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Monday Read: Jehovah’s Witnesses and Religious Persecution: Do Signed Declarations Help?
18 Plays2 years ago
In today’s episode of Interactions, we hear from George D. Chryssides of York St. John University and his Canopy Forum article “Jehovah’s Witnesses and Religious Persecution: Do Signed Declarations Help?”
In his article, Chryssides explores the ways in which Jehovah’s Witnesses have been religiously persectued and questions the usefulness of documents meant to criticize this persecution after the release of a joint statement by the US Department of State’s Office of International Religious Freedom in 2021. “Few people to whom I have spoken,” writes Chryssides, “including my own Member of Parliament in the UK, have shown any familiarity with the document, which raises the question of how effective such declarations are likely to be.”
Chryssides examines the antagonization that the Jehovah’s Wittness movement has faced in Russia. At the forefront of this antagonization is the self-proclaimed sectologist Aleksandr Dvorkin, who considers himself a cult expert. Chryssides explains that “Dvorkin succeeded in perpetrating the belief that new religious movements,” like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, “were dangerous.”
How did this all begin? What’s the cause of this persecution toward Jehovah’s Witnesses both in Russia and around the world? And are declarations effectual in the diminishment of mistreatment?
Read the original article on Canopy Forum.
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Transcript
Introduction to Religious Persecution
00:00:05
Speaker
Hello, and welcome to another episode of Interactions, a podcast about law and religion and how they interact in the world around us. In today's episode, we hear from George D. Crocides of York St. John University and his Canopy Forum article, Jehovah's Witnesses and Religious Persecution Do Signed Declarations Help?
00:00:32
Speaker
In his article, Cricides explores the ways in which Jehovah's Witnesses have been religiously persecuted, and questions the usefulness of documents meant to criticize this persecution after the release of a joint statement by the U.S. Department of State's Office of International Religious Freedom in 2021.
00:00:56
Speaker
Few people to whom I have spoken, writes Crocides, including my own Member of Parliament in the UK, have shown any familiarity with the document, which raises the question of how effective such declarations are likely to be.
Hostilities Toward Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia
00:01:13
Speaker
Crocides examines the antagonization that the Jehovah's Witness movement has faced in Russia. At the forefront of this antagonization is the self-proclaimed sectologist Alexander Dworkin, who considers himself a cult expert. Crocides explains that Dworkin succeeded in perpetrating the belief that new religious movements like the Jehovah's Witnesses were dangerous.
00:01:42
Speaker
This led Dvorkin to establish the St. Irenaeus of Lyon Information Consultation Center, SILIC, which proceeded to harass the denomination.
00:01:54
Speaker
Silek's influence was instrumental in the 1997 law on freedom of conscience and religious associations, says Croesidis. It required religious groups from abroad to re-register, and permission was denied to numerous incoming organizations, particularly those that were deemed to threaten public order and safety or to undertake extremist activities.
00:02:21
Speaker
So, how did this all begin?
Roots of Persecution and International Declarations
00:02:24
Speaker
What's the cause of this persecution toward Jehovah's Witnesses, both in Russia and around the world? And are declarations effectual in the diminishment of mistreatment? Find out on today's episode of Interactions. I'm Janet Metzger.
00:02:44
Speaker
On December 17, 2021, the U.S. Department of State's Office of International Religious Freedom issued a joint statement on behalf of the International Religious Freedom and Belief Alliance, IRFBA, condemning the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in several countries
00:03:05
Speaker
and calling on governments worldwide in Teralia to release prisoners, end torture, home raids, all forms of harassment and discrimination, to allow alternative civilian service for conscientious objectors, and to abandon targeting witnesses with anti-extremism legislation.
00:03:27
Speaker
Few people to whom I have spoken, including my own Member of Parliament in the UK, have shown any familiarity with the document, which raises the question of what effect such declarations are likely to have. In what follows, I aim to outline the reasons for the widespread hostility towards Jehovah's Witnesses, focusing particularly on their situation in Russia today.
