The Foundation Against Watchtower Shunning (SAWS), registered in Aalten, Holland has sent 7 letters to the Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses (CCJW) in the Netherlands inviting them to enter a dialogue with all those who continue to suffer because of the religious mandated shunning policy. A press release has been circulated stating that if the CCJW Directors or representatives ignore the …
Exclusive Brethren Widower Shunned by Family
I was born into the Exclusive Brethren in 1947, one of five children. In 1959 there was a leadership challenge, which caused a major split. My family decided to stay with the American ‘man of God’ this meant shunning all our friends and relatives who were not members. We were forbidden to eat or talk with these former members; they …
Lee Marsh: The Shunning Policy Hurts People Who Need Support
I was baptized in 1969 when I was 17 years old. Married at 18 and had a baby before I was 20 and another, 4 years later. My husband became an elder after about 7 years. He had one personality for the congregation, kind, helpful, and knowledgeable about the Bible, and another when he was at home, distant, demanding, and …
Richard Kelly Talks to OnionUnlimited About the Genesis of Stop Mandated Shunning
On 11 September 2023, Richard E. Kelly was interviewed by Daniel Torridon from the Onion Unlimited podcast. The interview explored Richard’s powerful and often painful story and much more: Click here to watch the podcast on OnionUnlimited’s YouTube channel.
High-Control Groups Abuse the Human Rights of Children
At the time of writing, there are 2.3 billion children in a global population of 8,045,311,447 on the planet. How many of those children are being raised in high-control groups is unknown. One of the reasons Stop Mandated Shunning is collecting mandated shunning stories and why a small group of researchers created a survey is because we want to document how and why children …
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. …
The Last Days for High-Control Groups and Shunning?
From Netflix to Hollywood celebrities, the world is buzzing with stories of survival from high-control groups. While the groups ignore or head to court to stop disclosures, victims and survivors tell their stories of abuse, loss of family relationships and abandonment by friends. Stop Mandated Shunning is a new movement gaining traction. It was started by a group of people …
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 …