Experiencing religious shunning: insights into the journey from being a member to leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses community

Grendele, Windy A., Bapir-Tardy, Savin and Flax, Maya (2023) Experiencing religious shunning: insights into the journey from being a member to leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses community. Pastoral Psychology. ISSN 0031-2789

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Grendele,_Bapir-Tardy,_and_Flax_2023_Pastoral_Psychol._Experiencing_religious_shunning_-_insights_into_the_journey_from_being_a_member_to_leaving_the_Jehovah’s_Witnesses_community.pdf - Accepted Version
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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-023-01074-y

Abstract

This research explores qualitatively the experiences of individuals shunned by the Jehovah’s Witnesses community. Four key themes emerge from the 21 semistructured videoconferencing interviews which form the research data analysed using reflexive thematic analysis (Braun et al., 2019). These themes, namely Reasons for Being Shunned, the Judicial Committee, and Consequences of Religious Shunning and Reinstatement, shed light on the events and behaviour which led to the public announcement of the participants’ formal shunning and on the controlling environment the religious community has created by endorsing a culture based on fear, guilt, and shame. Although research conducted to explore the experiences of religious shunning is not abundant, the findings of the current study are in line with previous research, highlighting that the individual’s journey from being a member to leaving the community is a multifaceted experience, influenced by several factors, which has a detrimental impact on their well-being.

Item Type:	Article
Identifier:	10.1007/s11089-023-01074-y
Additional Information:	Grendele, W.A., Bapir-Tardy, S. & Flax, M. Experiencing Religious Shunning: Insights into the Journey From Being a Member to Leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses Community. Pastoral Psychol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-023-01074-y
Keywords:	Shunning experiences, Religious shunning, Former Jehovah’s Witnesses, Control and coercion, Disciplinary measures
Subjects:	Philosophy Psychology
Related URLs:	Publisher Publisher
Depositing User:	Windy A. Grendele
Date Deposited:	04 May 2023 13:25
Last Modified:	14 Jun 2023 14:55
URI:	https://repository.uwl.ac.uk/id/eprint/9958