00:03:55
Speaker
The IRFBA is a network of countries whose aim is to advance religious freedom worldwide and consists of 35 members, together with four friends and two observers. Twelve of its members endorsed the statement concerning Jehovah's Witnesses.
00:04:14
Speaker
The IRFBA's stance is based on the principles of religious freedom enshrined in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which affirms the right to believe and practice one's chosen religion, privately or collectively. The U.S. State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom acts as the IRFBA's secretariat, organizing meetings and disseminating information,
00:04:44
Speaker
and the UK's Special Envoy Fiona Bruce MP is the organization's chair for 2022. The IRFBA receives information from various religious organizations and is concerned with upholding international law
00:05:02
Speaker
taking reactive and proactive measures, raising consciousness, promoting relationships among the various religious groups, and providing support for victims of religious persecution.
Origins and Beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses
00:05:16
Speaker
Most members of the public have little more than vague familiarity with Jehovah's Witnesses through their house-to-house evangelism or the literature carts displayed in public places.
00:05:29
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although during the COVID pandemic, these methods of disseminating their faith were suspended. A brief description of their beliefs and practices may therefore be appropriate.
00:05:41
Speaker
The organization that is now known as Jehovah's Witnesses originated with Charles Taze Russell, who was deeply influenced by the 19th century Adventist movement, and brought together a small group of Bible students in Allegheny, Pennsylvania.
00:06:00
Speaker
he set up the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania for the distribution of religious literature. The first edition of Zion's Watchtower, known today as the Watchtower, appeared in 1879, and the journal was used by a number of like-minded religious groups who used its material for their worship and would get together occasionally for assemblies and for their annual memorial
00:06:29
Speaker
the celebration of Jesus' last evening meal with his disciples. Russell was both a preacher and a prolific writer, and penned six volumes entitled, Millennial Dawn, which gave rise to his supporters being called millennial donists by their detractors.
00:06:51
Speaker
After Russell's death, the second leader, Joseph Franklin Rutherford, made this federation of congregations into a unified, centralized organization and gave them the name of Jehovah's Witnesses in 1931. Jehovah's Witnesses based their beliefs firmly on the Christian Bible, which they believed to be inerrant on all matters of history, doctrine, and guidance for life.
00:07:19
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and the teachings are grounded in their interpretation of Scripture rather than on any extra-biblical revelations or new prophecies.
00:07:28
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The name Jehovah's Witnesses highlights their belief that God's true name is Jehovah and that they are exclusively His people, all other forms of religion being false. It is therefore important to them that they disseminate the truth, as they call their teachings, particularly since they believe humanity to be living in the last days leading up to Armageddon.
00:07:54
Speaker
Only Jehovah, they hold, can solve humanity's problems, not social action or military conquest, hence their firm and consistent opposition to participating in any form of military activity. Their stance has resulted in serious opposition in various countries and in various stages of the society's history.
00:08:21
Speaker
Jehovah's Witnesses' position on war has contributed to much of their unpopularity. In times of war, when citizens rally round in defense of their country, conscientious objection is viewed as unpatriotic. However, for Jehovah's Witnesses, patriotism is not regarded as a Christian virtue.
00:08:43
Speaker
One particularly controversial Watchtower publication, The Finished Mystery, commissioned by Rutherford shortly after Russell's death, stated,
00:08:53
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Nowhere in the New Testament is patriotism, a narrow-minded hatred of other peoples, encouraged. Everywhere and always murder in its every form is forbidden. And yet, under the guise of patriotism, the civil governments of earth demand of peace-loving men the sacrifice of themselves and their loved ones and the butchery of their fellows, and hail it as a duty demanded by the laws of heaven.
00:09:24
Speaker
Jehovah's Witnesses' attitude towards war goes beyond mere avoidance of armed combat. They refuse to do anything associated with the war effort, such as joining an ambulance corps, sewing military uniforms, or loading or unloading cargo that is destined for military purposes. They will accept alternative civilian service, provided it is not under military supervision.
