The religious organization Jehovah's Witnesses operates in more than two hundred countries around the world and has over five million followers (according to other sources, the number of members of the organization exceeded seven million in 2011). There are about one hundred and sixty thousand of them in Russia. Some researchers of religion consider Jehovah's Witnesses to be a sect, others - a religious organization of the Protestant trend.
In 1870, Charles Thes Russell formed a Bible Study Group in Pittsburgh, which was renamed Jehovah's Witnesses (or the Watchtower Bible and Pamphlet Society) in 1931. The Spiritual Governing Body of the organization is now located in the New York-Brooklyn area.
The name of the organization is based on words taken from the book of the prophet Isaiah, where Jehovah calls his followers witnesses. The translation of the book was made by the members of the organization themselves.
Religious scholars differ in their opinions regarding Jehovah's Witnesses. Some scholars classify the organization as a Protestant movement of the Adventist movement, others as a pseudo-Christian movement, and still others as sectarianism.
Members of the organization consider their mission to testify (stories) about God, whose name is Jehovah, and missionary propaganda of their beliefs. Although the Jehovists do not consider themselves to be either a separate religion or an organized church.
They are convinced that Jehovah is God, whose son is Christ. He gave his life to atone for the godly Jehovah's Witnesses and rose from the dead as an immortal spirit. Members of the organization believe in the second coming of Christ to Earth and his unconditional victory over Satan. But they do not recognize the afterlife and, relying on their own interpretations of the Bible, argue that sinners cease to exist altogether, and only 144,000 elect are destined to go to heaven, who, after Armageddon, together with Christ, will rule earthly affairs.
Members of the organization believe that one should obey only laws that do not contradict God. They do not recognize military service and do not accept blood transfusions, do not honor the national flag and anthem, and do not belong to any public organizations.
Membership in the organization is made through baptism, which is performed with full immersion. Thereafter, the new convert must devote himself to the ministry of testimony, which consists of propagating and distributing The Watchtower Bible pamphlets on the streets and in homes. In addition to baptism, the organization has special rituals of marriage and burial.
Jehovah's Witnesses gather once a week in so-called Kingdom Halls to study the Bible. There are no special clergymen in the organization. Local congregations are run by Jehovah's servants trained in the organization's preaching schools.
Until recently, Jehovah's Witnesses were banned in a number of countries: in Spain, Romania, Greece, the Dominican Republic, as well as in almost all Muslim countries.
