Census / online survey idea - thoughts please...

Hi everyone

I've been thinking about the recent developments in the UK following the "apostates = mentally diseased" article in the July 15th edition of the Watchtower. To provide a bit more background, a forum member named Amelia has recently had a meeting with UK police officers who subsequently took a copy of the article for their records. They agreed that the content could potentially incite people to hatred against disaffected Witnesses, and the copy is now on file with the UK police in case there are any future incidents of hateful acts against "apostates", including violence or even stalking.

I am working on a press release to make the public more aware of the idealogical oppression being meted out by the Society on those who oppose them, both inside and outside the organization. However, one or two of the comments I received as feedback have struck a nerve and forced me to reconsider my approach.

It is difficult to express to outsiders and media etc the sheer magnitude of the idealogical war that is being waged by the Society against "apostates" without having firm numbers at our disposal. No serious news agency will give this story more than a cursory glance unless they have reasonable information that the problem is genuinely affecting a significant number of people - otherwise it would just be seen as an "inconvenience" being suffered by an extremely small minority of maybe a few hundred or so.

My idea is this. What if every single "apostate" or reformist website were to carry a simple banner, where either disaffected witnesses or former witnesses could click through to a specially-designed website with an online survey that could be completed anonymously, giving very vague personal information purely regarding the country that the person comes from, their "status" (i.e. active / inactive / DF'd / DA'd), and a few non-compulsory questions to find out a bit about which WTS teachings disturb them, and how they are affected personally by them. The key objective of the survey would be to simply gather a number that is indicative of (1) how many INSIDE the organization are against the Society's teachings but afraid of speaking out, and (2) how many there are outside the organisation whose lives have been seriously impacted in a negative way by the teachings of the WTS, such as shunning etc. It would, of course, be a bonus to find out any additional information, but the survey would need to be as simple and inobtrusive as possible to avoid putting people off.

If and when the survey is launched we could carry out a web campaign to publicise the survey and get as many to fill it in as possible. For example, I have counted 887 members registered on JWnet. Each member could be sent a PM reminding them of the importance of filling in the survey, and in the PM they could be asked to point any friends/relatives in the direction of the survey.

Reformist websites (who would already be carrying a banner advertising the survey website) could be approached and asked to support the campaign in any way possible, by asking each of their members to fill in the survey. I notice there are already those who have launched email campaigns against known elder/publisher addresses etc - these avenues could also be used.

Once the campaign is finished, the results could be published with a full breakdown of the figures according to country, status of those surveyed, most disliked teachings etc. A formal report could be posted to the Governing Body to make them aware of how many WITHIN THEIR RANKS despise their teachings, and the figures acquired could be used in press releases in every country.

It may not bring the Society down, but it would atleast add some momentum to a cause most of us believe in, and it would help us to realise just how many of us there actually are.

Think about it, and give me your thoughts!

Obviously, if you think it's a good idea and you want to help make it happen, please PM me.

I'm just doing something I swore I'd never do, which is bumping my own thread.

My reason for doing it is that I have received a PM supporting the idea, so obviously I'm not alone in thinking we need some way of "quantifying" the number of witnesses who disagree with the Society's policies.

If you think it's a good idea, or have any suggestions that would turn it into a good idea, I am anxious to hear from you. Obviously, if it's not a good idea, please let me know why! If you are good with websites etc, then I am also anxious to hear from you.

How can I help? Count me in!

That's very kind! Telling me it's a good idea is a start, so thanks!

I don't suppose you have any experience in web design / e-marketing etc? Otherwise, you can always help in other ways once things are up and running by generally helping to publicize the survey with emails etc.

I do appreciate the support though!!

No, I'm a music teacher. I can write a song!

Hm, I'm not sure jingles are the route I was thinking of going down by means of 'advertising', but it's a nice thought!

I'll keep this thread updated. There's one or two people I want to speak to about this. I'm actually quite nifty with web design myself, but I think I need some backup to make it happen on the kind of scale we need. I'm sure there will be some non-IT-related work, and any help you can give would be most welcome!

I have done some work on this topic before Cedars- let's talk this coming week maybe Tuesday at the same time as before ;-)

RayPublisher to the rescue! It's a date my friend.

Nice idea; I just wanted to check if you are aware of the herding cats phenomenon when trying to do something which involves any semblance of organization?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ0ur5GKC0w&feature=fvst

Hilarious - a truly inspirational video. However, surely herding cats just involves a long fishing rod and an endless supply of tuna chunks? Let their appetite do all the work? Obviously it's more complicated than that judging by the film.

So all we need to do is discover catnip for apostates?

If you make sure the survey link has a reference to naked women in it you'll at least get a response from Iamallcool.

I think it is a great idea. I have several blogs where I would be willing to place a banner. I don't think that the survey would be very scientific, but just having a number of any kind would be helpful. We could also get a general idea of the proportions of apostates inside verses outside the organization and the general attitudes and beliefs of those who are affected.

Many businesses and university researchers use surveymonkey.

You could also use http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/ to petition the UK Government. That will require 100,000 signatures from British citizens and UK residents, BUT these wouldn't all need to be XJWs, so you'd just need to get as many sympathic people as possible to sign up. As long as it's publiscised enough, it is possible. Perhaps mentioning in the petition outline why many leave (i.e. the idiocy of the blood fractions & organ donation flip flops) then people will sign!