00:09:52
Speaker
However, not every country allows alternative service, and many countries prescribe a period of alternative civilian service, which is substantially longer than the normal period of military training. Jehovah's Witnesses do not regard themselves as subject to any earthly government, but perceive themselves as members of Jehovah's Kingdom.
00:10:18
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If their actions seem unpatriotic in wartime, they can point out that their members in the enemy country are equally refusing to engage in combat. And hence, if everyone behaved like Jehovah's Witnesses, wars throughout the entire world would cease.
00:10:37
Speaker
The earliest criticisms of the Millennial Dawn movement were largely, although not exclusively, theological. A number of early critiques were published, one of the earliest being part of a series of pamphlets entitled The Fundamentals, which were distributed between 1910 and 1915 and marked the inception of the Christian fundamentalist movement.
00:11:02
Speaker
The chapter on Millennial Dawn by W. G. Morehead, a professor at a Protestant theological seminary, provided a detailed critique of the false doctrines of Millennial Dawn. His main objections, echoed by subsequent critics, concerned Russell's denial of Christ's deity and physical resurrection, as well as his rejection of eternal torment in Hell for the Wicked and the Trinity doctrine.
00:11:32
Speaker
Russell made no attempt to minimize such departures from mainstream Christian doctrine and, indeed, on two occasions engaged in public debate with mainstream clergy in front of large audiences. Russell believed that the Christian faith had abandoned its true beliefs and practices at an early stage and that his Bible students were restoring original authentic Christianity.
00:12:02
Speaker
Opposition intensified under Rutherford, whose firm stance on conscientious objection resulted in raids on watchtower premises, the arrest of several watchtower leaders, and prison sentences.
00:12:16
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Some of the public took the law into their own hands, lynching Bible students and destroying their places of worship. Some years later, controversy arose around a number of schoolchildren who had heard Rutherford's views on patriotism and refused to salute the national flag. This led to lengthy litigation lasting several years in which Jehovah's Witnesses were finally vindicated, but the verdict fueled public anger.
00:12:47
Speaker
Christian theological criticism has continued to the present day, mainly from Protestant evangelicals who vigorously challenged Jehovah's Witnesses' interpretation of the Bible. However, during the 1970s, a new wave of new religious movements emerged in the United States and Europe. This was a period of declining church attendance and dwindling public interest in Christian doctrine.
00:13:15
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In any case, many of the new forms of spirituality, for example Scientology and the Hare Krishna movement, made no claim to be forms of Christianity, and hence Protestant evangelical critique was irrelevant.
00:13:31
Speaker
Another type of opposition emerged. These groups' methods of evangelism, members' lifestyle, and effects on family life were the problem, not their inconsistency with Christian teachings. In particular, these new religions were accused of brainwashing, a key concept that the anti-cult movement continues to emphasize.
00:13:56
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Brainwashing theory purportedly explains how followers of new religions come to accept beliefs and practices that seem irrational and bizarre within the dominant culture. If they can acquire members by rational persuasion, it is argued, some irrational process must be at work.
00:14:18
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for example, a compelling charismatic leader, a controlled environment, repetitive teaching, and discouragement of dissenting opinions.
00:14:28
Speaker
Brainwashing theory, of course, has been firmly rejected by academic exponents of NRMs, but the nebulous nature of the concept enables it to fit almost any spiritual movement that exists outside the mainstream. It did not take long for the accusation of brainwashing to be applied to Jehovah's Witnesses. They are zealous, and their faith is highly demanding.
00:14:55
Speaker
Until fairly recently, members typically attended five meetings each week, as well as assemblies and conventions which could last several days, and which were largely devoted to numerous talks by elders, reinforcing the Society's teachings. In addition, house-to-house evangelism is expected.
00:15:17
Speaker
In the past, witnesses were expected to undertake 10 hours of field service each month, although such targets have now been abolished. Ever since Rutherford gave the organization its firm structure, measures were taken to ensure uniformity.
