Index
back to Jehovah's Witnesses, USA
| Group | Where | Number of Adherents |
% of total pop. |
Number of congreg./ churches/ units |
Number of countries |
Year | Source | Quote/ Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jehovah's Witnesses | USA | - | 1.00% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* Nazarene web site: Nazarene World Mission Society; (major source: Johnstone's Operation World) | Table "Religions " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | USA | 946,000 | - | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* web site: Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance (viewed circa Nov. 1998); "last updated October 1998 " | Table: "Christian Organizations "; "Membership numbers, as supplied by various denominations " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | USA | 998,166 | 0.36% | 11,550 units |
- | 2000 | *LINK* official website; page: "2000 Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide " | Table: "Statistics: 2000 Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide "; 2000 Peak Witnesses; USA figure (2,176,265) here is total from 3 rows in JW table: USA (988,469), Hawaii (7,564), and Alaska (2,133). |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | USA - blacks | 150,000 | - | - | - | 1975 | Chalfant, H. Paul, et al. Religion in Contemporary Society (3rd Ed.); Itasca, Illinois: F.E. Peacock Publishers (1994) [Sources: Wallechinsky, David & Irving Wallace; The People's Almanac; Garden City, NY: Doubleday (1975), pg. 1268.]; pg. 381. | "...blacks account for... approximately 30% of the members of Jehovah's Witnesses (Rosten, 1975). "; [Other source (Wallechinsky) indicates 500,000 U.S. Jehovah's Witnesses in 1975.] |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Utah | - | 0.20% | - | - | 1990 | Kosmin, B. & S. Lachman. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; Harmony Books: New York (1993); pg. 88-93. | Table 3-1: Religious Composition of State Populations, 1990 (%). Self-identification of religious loyalty, phone survey w/ 113,000 people; by City U. of New York. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Utah | - | 0.00% | - | - | 2001 | *LINK* Kosmin, Barry A.; Egon Mayer; & Ariela Keysar. "American Religious Identity Survey. " 2001. City University of New York. | ARIS: Nationwide phone survey of 50,000 American adults; open-ended question: 'What is your religion, if any?'; Listed in table: "Jehovah's Witness "; Actual % between 0 and 0.5%, so sell was left blank. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Vanuatu | 55 | 0.04% | 2 units |
- | 1983 | Botting, Heather & Gary Botting. The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. Toronto: University of Toronto Press (1984); pg. 53-59. | Table: "1983 Service Year Report of JWs Worldwide "; Adherent count here is from "1983 Peak Publishers " column |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Vanuatu | 257 | 0.14% | 3 units |
- | 1997 | *LINK* official web site | Adherent/member count is for "1997 Peak Witnesses "; Memorial attendance (annual sacrament meeting) for same year: 1,583. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Vanuatu | 276 | 0.15% | 3 units |
- | 1998 | *LINK* Jehovah's Witnesses official web site; section: "Statistics "; web page: "Worldwide Report " (viewed 16 April 1999). | Table: "1998 Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide "; This adherent/member count is for "1998 Peak Witnesses " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Vanuatu | 277 | 0.15% | 5 units |
- | 2000 | *LINK* official website; page: "2000 Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide " | Table: "Statistics: 2000 Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide "; 2000 Peak Witnesses |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Venezuela | 22,194 | 0.13% | 212 units |
- | 1983 | Botting, Heather & Gary Botting. The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. Toronto: University of Toronto Press (1984); pg. 53-59. | Table: "1983 Service Year Report of JWs Worldwide "; Adherent count here is from "1983 Peak Publishers " column |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Venezuela | 80,172 | 0.34% | 1,079 units |
- | 1997 | *LINK* official web site | Adherent/member count is for "1997 Peak Witnesses "; Memorial attendance (annual sacrament meeting) for same year: 282,448. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Venezuela | 82,779 | 0.34% | 1,104 units |
- | 1998 | *LINK* Jehovah's Witnesses official web site; section: "Statistics "; web page: "Worldwide Report " (viewed 16 April 1999). | Table: "1998 Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide "; This adherent/member count is for "1998 Peak Witnesses " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Venezuela | 87,211 | 0.36% | 1,238 units |
