Henry has had it with declaring ex-Jehovah's Witnesses socially dead
Today, 09:56•3 minutes reading time
A group of ex-Jehovah's Witnesses wants to file a lawsuit to have the exclusion policy of the faith community banned by law. About twelve Zeeland ex-Jehovah's Witnesses have also supported the mission of the foundation Against Watchtower Shunning.
The Zeeland coast inspired Henri Dahlem© Omroep Zeeland
Jehovah's Witnesses should avoid ex-members so that they are not influenced by people who no longer live according to 'The Truth'. This sometimes leads to heartbreaking scenes in families.
Ex-Jehovah's Witness Henri Dahlem from Aalten also lost all social contacts when he left the religious community. He decided to set up a foundation to take legal action against the exclusion policy of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Zealand Holiday
"I go on holiday in Zeeland every summer and at the end of August 2021 I decided to put my words into action and stand up against the shunning policy: declaring ex-members socially dead. Here on the Zeeland coast, I have my plan in place. paper."
Research ministry
A year later, many steps have already been taken. For example, the foundation Against Watchtower Shunning was established, law firm Prakken d'Oliviera lists both criminal and civil law options, the Ministry of Justice and Security is starting an investigation into exclusion processes within closed religious communities and politics has also been shaken up.
People suffer because they are no longer allowed to have contact
Henri Dahlem, ex-Jehovah's Witness
Dahlem believes that legal proceedings have a chance of success. "Jehovah's Witnesses may continue to exist and exercise church discipline, but that must not be at the expense of the health of the members. And it is fine, people suffer from not being allowed to have contact anymore."
Hanging dirty laundry outside
Hundreds of ex-Jehovah's Witnesses have now joined the foundation, including a group of Zeelanders. They did not want to participate in an interview with Omroep Zeeland, something that Henri understands. "You don't want to hang out the dirty laundry and don't want to disgrace your relatives who are still in the organization. And you want to keep what little contact you have left."
Article continues under frame
About Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that they have the only correct religion. They limit social interaction with non-members so as not to be influenced by the 'dark'.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that humanity is in the end times. They are convinced that non-Jehovah's witnesses will be destroyed, so they try to convince them of their faith by going from door to door. Worldwide there are more than 8.5 million Jehovah's witnesses in 239 countries. In the Netherlands there are around 30,000.
In Zeeland, Jehovah's Witnesses hold meetings in Axel, Terneuzen, Oostburg, Vlissingen, Middelburg, Goes, Zierikzee and Tholen.
Sources: Wikipedia and jw.org
In Belgium, a lawsuit about the exclusion policy of Jehovah's Witnesses has already taken place. The court in Ghent ruled that social exclusion is a form of discrimination and hate speech, because the organization actively calls on members to no longer have contact with ex-members.
Freedom of religion
But that ruling was overturned on appeal. On the basis of freedom of religion, an organization is free to set rules, the higher court found.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that they are the only true religion© Omroep Zeeland
Henri comes from a family of Jehovah's Witnesses and later ended up in a foster family from the same circle. "On the one hand, I liked growing up with the Bible, but the pride that people thought it was the only and true religion, I thought went a bit too far."
Politics is devilish
Henri was an active believer who also went door-to-door, yet he led a double life. "I was interested in politics and history. Politics is diabolical and of the world."
When Henri feels compelled to be baptized, he decides to leave the Jehovah's Witnesses. "I didn't think the time was right for that yet. What I blame myself is that I went back later. In 2010 I finally broke with it. And now I'm ready to challenge the exclusion policy."
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www.omroepzeeland.nl
Today, 09:56•3 minutes reading time
A group of ex-Jehovah's Witnesses wants to file a lawsuit to have the exclusion policy of the faith community banned by law. About twelve Zeeland ex-Jehovah's Witnesses have also supported the mission of the foundation Against Watchtower Shunning.
The Zeeland coast inspired Henri Dahlem© Omroep Zeeland
Jehovah's Witnesses should avoid ex-members so that they are not influenced by people who no longer live according to 'The Truth'. This sometimes leads to heartbreaking scenes in families.
Ex-Jehovah's Witness Henri Dahlem from Aalten also lost all social contacts when he left the religious community. He decided to set up a foundation to take legal action against the exclusion policy of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Zealand Holiday
"I go on holiday in Zeeland every summer and at the end of August 2021 I decided to put my words into action and stand up against the shunning policy: declaring ex-members socially dead. Here on the Zeeland coast, I have my plan in place. paper."
Research ministry
A year later, many steps have already been taken. For example, the foundation Against Watchtower Shunning was established, law firm Prakken d'Oliviera lists both criminal and civil law options, the Ministry of Justice and Security is starting an investigation into exclusion processes within closed religious communities and politics has also been shaken up.
People suffer because they are no longer allowed to have contact
Henri Dahlem, ex-Jehovah's Witness
Dahlem believes that legal proceedings have a chance of success. "Jehovah's Witnesses may continue to exist and exercise church discipline, but that must not be at the expense of the health of the members. And it is fine, people suffer from not being allowed to have contact anymore."
Hanging dirty laundry outside
Hundreds of ex-Jehovah's Witnesses have now joined the foundation, including a group of Zeelanders. They did not want to participate in an interview with Omroep Zeeland, something that Henri understands. "You don't want to hang out the dirty laundry and don't want to disgrace your relatives who are still in the organization. And you want to keep what little contact you have left."
Article continues under frame
About Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that they have the only correct religion. They limit social interaction with non-members so as not to be influenced by the 'dark'.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that humanity is in the end times. They are convinced that non-Jehovah's witnesses will be destroyed, so they try to convince them of their faith by going from door to door. Worldwide there are more than 8.5 million Jehovah's witnesses in 239 countries. In the Netherlands there are around 30,000.
In Zeeland, Jehovah's Witnesses hold meetings in Axel, Terneuzen, Oostburg, Vlissingen, Middelburg, Goes, Zierikzee and Tholen.
Sources: Wikipedia and jw.org
In Belgium, a lawsuit about the exclusion policy of Jehovah's Witnesses has already taken place. The court in Ghent ruled that social exclusion is a form of discrimination and hate speech, because the organization actively calls on members to no longer have contact with ex-members.
Freedom of religion
But that ruling was overturned on appeal. On the basis of freedom of religion, an organization is free to set rules, the higher court found.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that they are the only true religion© Omroep Zeeland
Henri comes from a family of Jehovah's Witnesses and later ended up in a foster family from the same circle. "On the one hand, I liked growing up with the Bible, but the pride that people thought it was the only and true religion, I thought went a bit too far."
Politics is devilish
Henri was an active believer who also went door-to-door, yet he led a double life. "I was interested in politics and history. Politics is diabolical and of the world."
When Henri feels compelled to be baptized, he decides to leave the Jehovah's Witnesses. "I didn't think the time was right for that yet. What I blame myself is that I went back later. In 2010 I finally broke with it. And now I'm ready to challenge the exclusion policy."
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Henry is klaar met het sociaal doodverklaren van ex-Jehova's Getuigen
Er is veel te doen rondom Jehova's Getuigen. Eerst kwamen schandalen over seksueel misbruik naar boven, nu wordt bekeken of het uitsluitingsbeleid niet discriminerend is.
www.omroepzeeland.nl