00:15:34
Speaker
And anyone who promotes divergent teachings or whose standards of behavior are judged to be contrary to biblical teaching can be subjected to a judicial committee which has the powers to disfellowship or expel them. One consequence of disfellowshipping is shunning.
00:15:55
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members outside one's household may not speak or have social contact with a disfellowshipped member, thus providing a strong disincentive for anyone to quit the organization.
Opposition from Russian Orthodox Church
00:16:10
Speaker
The Russian anti-cult movement successfully combined these theological and societal opposition to Jehovah's Witnesses. Orthodoxy's religious opposition to Jehovah's Witnesses differs somewhat from that of Protestant evangelicalism.
00:16:27
Speaker
For the latter, the Reformation principle of skola scriptura, or Scripture alone, is held supreme. The view that the Bible exclusively is the source of authority. This differs from Orthodox Christianity, where Christian Scripture is only one source of authority, the other being the Church's tradition.
00:16:48
Speaker
Religious truth must be in line with the doctrines of the ancient church which were formulated before the Great Schism of 1054. Before the Great Schism, the eastern and western branches of the church were united, and the creeds that were formulated by the nine councils that met prior to that date were common to the entire Christian church.
00:17:12
Speaker
These are therefore definitive, and their contents, which include belief in Christ's deity, His eternally begotten nature, and the triune nature of God, are fundamental to the faith, and any deviations are deemed heretical.
00:17:30
Speaker
By rejecting these, Jehovah's Witnesses placed themselves in conflict with the Russian Orthodox Church, ROC. Under the Stalinists' regime, of course, such matters were not an issue, but their refusal to fight in World War II, coupled with their determined evangelism and denunciation of earthly governments, caused Stalin to send many of them into exile.
00:17:57
Speaker
After President Mikhail Gorbachev's announcement of perestroika in 1986, Jehovah's Witnesses' fortunes seemed brighter. In 1990, a law on freedom of religion was adopted, and Russia's opening up to the West enabled numerous new forms of religion to find their way into the country, as well as a revival of the Russian Orthodox Church.
00:18:23
Speaker
Jehovah's Witnesses were allowed to register as a religion in 1991, both in Russia and Ukraine. Many incoming new religions were convinced that the former communist regime had created a spiritual hunger in the country, and those claiming a Christian identity were inspired by Jesus' Great Commission, described at the end of Matthew's Gospel, to go and make disciples of all nations.
00:18:53
Speaker
The Orthodox churches have seldom been concerned with proselytizing and have never taken to the streets to evangelize or to disseminate literature in public places. However, the ROC's lack of evangelical zeal put it at risk of losing ground to the influx of new religions.
00:19:13
Speaker
In some regions, local laws were introduced to restrict the activity of incoming foreign missions and to favor traditional faiths. It was not long before state and church opposition recommenced. Particularly instrumental in both forms of opposition has been the Orthodox anti-cult agitator Alexander Dvorkin.
00:19:38
Speaker
Born in Russia in 1955, Dvorakin studied Russian language and literature at the Moscow Pedagogical Institute and emigrated to the United States in 1977, where he gained a bachelor's degree in 1980 and in the same year was baptized in Christ the Savior Church, New York, into the Orthodox Church in America.
00:20:03
Speaker
In 1988, he became a subdeacon and altar server at St. Nicholas Cathedral, Washington D.C. He is sometimes described as a cleric, but his role was liturgical rather than priestly.
00:20:18
Speaker
Dvorkin's academic expertise lay more in Russian literature and medieval studies, but this did not prevent him from subsequently claiming to be a sectologist, an expert on cults. He lived in the United States at the time of the mass suicides of the Jonestown People's Temple, in which 918 members of Jim Jones' People's Temple died.
00:20:45
Speaker
and which became an iconic example of the perceived dangers of the so-called cults. Dvorkin succeeded in perpetrating the belief that new religious movements were dangerous and that Jonestown provided evidence of such perils.