- | 2000 | *LINK* official website; page: "2000 Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide " | Table: "Statistics: 2000 Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide "; 2000 Peak Witnesses |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Vermont | - | 0.60% | - | - | 1990 | Kosmin, B. & S. Lachman. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; Harmony Books: New York (1993); pg. 88-93. | Table 3-1: Religious Composition of State Populations, 1990 (%). Self-identification of religious loyalty, phone survey w/ 113,000 people; by City U. of New York. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Vermont | - | 0.00% | - | - | 2001 | *LINK* Kosmin, Barry A.; Egon Mayer; & Ariela Keysar. "American Religious Identity Survey. " 2001. City University of New York. | ARIS: Nationwide phone survey of 50,000 American adults; open-ended question: 'What is your religion, if any?'; Listed in table: "Jehovah's Witness "; Actual % between 0 and 0.5%, so sell was left blank. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Virgin Islands (British) | 84 | 0.70% | 3 units |
- | 1983 | Botting, Heather & Gary Botting. The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. Toronto: University of Toronto Press (1984); pg. 53-59. | Table: "1983 Service Year Report of JWs Worldwide "; Adherent count here is from "1983 Peak Publishers " column |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Virgin Islands (British) | 267 | 2.00% | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* CIA World Factbook web site (viewed Aug. 1998) | Protestant 86% (Methodist 45%, Anglican 21%, Church of God 7%, Seventh-Day Adventist 5%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 2%), Roman Catholic 6%, none 2%, other 6% (1981); Total population: 13,368 (1997 est.). |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Virgin Islands (British) | 147 | 0.86% | 2 units |
- | 1997 | *LINK* official web site | Adherent/member count is for "1997 Peak Witnesses "; Memorial attendance (annual sacrament meeting) for same year: 590. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Virgin Islands (British) | 159 | 0.94% | 2 units |
- | 1998 | *LINK* Jehovah's Witnesses official web site; section: "Statistics "; web page: "Worldwide Report " (viewed 16 April 1999). | Table: "1998 Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide "; This adherent/member count is for "1998 Peak Witnesses " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Virgin Islands (British) | 166 | 0.98% | 2 units |
- | 2000 | *LINK* official website; page: "2000 Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide " | Table: "Statistics: 2000 Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide "; 2000 Peak Witnesses |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Virgin Islands (U.S.) | 474 | 0.49% | 8 units |
- | 1983 | Botting, Heather & Gary Botting. The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. Toronto: University of Toronto Press (1984); pg. 53-59. | Table: "1983 Service Year Report of JWs Worldwide "; Adherent count here is from "1983 Peak Publishers " column |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Virgin Islands (U.S.) | 643 | 0.63% | 9 units |
- | 1997 | *LINK* official web site | Adherent/member count is for "1997 Peak Witnesses "; Memorial attendance (annual sacrament meeting) for same year: 2,005. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Virgin Islands (U.S.) | 657 | 0.65% | 9 units |
- | 1998 | *LINK* Jehovah's Witnesses official web site; section: "Statistics "; web page: "Worldwide Report " (viewed 16 April 1999). | Table: "1998 Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide "; This adherent/member count is for "1998 Peak Witnesses " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Virgin Islands (U.S.) | - | 1.00% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* Nazarene web site: Nazarene World Mission Society; (major source: Johnstone's Operation World) | Table "Religions " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Virgin Islands (U.S.) | 651 | 0.63% | 9 units |
