Economics of Religion | Archives: Why the Jehovah's Witnesses Grow so Rapidly: A Theoretical Application [Stark,Iannacone]

Economics of Religion | Archives: Why the Jehovah's Witnesses Grow so Rapidly: A Theoretical Application [Stark,Iannacone]: "Abstract: This paper applies a general theory of why religious movements succeed or fail to explain why the Jehovah’s Witnesses are the most rapidly growing religious movement in the western world. In addition to qualitative assessments of Witness doctrines, organizational structures, internal networks, and socialization, we utilize quantitative data from a variety of sources to assess such things as the impact of failed prophesies, how “strictness” eliminates free-riders and strengthens congregations, the demographic make-up of the Witness “labor force”, and the effects of continuity with local religious cultures on success."

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