Disfellowship - A Hybrid and Loaded Word For context about 1% of Jehovah’s Witnesses are disfellowshipped every year; about 70,000 per annum. Two out of three are never reinstated. Along with those that have simply stopped attending the group meetings, likely there are millions of disfellowshipped and disassociated ex-Jehovah's Witnesses in the community. Being disfellowshipped frequently results in emotional side effects. Those that continue to believe Watchtower doctrine are told that, whilst disfellowshipped, they are condemned to everlasting destruction. Those who become unbelievers, with no intention of returning to the Watchtower Society, realize they are unlikely to freely associate with Witness family and friends for the remainder of their lives.
“Disfellowship” and its derivatives do not appear in the Bible. The Watchtower Society has taken several Scriptures and hybridized a belief. They have wrapped a complex series of concepts into one word. If an active Jehovah’s Witness hears ‘xxxx has been disfellowshipped’ those four or five words communicate the following thoughts:
xxxx has done something really bad, probably salacious, as the Witnesses are frequently reminded the vast majority of disfellowshippings are for some sort of sexual sin xxxx has not been repentant, or at least not been able to demonstrate that to a sufficient degree for the Judicial Committee that make the secret judgment xxxx has been cast out and never to be spoken to again, unless he can prove repentance to another secret Judicial Committee and resume activity as a Jehovah’s Witness xxxx will be destroyed ‘soon’ by Jehovah at Armageddon unless he can prove repentance to another Judicial Committee and resume activity as a Jehovah’s Witness All neatly wrapped up in one word – disfellowshipped. The subject of ‘loaded language’ and how it is employed by high control groups deserves its own Knol. The Watchtower Society decrees disfellowshiping for situations never discussed in the Bible such as smoking, gambling, taking a prohibited blood fraction or donating to the blood supply. Further, the refusal to shun one so disfellowshipped is in itself grounds for disfellowshipping and is thus extended as a second generation punishment to prevent family members associating with disfellowshipped relatives. Unbaptized minor children of disfellowshipped ones are usually caught up in the crossfire - my pre-school boys are being shunned by my brother and his wife, and effectively shunned by my mother - an occasional postcard from her to them is allowable to her conscience.
The punishment applies forever, or until the Watchtower Society formally reinstates the person. It is considered irrelevant whether the person no longer practices the 'wrongdoing' they were disfellowshipped for. In the case of conscientious disagreement a pardon or apology is not granted should the Watchtower Society subsequently change its view on the matter to that which you were expelled for holding. Repentance is indicated by full attendance at Watchtower Society meetings for an indeterminate period of months or maybe years in extreme cases, all the while being methodically shunned by other group members. In this sense it is a deterrent control mechanism on existing members and a punitive measure against the shunned one.
The Watchtower Society application of disfellowshipping is one of the more extreme even for fringe Christianity and emulates behavioral characteristics common amongst high control groups. Perhaps only the Amish impose this punishment with more destructive effects, due to their physically isolated closed community.
The Watchtower 1981 September 15 p.22 explains the hybrid concept:
""disfellowshipping" is what Jehovah’s Witnesses appropriately call the expelling and subsequent shunning of such an unrepentant wrongdoer. ... a simple "Hello" to someone can be the first step that develops into a conversation and maybe even a friendship. Would we want to take that first step with a disfellowshipped person?"
Back in the less forgiving 1950’s the tone of the instruction was somewhat less cordial. This Watchtower was devoted to delivering clear guidelines on updated Watchtower disfellowship policy, clarifying what was to become an ever increasing list of offenses:
“Well, the reason for disfellowshipping is that some persons get into this congregation of God that do not love Christ. … Those who are acquainted with the situation in the congregation should never say ‘Hello’ or ‘Goodbye’ to him. He is not welcome in our midst, we avoid him. … Such an individual has no place in the clean organization or congregation of God. He should go back to the wicked group that he once came from and die with that wicked group with Satan’s organization.” - Watchtower 1952 March 1 pp.131,134
Interestingly disfellowshipping as a punishment even extends beyond death. So when I die in a disfellowshipped state, which I will, former friends and Jehovah's Witness family already have written instruction on why they shouldn't attend my funeral.
"We never want to give the impression to outsiders that a disfellowshiped person was acceptable in the congregation when in truth and in fact he was not acceptable but had been disfellowshiped from it." Questions from Readers - Watchtower 1961 p.544
"… A Christian congregation would not want its good name besmirched by having it associated with any to whom 2 John 9, 10 applied, even in their death." Watchtower 1977 June 1 p. 347 Mourning and Funerals - For Whom?
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