00:21:02
Speaker
Having returned to Russia in 1991, he commenced work the following year in the Synodal Department of Religious Education and Catechesis, where he came across a number of new religious groups, to which he took exception.
00:21:18
Speaker
In 1993, he established the St. Irenaeus of Leon Information Consultation Center, SILIC, supported by the Moscow Patriarchate, and receiving the approval of Patriarch Alexei II.
00:21:34
Speaker
Silek became the hub of the anti-cult movement and part of a global network of anti-cult organizations. Initially, Dvorakan targeted small, nontraditional, and relatively unknown religious groups in Russia.
00:21:49
Speaker
but his critique soon extended to more familiar organizations such as the Hare Kṛṣṇa Movement, the Unification Church, popularly known as the Munis, and especially Scientologists and Jehovah's Witnesses. We'll be right back after the break.
00:22:16
Speaker
Hi Interactions Listeners, this is Justin Lateral at the Center for the Study of Law and Religion. If you liked this episode and want to learn more about the interactions of law and religion around the world,
00:22:27
Speaker
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00:22:57
Speaker
CILIC is part of a network extending throughout Europe with links to the United States as well. Its opposition to cults has therefore a secular dimension as well as a religious one. Dvorkin's experience in the West enabled him to forge links with Western anti-cult organizations
00:23:18
Speaker
and, in particular, the organization FECRIS, European Federation of Centers of Research and Information on Sectarianism, of which SILIC became a member association. FECRIS was created in 1994 to coordinate the work of some 25 anti-cult organizations worldwide,
00:23:40
Speaker
and is substantially funded by the French government with participatory status in the Council of Europe and special consultative status in the UN Economic and Social Council. Dvorkin's involvement with Fekris enabled him to become its Vice President in 2009, a position which he held until 2019 when he was not re-elected.
00:24:06
Speaker
The reasons for this are unclear. CILIC receives financial support from the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian government.
Impact of Russian Legislation on Religious Freedom
00:24:16
Speaker
Silek's influence was instrumental in the 1997 law on freedom of conscience and religious associations. This required religious groups from abroad to re-register, and permission was denied to numerous incoming organizations, particularly those that were deemed to threaten public order and safety
00:24:37
Speaker
undermine family life, to endanger health, to incite the populace to abandon their civic obligations, or to undertake extremist activities. The 1997 legislation was designed to discriminate against non-traditional religions.
00:24:57
Speaker
Registration allowed religious organizations to worship and teach, distribute their literature, open bank accounts, own property, and invite visitors from abroad. To be eligible to register as a centralized organization, the category into which Jehovah's Witnesses fell, one had to have been in the country for 15 or more years.
00:25:21
Speaker
Jehovah's Witnesses satisfied the residential criterion and successfully re-registered nationally on April 29, 1999.
00:25:32
Speaker
The combination of religious and secular criticism of Jehovah's Witnesses, and indeed the new religions more widely, enabled civil and religious authorities in Russia to mount a concerted attack. Only some 7% of the Russian population actually attend church with any degree of regularity, although 75% self-define as Orthodox.
00:25:59
Speaker
Thus, orthodoxy has combined national unity with religious spirituality and has become the custodian of spiritual security, a term now widely used both inside and outside the ROC.
00:26:15
Speaker
Challenging this spiritual security are what Dvorkin has labeled totalitarian sects. The precise meaning of this term is unclear, but it has been taken up by anti-cultists and the media, and its sheer vagueness and pejorative connotations have enabled it to be applied indiscriminately to new religious groups and, of course, Jehovah's Witnesses.
00:26:42
Speaker
spiritual security and national identity were inextricably linked. Viktor Zorkolzev, the Communist parliamentary deputy, stated in 2003, freedom of conscience is only freedom when this is the freedom not only to believe but to act. However, freedom of conscience has boundaries
00:27:05
Speaker
and these boundaries can be defined by a single expression, spiritual security. Spiritual security is, if you like, one of the conditions of a civil society.
00:27:18
Speaker
Part of the perceived problem of the totalitarian sects was that they came from the West, bringing with them Western values such as consumerism, freedom of choice and expression, feminism, and LGBTQ rights.
