Jehovah's Witnesses in Europe : past and present / edited by Gerhard Besier and Katarzyna Stokłosa.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Besier, Gerhard, editor.

Stokłosa, Katarzyna, editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jehovah's Witnesses--Europe--History.

Jehovah's Witnesses.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (454 pages)

Place of Publication:

London, England : Cambridge Scholars Publishing, [2016]

Summary:

The religious association of Jehovah's Witnesses has existed for about 150 years in Europe. How Jehovah's Witnesses found their way in these countries has depended upon the way this missionary association was treated by the majority of the non-Witness population, government and established churches. In this respect, the history of Jehovah's Witnesses in Europe is also a history of the social constitution of these countries and their willingness to accept and integrate religious minorities.For the first time in English-speaking countries, this volume documents the history of Jehovah's Witnesses in Romania, Scandinavia and Finland. In the past, the religious community had some troubles in these countries, particularly because of conscientious objection. Today in all these countries, freedom of religion, a basic human right, is guaranteed.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables

Introduction

Denmark and Norway

I. PRELIMINARY REMARKS

II. DENMARK

1. Pre-World War I

2. World War I

3. The Inter-War Period

4. Word War II

5. Post-World War II

6. Legal Battles in More Recent Times

III. NORWAY

3. Reorganisation

4. The 1930s

5. World War II

6. The Post War Years - Jehovah's Witnesses and Their Right to Evangelise

7. Legal Battles in More Recent Times

8. Jehovah's Witnesses Today

IV. FINAL REMARKS

1. Bibliography Specific to the Religious Association of Jehovah's Witnesses

Finland

1. Introduction

2. Jehovah's Witnesses in Finland until 1939

3. From 1939 to 1944 - War Time Restrictions

4. The Military Service Issue

5. From 1944 to 2016 - Reorganisation and Legal Recognition

6. Defending Freedom of Expression in Court

7. Conclusion

8. Bibliography Specific to the Religious Association of Jehovah's Witnesses

Great Britain and Ireland

1. The Beginnings (1870-1914)

2. War, Neutrality and Tests of Faith (1914-1919)

3. A Turbulent Period of Change (1916-1921)

4. Consolidation, Renewal and Further Growth (1920-1939)

5. Neutrality During World War II

6. A New President (1942) and the Post-War Decades

7. Transition to a Multicultural Organisation (1990-2016)

Romania

2. Brief History of Jehovah's Witnesses in Romania

3. Jehovah's Witnesses and the State - Political Perception and Strategy

4. State Policy Toward Religious Groups - Surveillance, Tolerance and Repression

5. Bibliography Specific to the Religious Association of Jehovah's Witnesses

Romania/HAR

1. Comments on the History of Jehovah's Witnesses in Romania.

2. Three Groups of Defendants

3. Reflections on the Securitate Investigations Against the Defendants

4. Conclusion

Sweden

1. Prefatory Note

2. Religion in Sweden During the Latter Half of the Twentieth Century

3. History

4. Conversions and Statistics

5. Hidden and Open Resistance

6. Text Appendix 1

7. Text Appendix 2

8. Text Appendix 3

9. Text Appendix 4

10. Photo Appendix 1

11. Photo Appendix 2

12. Photo Appendix 3

13. Photo Appendix 4

14. Bibliography Specific to the Religious Association of Jehovah's Witnesses

Notes on Contributors

List of Abbreviations

Index of Persons

Index of Subjects.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

1-5275-8516-6