Good luck.

I have put together a few surveys for work with Survey Monkey. Maybe you could put together a list of 10 questions to start and then start a thread and see what additional questions could be added. I've noticed the board is very helpful with this sort of thing if you can just get the ball rolling.

Once you have all the questions hammered out I would be happy to put the actual survey together. Then we would need someone to create a simple banner with a link to the survey and get cooperation from some of the other ex J-Dub sites. Survey Monkey is great because it will compile all the stats and it's really easy to use.

:) HIS

Thanks everyone. I haven't tried Survey Monkey before, but I'll take a look at it.

I actually have a background in graphic design myself, so creating a banner with a link shouldn't be a problem.

If Survey Monkey is as good as it sounds, then the only hard part should be getting as many "apostate" websites as possible 'on board'. Hopefully they will see the value of this idea too.

mummatron - I love the petition idea. Perhaps we could incorporate that into the survey. I'll give it some thought.

I think it would be more effective to show how jws who are employed by jws, lose their jobs when they become df'd, da'd, or inactive.  Or jws that have their own business, find all their clients dropping out, even violating contracts.  Or jws who rent from another jw, being evicted or having their lease not renewed because of religious reasons.

It is very hard in the US to effectively litigate a case about libel or slander.  Finding an attorney that will take such a case is hard because they want to be paid.

Right, I've designed a survey using surveymonkey. What do you think to these questions folks? (please note, the first two questions are compulsory, the remaining ones are optional)

Thoughts please...

1. Please can you indicate which part of the world you come from? (at least tell us which country)

2. What is your current relationship to Jehovah's Witnesses?

I am an active Jehovah's Witness (I go on the ministry every month) I am an inactive Jehovah's Witness (I no longer go on the ministry every month) I was disfellowshipped from Jehovah's Witnesses I disassociated myself from Jehovah's Witnesses I have friends/family who are Jehovah's Witnesses (I was never baptized as one)

3. If you are currently one of Jehovah's Witnesses, do you consider yourself to be either of the following:

of the anointed (Little Flock, heavenly hope) of the great crowd (Other Sheep, earthly hope) neither of the above

4. If you are disfellowshipped or disassociated from Jehovah's Witnesses, what was the reason?

I broke a bible command I disagreed with the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses I would rather not say

5. For how many years have you been (or were you) a baptized Jehovah's Witness?

6. Do you currently hold any of the following positions?

Ministerial Servant Elder Circuit Overseer District Overseer Branch Committee member Gilead Graduate / missionary MTS (or BSSB) Graduate Bethel volunteer Regular Pioneer Special Pioneer None of the above

7. Which of the following beliefs/practices of Jehovah's Witnesses do you DISAGREE with (if any)?

Witnesses who leave are to be shunned by family members if they are old enough to leave home Blood transfusions are to be refused, even if life is at stake Paedophilia is a judicial matter more than a crime Paedophiles are not automatically disqualified from serving as elders in the future Understanding of bible prophecy (i.e. most prophecies for the 'last days' fulfilled in early 20th Century) The Governing Body is God's sole channel of communication The Governing Body does not need to have any contact with the anointed remnant The concept of "increasing light" Young people are not to pursue higher education Young people should not be involved in extra-curricular sports Only the anointed should partake of memorial emblems The treatment of women in the organization Masturbation is wrong Celebrating birthdays is wrong Apostates are "mentally diseased" (w11 7/15 p16) The insistence on 607 BCE for the fall of Jerusalem, contrary to commonly-accepted historical evidence Jesus Christ is only a mediator for the 144,000, and not for the Great Crowd Refusal to accept aspects of evolutionary theory Others that are not mentioned above None, I agree with all teachings

8. Were you previously aware that the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York was affiliated with the United Nations as an NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) from 1992 to 2001?

Yes No

9. If you feel able, please write a few words to express your true feelings towards the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses. Be as open and honest as possible. Nothing that you say will be used against you.

Cedars

EXCELLENT IDEA... and excellent survey questions...

would you consider adding: "are you fully aware of the what is behind the two baptism questions you were asked at the assembly?" If so, "please explain what these questions should mean to anyone considering baptism in this religion"...

Thanks Alfred!

Good question tip. Unfortunately I only get 9 questions before I need to get a paid account on surveymonkey. If the initial survey is a success, we can always look at doing a more expanded survey in the future with similar questions to yours? Appreciate the support though. It will be interesting to see how many fill it in...

Cedars

I'm not entirely 100% about your questions... I would ask the board to help sharpen some of them.

For example, the one about why people were disfellowshipped asks if the individal 'Broke a Bible Command'... the truth is, people get disfellowshipped for breaking WatchTower/GB commands. I think that should be highlighted.

To be most effective, you need to completely NAIL the top ten (or nine) MOST effective questions and ask them in the MOST precise way. To do that, you need serious feedback.

The lack of comments you are getting is indicating that maybe someone has tried this before OR the Senior members are hesitating getting involved for some reason.

BEFORE you launch this, I would suggest that you open up to a complete overhaul of the questions and also find out why the key players on this board and not getting too involved.

:) HIS