00:27:35
Speaker
This was evidenced in Patriarch Kirill's sermon on March 6, 2022, in which he justified the invasion of Ukraine on the grounds that the country was in danger of appropriating Western values, particularly singling out gay pride parades as an affront to traditional cultural and religious values. Ironically, Jehovah's Witnesses would disapprove of all of these also.
00:28:03
Speaker
In the wake of 9-11, there arose an understandable fear of terrorist organizations, and particularly in Russia, measures were taken to restrict the activities of groups that were regarded as extremists.
00:28:18
Speaker
extremism became a ground of accusation against new religious groups. However, extremist was also defined to encompass religious groups that disseminated propaganda of exclusivity, superiority, or inferiority of a person on the basis of their religious affiliation or attitude towards religion.
00:28:42
Speaker
And the registration of Jehovah's Witnesses as a religion was revoked in 2004. In 2006, the legislation was modified so that action could be taken against organizations such as Jehovah's Witnesses, despite their profoundly non-violent nature.
00:29:02
Speaker
Jehovah's Witnesses were labeled extremist on the ground that they asserted their superiority over other forms of religion that were extant in Russia, and in particular, the Russian Orthodox Church, which claims religious superiority.
00:29:19
Speaker
Jehovah's Witnesses faced a number of legal challenges between 1998 and 2004. They were charged with splitting up families and pursuing a lifestyle that interfered with work, leisure, and holidays. Their evangelizing tactics allegedly invaded citizens' privacy, and they were accused of luring minors into their organization.
00:29:44
Speaker
Refusal of blood was allegedly tantamount to suicide, and their refusal to undertake military service was a ground for prosecution. Although Russia allows alternative civilian service, anyone who belongs to an extremist organization can be compelled to join the military.
00:30:04
Speaker
In 2009, Camarovo State University published an expert study. Although it did not suggest that Jehovah's Witnesses incited anyone to violence, it claimed that its literature demonstrated a lack of respect to the Christian faith. As a result, a list of purportedly extremist materials was compiled.
00:30:27
Speaker
Altogether, ninety-three Watchtower publications were defined as extremist literature. These included The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, which is a straightforward narrative about the life and ministry of Jesus, and, curiously, My Book of Bible Stories, which is a children's book introducing Jewish Christian Scripture.
00:30:51
Speaker
Allegedly, this book portrayed priests unfavorably. Although these were ancient Jewish authorities, their appearance was sinister, and their robes bore some resemblance to those of Eastern Orthodox clergy.
00:31:06
Speaker
Even the Society's The New World Translation of Holy Scriptures was listed. This proved to be a source of contention in some legal cases, in which it was argued successfully that it was not a Bible.
00:31:22
Speaker
In 2021, the Octiabar Sky District Court of St. Petersburg ruled that the JW Library app, which provides access to most Watchtower publications from 1950 to the present, was extremist and banned its use.
00:31:41
Speaker
In 2010, Russian Jehovah's Witnesses appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, who upheld their case against these various accusations. The Russian authorities were directed to reinstate their legal status as a religion and to pay a sizable fine. However, Russia defied the verdict and instead escalated its attack on the Witnesses.
00:32:07
Speaker
In April 2017, the 2002 legislation was implemented, and the Russian Supreme Court banned Jehovah's Witnesses' activities, confiscating properties valued at over 90 million U.S. dollars, and liquidating the organization's assets. Over 1,000 private homes were raided and many were placed under house arrest. Some were imprisoned and even tortured.
00:32:34
Speaker
The hostility to Jehovah's Witnesses, as with numerous other new religions from the West, was no doubt due to the idea that they are importing Western values and eroding national identity. Associated with the fear that proselytization might cause the ROC to lose ground, the missionary activities of Western religions required substantial financial backing,
00:33:01
Speaker
which suggested that they were capable of offering converts financial inducements or paying missionaries by results. Further, the Western perception of cults as groups that target the youth prompted the fear that they were infiltrating institutions such as colleges and universities.