- | 2000 | *LINK* official website; page: "2000 Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide " | Table: "Statistics: 2000 Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide "; 2000 Peak Witnesses |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Virginia | - | 0.60% | - | - | 1990 | Kosmin, B. & S. Lachman. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; Harmony Books: New York (1993); pg. 88-93. | Table 3-1: Religious Composition of State Populations, 1990 (%). Self-identification of religious loyalty, phone survey w/ 113,000 people; by City U. of New York. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Virginia | - | 1.00% | - | - | 2001 | *LINK* Kosmin, Barry A.; Egon Mayer; & Ariela Keysar. "American Religious Identity Survey. " 2001. City University of New York. | ARIS: Nationwide phone survey of 50,000 American adults; open-ended question: 'What is your religion, if any?'; Listed in table: "Jehovah's Witness " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Wallis and Futuna Islands | 3 | 0.02% | - | - | 1983 | Botting, Heather & Gary Botting. The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. Toronto: University of Toronto Press (1984); pg. 53-59. | Table: "1983 Service Year Report of JWs Worldwide "; Adherent count here is from "1983 Peak Publishers " column |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Wallis and Futuna Islands | 26 | 0.17% | 1 unit |
- | 1997 | *LINK* official web site | Adherent/member count is for "1997 Peak Witnesses "; Memorial attendance (annual sacrament meeting) for same year: 100. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Wallis and Futuna Islands | 44 | 0.29% | 1 unit |
- | 1998 | *LINK* Jehovah's Witnesses official web site; section: "Statistics "; web page: "Worldwide Report " (viewed 16 April 1999). | Table: "1998 Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide "; This adherent/member count is for "1998 Peak Witnesses " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Wallis and Futuna Islands | 54 | 0.36% | 1 unit |
- | 2000 | *LINK* official website; page: "2000 Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide " | Table: "Statistics: 2000 Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide "; 2000 Peak Witnesses |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Washington | - | 1.40% | - | - | 1990 | Kosmin, B. & S. Lachman. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; Harmony Books: New York (1993); pg. 88-93. | Table 3-1: Religious Composition of State Populations, 1990 (%). Self-identification of religious loyalty, phone survey w/ 113,000 people; by City U. of New York. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Washington | - | 1.00% | - | - | 2001 | *LINK* Kosmin, Barry A.; Egon Mayer; & Ariela Keysar. "American Religious Identity Survey. " 2001. City University of New York. | ARIS: Nationwide phone survey of 50,000 American adults; open-ended question: 'What is your religion, if any?'; Listed in table: "Jehovah's Witness " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Washington, D.C. | - | 0.80% | - | - | 1990 | Kosmin, B. & S. Lachman. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; Harmony Books: New York (1993); pg. 88-93. | Table 3-1: Religious Composition of State Populations, 1990 (%). Self-identification of religious loyalty, phone survey w/ 113,000 people; by City U. of New York. [Geographic region in this table is listed as "District of Columbia ", not "Washington, D.C. "] |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Washington, D.C. | - | 1.00% | - | - | 2001 | *LINK* Kosmin, Barry A.; Egon Mayer; & Ariela Keysar. "American Religious Identity Survey. " 2001. City University of New York. | ARIS: Nationwide phone survey of 50,000 American adults; open-ended question: 'What is your religion, if any?'; Listed in table: "Jehovah's Witness " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | West Virginia | - | 0.60% | - | - | 1990 | Kosmin, B. & S. Lachman. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; Harmony Books: New York (1993); pg. 88-93. | Table 3-1: Religious Composition of State Populations, 1990 (%). Self-identification of religious loyalty, phone survey w/ 113,000 people; by City U. of New York. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | West Virginia | - | 0.00% | - | - | 2001 | *LINK* Kosmin, Barry A.; Egon Mayer; & Ariela Keysar. "American Religious Identity Survey. " 2001. City University of New York. | ARIS: Nationwide phone survey of 50,000 American adults; open-ended question: 'What is your religion, if any?'; Listed in table: "Jehovah's Witness "; Actual % between 0 and 0.5%, so sell was left blank. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Wisconsin | - | 0.20% | - | - | 1990 | Kosmin, B. & S. Lachman. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; Harmony Books: New York (1993); pg. 88-93. | Table 3-1: Religious Composition of State Populations, 1990 (%). Self-identification of religious loyalty, phone survey w/ 113,000 people; by City U. of New York. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Wisconsin | - | 0.00% | - | - | 2001 | *LINK* Kosmin, Barry A.; Egon Mayer; & Ariela Keysar. "American Religious Identity Survey. " 2001. City University of New York. | ARIS: Nationwide phone survey of 50,000 American adults; open-ended question: 'What is your religion, if any?'; Listed in table: "Jehovah's Witness "; Actual % between 0 and 0.5%, so sell was left blank. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | world | - | - | - | - | 1881 | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 377. | In 1879 he started the Watchtower, and in 1881 the Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society. During this period he traveled widely on preaching tours, his sermons were published in numerous newspapers, and his informal following probably numbered millions. Russell preferred organizing only tract societies, with a small army of colporteurs to distribute his literature, and it was only gradually that a denomination emerged. " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | world | - | - | - | - | 1890 | *LINK* Hexham, Irving. Concise Dictionary of Religion. Carol Stream, USA: InterVarsity Press (1994). (v. online 6 Oct. 1999) | "JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES: a highly RATIONALIST ADVENTIST type SECT founded by Charles Taze RUSSELL in the late nineteenth century. " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | world | - | - | 1,200 units |
- | 1909 | Ferm, Vergilius (ed). An Encyclopedia of Religion; Westport, CT: Greenwood Press (1976; 1st ed. pub. 1945 by Philosophical Library); pg. 673. | "The Jehovah's Witnesses, as they are commonly known, numbered 1200 congregations by 1909. " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | world | - | - | - | - | 1914 | Cavendish, Richard (ed.). Man, Myth & Magic: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Supernatural (vol. 11). New York: Marshall Cavendish Corp. (1970); pg. 1499. | "...by 1914 Russell had followers in all the northern European countries, South Africa and in many American cities, and his publications were circulating in central African territories. Disappointed expectations for 1914 caused some to withdraw, and after Russell's death in 1916 the movement reached a low ebb. " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | world | 90,000 | - | - | - | 1927 | Ferm, Vergilius (ed). An Encyclopedia of Religion; Westport, CT: Greenwood Press (1976; 1st ed. pub. 1945 by Philosophical Library); pg. 673. | "Russellism:... Actual statistics are difficult to obtain, the only report, listing approximately ninety thousand members, was made in the 'Watch Tower' in 1925-27. " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | world | 115,000 | - | - | - | 1942 | Conkin, Paul K. American Originals: Homemade Varieties of Christianity, The University of North Carolina Press: Chapel Hill, NC (1997); pg. 155. | "They grew worldwide from 115,000 in 1942 to 884,000 in 1961 and more than 1.65 million in 1972 (they claim over 5 million today). " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | world | 642,000 | 0.03% | - | - | 1957 | Welles, Sam. The World's Great Religions, New York: Time Incorporated (1957); pg. 205. | "Jehovah's Witnesses have 187,000 U.S. workers (642,000 in world)... " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | world | 884,000 | - | - | - | 1961 | Conkin, Paul K. American Originals: Homemade Varieties of Christianity, The University of North Carolina Press: Chapel Hill, NC (1997); pg. 155. | "They grew worldwide from 115,000 in 1942 to 884,000 in 1961 and more than 1.65 million in 1972 (they claim over 5 million today). " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | world | 1,040,836 | - | - | - | 1965 | Ahlstrom, Sydney E. A Religious History of the American People; Yale University Press: New Haven & London (1973); pg. 959. | "In 1965 only 308,370 of the 1,040,836 Jehovah's Witnesses lived in the United States, while three-fourths of the Seventh-Day Adventists were overseas. " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | world | 1,000,000 | - | - | - | 1966 | Cavendish, Richard (ed.). Man, Myth & Magic: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Supernatural (vol. 11). New York: Marshall Cavendish Corp. (1970); pg. 1499. | "The most rapidly growing Christian sect during the last three decades has been Jehovah's Witnesses. Voluntary distributors of the movement's publications The Watchtower and Awake! magazines, numbered more than a million in 1966, and in that year nearly two million people attended the sect's annual memorial supper services in Kingdom Halls throughout the world. " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | world | 1,650,000 | - | - | - | 1972 | Conkin, Paul K. American Originals: Homemade Varieties of Christianity, The University of North Carolina Press: Chapel Hill, NC (1997); pg. 155. | "They grew worldwide from 115,000 in 1942 to 884,000 in 1961 and more than 1.65 million in 1972 (they claim