I started to be shunned in 2012 at age 53, 38 years after I became one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. I was not disfellowshipped yet, though. The shunning was neither complete nor universal at that point – only a few JWs really talked to me, but most others would at least greet me if the situation made it awkward to not …
Lifetime of Shunning, Early Death and Mandated Abuse
In the early 1960’s my mother began to study the beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses with the woman who lived next door. She was at a low ebb. My father had recently had another nervous breakdown, and she felt she had nowhere to turn. Jehovah’s Witnesses offered a false hope to a frightened woman, and she still clings to that fallacy …
Painfully Shunned by Mother and Brother
My parents joined Jehovah’s Witnesses when I was 5 years old. I was raised in the cult and knew no other way. I married very young, pioneered, ministerial servant, then elder. I think that by my 30s though I was having many doubts about doctrine, homophobia, the arrogance of the view that theirs is the only true religion, and the …
Grandmother Shunned by Family for the Last 7 Years
I am 51 years old and have been shunned by both of my parents, 2 sisters and 2 nephews for the past 7 years due to my decision to leave the Jehovah’s Witnesses religion. I was raised a Jehovah’s Witness from a young child but realized at a young age that I did not want to be a Jehovah’s Witness. …
Lack of Love: My Mother-in-Law
I am married to a person who was a Jehovah’s Witness. She left when she was in her twenties but has many family members still in the organization. My main experience has been with her mother who is required by the organization to shun her daughter. There have been a few occasions when her mother has broken the rules and …
Julia Gutgsell: Researcher Shares Experience of Mandated Shunning
My earliest memories of the Jehovah’s Witnesses date back to when I was a young child, just before I started school. Our childhood home was visited by proselytizing JWs. Growing up with my grandparents, I observed my grandmother’s typically friendly demeanor; yet, she strictly forbade me from engaging with ‘those people.’ Transitioning into early adulthood, my curiosity led me to …
Elder Ostracized by Family
During my formative years, my parents joined the Jehovah’s Witnesses church. Their affiliation led to my initiation into the faith through baptism at the ridiculously young age of twelve. My spiritual journey progressed steadily, culminating in my appointment as an “elder” at the age of twenty. Subsequently, during my early twenties, I dedicated five years to serving as a full-time …