ClaimShunning and familyverified2010sStrong implication

Shunning and family · Claim record

The 2019 Organized book defines disassociation as either a statement that one no longer wishes to be known as a Witness or renouncing one's place 'by his actions, such as by becoming part of a secular organization that has objectives contrary to Bible teachings' (citing Isaiah 2:4 and Revelation 19:17-21); the book does not name military service, and a 1999 Questions From Readers treats voting as a personal conscience matter, so neither 'joining the military' nor 'voting' is stated in current published text as an automatic disassociating act.

Claim ID claim-shunning-disassociation-by-action-military-votingConcerns 1 January 2019Strong implication

The claim and its evidence

Strong implication · 1 January 2019 Verified

The 2019 Organized book defines disassociation as either a statement that one no longer wishes to be known as a Witness or renouncing one's place 'by his actions, such as by becoming part of a secular organization that has objectives contrary to Bible teachings' (citing Isaiah 2:4 and Revelation 19:17-21); the book does not name military service, and a 1999 Questions From Readers treats voting as a personal conscience matter, so neither 'joining the military' nor 'voting' is stated in current published text as an automatic disassociating act. Source: Organized to Do Jehovah’s Will (od), 2019Source: The Watchtower, 1 November 1999Source: The Watchtower, 15 September 1981

Show the evidence (3 sources)
Primary JW publication Verified

Organized to Do Jehovah’s Will (od), “Chapter 14, Maintaining the Peace and Cleanness of the Congregation”

2019 · pp.141-156 · par. 24-40 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

“When it is necessary to disfellowship an unrepentant wrongdoer from the congregation, a brief announcement is made, stating: “[Name of person] is no longer one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” This will alert faithful ones in the congregation to stop associating with that person.—1 Cor. 5:11.”

Also: par. 30 (disassociation by statement or 'by becoming part of a secular organization that has objectives contrary to Bible teachings'), par. 32 (inactive person 'far different' and to be helped), par. 33 (disassociated 'treated in the same way as a disfellowshipped person'), par. 34 (reinstatement after 'many months, a year, or even longer'), par. 36 ('[Name of person] is reinstated as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses'), par. 39-40 (unbaptised publishers). Copyright page: © 2005, 2015, 2019; November 2021 printing.

Provenance and verification note for Organized to Do Jehovah’s Will (od), Chapter 14, Maintaining the Peace and Cleanness of the Congregation

Confidence note. Raw WOL HTML fetched; wording and page markers 141-156 confirmed; publishers' page (doc 1102014949) opened for edition data. Still uses 'disfellowshipped' as at access date.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-od-2019-organized-ch14

Primary JW publication Verified

The Watchtower, “Questions From Readers: How do Jehovah’s Witnesses view voting?”

1 November 1999 · pp.28-29 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

“As to whether they will personally vote for someone running in an election, each one of Jehovah’s Witnesses makes a decision based on his Bible-trained conscience ... What he does in the polling booth is between him and his Creator.”

Current published position: voting is a matter of individual conscience, not a disassociating act. Relevant to the claim sometimes made that voting leads to disassociation.

Provenance and verification note for The Watchtower, Questions From Readers: How do Jehovah’s Witnesses view voting?

Confidence note. Raw WOL HTML fetched; wording and page markers 28-29 confirmed.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-w-1999-1101-qfr-voting

Primary JW publication Verified

The Watchtower, “Disfellowshiping—How to View It”

15 September 1981 · pp.20-26 · par. 12-16, 21-27 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

“And we all know from our experience over the years that 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 disfellowshiped person?”

Par. 21-23 (pp. 24-25) apply 2 John 9-11 to expelled persons; par. 13-16 create the category of disassociation (by statement or by joining an organisation contrary to the Bible) and direct that such persons be 'viewed and treated as are those who have been disfellowshiped'; par. 27 says a member who will not cease fellowship with an expelled person 'must be removed from the congregation'.

Provenance and verification note for The Watchtower, Disfellowshiping—How to View It

Confidence note. Raw WOL HTML fetched; wording and page markers 20-26 confirmed.

Corroborated by. src-lv-2008-gods-love-appendix, src-court-us-1987-0610-paul-v-watchtower

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-w-1981-0915-disfellowshiping-how-to-view-it

Claim page

A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-shunning-disassociation-by-action-military-voting/. Every source above opens the original document or the best available copy. If you believe the wording, date or context is wrong, report an error.