Religions

Religious and Ethnic Groups

ETH/125

February 16, 2014

Charmagne Quarles

Religious and Ethnic Groups

According to the Pew Research Center (2013), only .7% of the United States population has an affiliation with the branch of Christianity known as Jehovah's Witnesses. Jehovah’s Witnesses are a sect of Christian who believe in Jehovah (their God and creator of all things) who preach His teaching, therefore, refer to themselves as Jehovah's Witnesses (Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, 2014). Members of the religion do consider themselves Christian, yet they translate teachings and beliefs differently. One example of a different practice of Jehovah Witnesses and the majority of other religions is Jehovah Witnesses do not celebrate Christmas. Witnesses do believe in the birth of Jesus Christ, but they believe in commemorating his death, not his birth (Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, 2014). The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania (2014) also claims they do not celebrate Christmas because they believe pagan customs have been associated with the holiday. The subject of blood transfusions also sets the Jehovah’s Witnesses apart from other religious denominations. They understand that blood gives life, and only Jehovah can give life, in medical terms, blood (Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, 2014). As another testament to the value they place on life, Jehovah witnesses do not go to war or believe in abortion. The value system that Jehovah witnesses follow is quite strict, as well. They believe the human body is sacred, thus limit smoking and drinking. Jehovah Witnesses also strongly believe in traditional family values such monogamy and strongly disagree with homosexuality (Knocking.org, n.d.).

According to the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania (2014), Jehovah Witnesses believe that the Bible has been corrupted by the church. Jehovah is their god and the only being that...