Jehovah's Witnesses in Sweden

Jehovah's Witnesses in Sweden
The Kingdom Hall in Lund
ClassificationNontrinitarian Restorationism
OrientationJehovah's Witnesses
talesman (Speaker)Georg Svensson
HeadquartersDenmark
Origin1899[1] or 1909[2]
Members23,000 (1992)[1]
PublicationsVakttornet

The Jehovah's Witnesses in Sweden (Swedish: Jehovas vittnen i Sverige) is a branch of the international Jehovah's Witnesses organization, which is directed by the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses in New York. The organization has been active in Sweden since 1909,[2] or 1899.[1] The Swedish branch had 23 thousand members in 1992, of which roughly one-tenth were immigrants; immigrant members often conducted religious activities in other languages.[1]

The Swedish branch maintained its headquarters in Arboga,[1] before it moved to its new Scandinavian headquarters in Holbaek, Denmark, in 2012.[3]

Criticism

The Swedish government and civil authorities have criticized Jehovah's Witnesses for their pacifism and refusal to become involved in military struggles. Conflicts were particularly severe during World War II.[2]

Swedish Jehovah's Witnesses have also been criticized for allegedly not following the Convention on the Rights of the Child.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Jehovas vittnen", National Encyklopedin, Volume 10 (Issm-Kik), Bokförlaget Bra Bocker, 1993, page 114.
  2. ^ a b c "Värnpliktsvägrarrörelsen" (PDF) (in Swedish). SOU. 2002. p. 156. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 September 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  3. ^ "Därför lämnade Jehovas vittnen Sverige" (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. 28 August 2014. Archived from the original on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  4. ^ "Stark kritik mot barns situation i Jehovas Vittnen – svenska myndigheter maktlösa" (in Swedish). Metro. 13 March 2014. Archived from the original on 7 February 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  • Liedgren, Pernilla. 2007. Att bli, att vara och att ha varit - om ingångar i och utgångar ur Jehovas vittnen i Sverige (To become, to be and to have been: about the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Sweden) Lund universitet, Socialhögskolan, 2007. 231 pages. Lund Dissertations in Social Work, Volume 28. ISSN 1650-3872. Lund University Dissertation, pdf
  • Official website

(in Swedish)