00:33:22
Speaker
Their western origins also gave rise to a fear in certain circles that some missionaries were engaged in undercover espionage and were potentially CIA agents in disguise.
00:33:37
Speaker
The recent Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has shocked the entire world, has had some repercussions on the anti-cult movement, although its long-term effects on new religions are not yet apparent. Silek's membership has caused embarrassment for Fekris.
00:33:56
Speaker
the names of the two Russian member associations, CRS, Center for Religious Studies, Russia, and CRS-S, Center for Religious Studies, Saratov, Russia, of which Dvorkin continues to be president, have been removed from the FECRIS website, although the Saratov anti-sectarian center continues to affirm its affiliation to FECRIS and offers a web link.
00:34:24
Speaker
The FECRIS website's homepage carries a statement about the Ukraine war, and in its role as an NGO with participatory status at the Council of Europe, endorses the Council's condemnation of unjust military aggression against Ukraine.
00:34:42
Speaker
and calls on President Putin to get Russia to stop its acts of war and its crimes against the Ukrainian people and its legitimate democratically elected authorities. At the time of writing, Dvorkin's status in Fekras remains unclear. The Fekras website continues to maintain a page featuring Dvorkin giving an interview on 27 August 2017, following a Fekras international conference in Sullycard.
00:35:12
Speaker
on why did the Supreme Court consider Jehovah's Witnesses as extremists and terminated their activities on Russia territory? What do experts see as the greatest danger for Russian regions today? The interview is entirely in Russian, without translation or subtitles, and it is possible that its continued inclusion may be due to an oversight. It is unclear whether Sillik remains within Fekris.
00:35:42
Speaker
The Saratov branch of the Center for Religious Studies continues to assert its membership of the umbrella organization. Meanwhile, the Russian authorities continue their attack on Jehovah's Witnesses, many of whom continue to face trial for their convictions.
Evaluating the Impact of International Pressure on Russia
00:36:00
Speaker
Amidst these difficult circumstances for Jehovah's Witnesses, how does the Office of International Religious Freedom's statement on Jehovah's Witnesses help the situation?
00:36:12
Speaker
Many academics, myself included, have gone on record to express their views, and a JW.org webpage strongly condemns Russian opposition and calls into question the so-called experts who advise the Russian government, but seemingly to no avail.
00:36:31
Speaker
If the ECHR cannot enforce Russian compliance with international law, what chance is there that the Office of International Freedom can make a difference? Such statements are unlikely to bring an end to the persecution.
00:36:47
Speaker
but they define the stance of the signatories and demonstrate that the salient issues are monitored and noted. They can be used as a resource for students, researchers, and those involved in training in fields such as law enforcement, NGOs, and the study of religion. They also provide some reassurance to the faith communities themselves.
00:37:12
Speaker
The Watchtower Society regularly monitors the actions of governments and government departments and disseminates information from its news desk, which carries features on its JW.org website. As for Jehovah's Witnesses themselves, neither state hostility nor official reports are likely to change their own stance on how they worship Jehovah.
00:37:38
Speaker
Their opponents do not seem to learn from history. Whenever witnesses have been the victims of persecution, they have stood firm, continuing to practice their faith despite opposition, continuing to meet and to undertake their house-to-house evangelism, and refusing to comply with pressures to force them to engage in armed combat or anything else they believe is contrary to Jehovah's law as they understand it.
00:38:13
Speaker
That was Jehovah's Witnesses and Religious Persecution, Do Signed Declarations Help? by George D. Crissides. You can find the full article on Canopy Forum by following the link in the episode description.
00:38:29
Speaker
Canopy Forum and the Interactions Podcast are distributed by the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University and produced by Anna Knudsen and Ethan Anthony. I am your narrator, Janet Metzger. You can follow Canopy Forum on Twitter or Facebook and subscribe to Interactions on your favorite podcast platform and follow Interactions on Instagram. Thank you for listening.