Report on Religious Field Research
Assignment 2
December 7th , 2011

Religious understanding is a touchy subject. Many people are ignorant by choice to the principles, teachings, and interpretations of other religions because they feel as though the religion that they were raised in is the one true and correct religion and understanding. Personally, the religion that I have the most interest in learning about is the Jehovah’s Witness religion. I have a lot of question that are rooted in the understanding of my religion and the inconsistencies that I feel the Jehovah Witnesses as a whole possess. Needless to say, I learned quite a bit from my sit down and acute immersion in the Jehovah’s Witness religion. I chose to interview my friend Wyendi and her grandmother to get a well-rounded outlook and understanding ( at least partially) of the religion as a whole. This report will attempt to discuss the misconceptions that I had about the religion, analyze my prior understanding against my understanding now that I have spoken to a Jehovah Witness, discuss whether or not I believe that the misconceptions about the Jehovah Witness religion are common, and present one way that I think could minimize misconceptions that people may have about religions that are not their own.
Based on my understanding of the Jehovah Witness religion I had about 6 key questions that I wanted to ask. The first question that I posed to my friend Wyendi and her grandmother dealt with their non-celebration of holidays. As a child I know that I always looked forward to family gatherings around Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving and the like and I could not imagine the holiday season without some type of celebration or recognition of the purpose for the season ( the adage “Jesus is the Reason for the Season comes to mind). This answer to this question way very important to me because I always wondered why my friend would never come to my birthday parties or why she would never say “Merry Christmas” or “:Happy Thanksgiving.” When I asked Wyendi and her grandmother this question they both let out a quick and quiet chuckle and almost simultaneously answered my question with a question which was, “Why do you?” I politely replied that I saw no reason not to celebrate the holidays or my birthday because I understood the meaning behind each and was grateful to God for allowing me to see another year and another birthday. I was comfortable and confident in my answer to them and they kindly advised me that they did not participate in religious holidays such as Christmas or Easter because these dates were pagan dates and had not religious meaning and that as Christians they are supposed to separate themselves from worldly practices and live as close the His word and law as possible. They further explained that they did not celebrate birthdays for the same reason.
The next question that I asked then dealt with the reason why they called him Jehovah and no other name…why did they not call his God or Savior. Wyendi took the reins on this question and explained to me that his name is Jehovah (based on a passage in the book of Psalms) and that the other names he is called by are his titles. I took offense to this sentiment because the presented the answer to me in a way that made me feel like they were chastising and correctly in my understanding of his name and all titles associated with Him. I gently explained to them that in Hebrew is name is actually Yaweh and that the translation over the years has been translated into many different languages and by many different scholars but as long as He can understand our heart and our understanding that he is out Father and Savior he will answer any named that we call him by ( as long as it is not Blasphemous).
Next, I asked them about their Meetings and how they were conducted. More specifically I asked them why they called them meetings and not worship services, or the like, and they said that it was their conscious attempt to separate themselves from the world and stand out. They also said that they called them meeting because in the Bible, back during Jesus’ time, the did not have worship services…they had meetings. This question nudged me into my question about the title that they gave their religious centers, Kingdom Halls, and why they called them by that name. Wyendi’s grandmother advised me that it is called the Kingdom Hall because they are all Witnesses to his kingdom and glory and that their place of worship was the hall where the true believers and those who understand his word can gather to lift his name. I left the answer at that because based on my religion and what I was raised in, along with my understanding of the scripture ( “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there in the midst I will be), I know for myself that I believe that his anointed and followers can worship anywhere as long as they have the holy spirit in them.
Needless to say, by this point of the conversation, my understanding of the Jehovah Witness religion was expanding…unfortunately I can’t say that my acceptance of this religion’s practices was doing the same. However, I continued to delve further into the questions that I think that someone new to any religion would ask. My next question dealt with their concept of Heaven and Hell. I was somewhat taken aback when they stated to me that they believed in Heaven but not in Hell. From their scripture, they don’t believe that there can be a hell because God has the power to resurrect and will do so in the end of days. Again they go back to the idea of Hell being a pagan word given to the afterlife (or lack of) to scare people into doing what society deemed morally right. Now again, this is a point in the conversation that got very tense for a moment. Clearly their understanding and interpretation of the Bible diverged from mine at this point and I wanted to make sure that they knew that I was attempting to understand their reasoning but that to me it was incorrect. While again, interpretation through the years has misconstrued many things in the Bible there is are a few issues that are unwavering and the same throughout time…this was one of those situations. The Bible clearly talks about a “pit” where the dammed will go when they are not delivered into the Word and are absent of faith. Whether a person chooses to call it Hell or not...it does exist and should not be trivialized.
This paper definitely would not due the conversation justice in terms of the learning that took place on both sides during the interview however it does give a brief snapshot into how learning about different religions can be a tumultuous yet eye opening experience. I would love to say that my perception about the Jehovah Witness religion was altered or swayed, but to be honest I don’t know the real answer to that question. Perhaps I have a greater understanding of their practices and how they conduct their religion but to me, and based on my religious beliefs, asking a Jehovah’s Witness about a specific part of their religion and the justification of their practices just leads to more questions that seem to have no answer or responses that follow the premise of “Our way is the true way and there is not questioning of our faith because it is what it always has been and will continue to be what it was….the real truth.” I can understand to a certain extent this idea however, being that the Jehovah Witnesses practice evangelism and discipleship with such an iron will, I personally feel as though they should be able to point to scriptures that back up their beliefs. To further extend on this I definitely feel that I, in my religious beliefs, should be able to evangelize and my truth in the same ways, with the same convictions, and with the same scriptural reference.
I believe that misconceptions about people’s religions are very common due to accepted ignorance. People tend to follow what they have been raised to believe and often time the idea of listening or entertaining another religion feels like a form of disrespect to their beliefs and the religion that they practice. A good example of this in current times deal with the world view of the Islamic religion and the ideas and that many believe that Islam promotes. If people only took the time to speak with a Muslim and to understand that just like with any other religion there are sects that inaccurately portray their teachings…they would understand that Islam is totally different than what the media and world thinks it is.
Finally, the best solution that I feel could be taken to minimize misconceptions people have about other religions is to do religious interview such as these. Although it may not change how you feel about the religion it will give you new insight and understanding of their religion and might open the door to help you better understand yours.