrium. Support from clinicians who are
knowledgeable about the challenges faced by ex-members, or are willing to learn about them,
plays a crucial role in this process. As they grow in confidence, ex-JWs can move away from the
crushing dominance of the Organization and come to realize their own ability to lead meaningful
lives as ‘part of the world’.

Natasha Freestone, 2018.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Julia Gutgsell for our many conversations about the impact of shunning
upon ex-JWs.

Recommended Reading

Goldberg, L., Goldberg, W., Henry, R., Langone, M. (Eds.) (2017) Cult recovery: A clinician’s guide
to working with former members and families. Bonita Springs: International Cultic Studies
Association.

Lalich, J. & McClaren, K. (2017) Escaping utopia: Growing up in a cult, getting out and starting over.
New York: Routledge.

Lifton, R. (1961) Thought reform and the psychology of totalism. New York: W.W. Norton.

Shaw, D. (2014) Narcissism: Relational systems of subjugation. New York: Routledge.

Singer, M. & Lalich, J. (1995) Cults in our midst. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

14
Stein, A. (2016) Terror, love and brainwashing: Attachment in cults and totalitarian systems. New York:
Routledge.

Zieman, B. (2015) Exiting the JW cult: A healing handbook. North Charleston: Create Space.

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Appendix

Robert J. Lifton’s Eight Criteria for Thought Reform

From Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism (1961) New York: W.W. Norton.

1. Milieu Control. This involves the control of information and communication both
within the environment and, ultimately, within the individual, resulting in a
significant degree of isolation from society at large.
2. Mystical Manipulation. There is manipulation of experiences that appear
spontaneous but in fact were planned and orchestrated by the group or its leaders in
order to demonstrate divine authority or spiritual advancement or some special gift
or talent that will then allow the leader to reinterpret events, scripture, and
experiences as he or she wishes.
3. Demand for Purity. The world is viewed as black and white and the members are
constantly exhorted to conform to the ideology of the group and strive for
perfection. The induction of guilt and/or shame is a powerful control device used
here.
4. Confession. Sins, as defined by the group, are to be confessed either to a personal
monitor or publicly to the group. There is no confidentiality; members' ‘sins,’
‘attitudes,’ and ‘faults’ are discussed and exploited by the leaders.
5. Sacred Science. The group's doctrine or ideology is considered to be the ultimate
Truth, beyond all questioning or dispute. Truth is not to be found outside the
group. The leader, as the spokesperson for God or for all humanity, is likewise above
criticism.
6. Loading the Language. The group interprets or uses words and phrases in new ways
so that often the outside world does not understand. This jargon consists of thought-
terminating clichés, which serve to alter members' thought processes to conform to
the group's way of thinking.
7. Doctrine over person. Member's personal experiences are subordinated to the sacred
science and any contrary experiences must be denied or reinterpreted to fit the
ideology of the group.
8. Dispensing of existence. The group has the prerogative to decide who has the right
to exist and who does not. This is usually not literal but means that those in the
outside world are not saved, unenlightened, unconscious and they must be converted
to the group's ideology. If they do not join the group or are critical of the group, then
they must be rejected by the members. Thus, the outside world loses all credibility. In
conjunction, should any member leave the group, he or she must be rejected also.

17