over 5 million today). " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | world | 1,000,000 | - | - | - | 1975 | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 377-378. | "Jehovah's Witnesses (Christian). A denomination which emphasizes biblical literalism, aggressive evangelism... Under the leadership of the third president, Nathan H. Knorr (1905-1977), there was steady growth, and in the 1970s they claimed some 300,000 U.S. members, and over a million worldwide. " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | world | 2,000,000 | - | - | - | 1975 | Wallechinsky, David & Irving Wallace; The People's Almanac; Garden City, NY: Doubleday (1975); pg. 1268. | List of "Major World Religions ": "Today the sect has close to 2 million members, all of whom are considered ministers. Twenty-five percent of the Witnesses are Americans. " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | world | 2,000,000 | - | - | 210 countries |
1981 | Robertson, Ian. Sociology (2nd ed.); New York, NY: Worth Publishers (1981) [2nd edition is updated since 1977 1st edition]; pg. 426. | "Jehovah's Witnesses have awaited the apocalypse on five specific dates since 1914, during which time their membership has grown from a few thousand to more than 2 million people in 210 countries. " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | world | 500,000 | - | - | - | 1983 | Berger, Gilda. Religion: A Reference First Book. New York: Franklin Watts (1983); pg. 46. | "Today there are over 500,000 Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide. " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | world | 2,652,323 | - | 46,235 units |
205 countries |
1983 | Botting, Heather & Gary Botting. The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. Toronto: University of Toronto Press (1984); pg. 53-59. | Table: "1983 Service Year Report of JWs Worldwide "; Adherent count here is from "1983 Peak Publishers " column |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | world | 3,000,000 | - | - | 200 countries |
1987 | Bishop, Peter & Michael Darton (editors). The Encyclopedia of World Faiths: An Illustrated Survey of the World's Living Faiths. New York: Facts on File Publications (1987); pg. 149. | "More than 200 countries and island groups are cared for by branch offices of the Watch Tower Society under the direction of their world headquarters in New York... Worldwide the numbers of Jehovah's Witnesses -- all active preachers -- is now approaching three million. " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | world | 3,500,000 | - | - | - | 1988 | *LINK* web site: "News From Bree "; web page: "Fastest Growing Religion? " (viewed 9 Jan. 1999); "Last Update on 29th November 1998 " | "The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (JWs). Their Statistics Webpage... Like the LDS they have 1997 figures available, and data from 1988 is scattered about the Web site... Members: 3,500,000 (1988); 5,599,931 (1997); Congregations: 85,256 (1997) " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | world | 4,017,213 | - | - | 212 countries |
1990 | *LINK* Religious Requirements & Practices of Certain Selected Groups: A Handbook for Chaplains (1993) - (online ed. - 1998); contract #: MDA903-90-C-0062 w/ Dept. of Defense; J. Gordon Melton, Project Director & James Lewis. | "MEMBERSHIP: 4,017,213 (1990) active ministers in 212 lands " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | world | 3,000,000 | - | - | - | 1990 | Fisher, Mary Pat & Robert Luyster. Living Religions, I.B. Tauris & Co.: New York (1990); pg. 323. | "...there are now an estimated three million Jehovah's Witnesses at work in the world. " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | world | 3,395,612 | - | - | - | 1990 | Mead, Frank S. (revised by Samuel S. Hill), Handbook of Denominations in the United States (9th Ed.), Abingdon Press: Nashville, Tenn. (1990); pg. 121. | "The official journal, The Watchtower, has a circulation of 13,045,000... More than 3,395,612 Witnesses are active in this work throughout the world. " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | world | 3,395,612 | - | 46,364 units |
- | 1990 | Mead, Frank S. (revised by Samuel S. Hill), Handbook of Denominations in the United States (9th Ed.), Abingdon Press: Nashville, Tenn. (1990); pg. 123. | "The ranks of active 'publishers' across the world have grown to 3,395,612, of whom approximately 773,219 are in the U.S. There are 8,547 congregations in the U.S.; 46,364 throughout the world. " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | world | - | - | - | 210 countries |
1990 | Mead, Frank S. (revised by Samuel S. Hill), Handbook of Denominations in the United States (9th Ed.), Abingdon Press: Nashville, Tenn. (1990); pg. 121. | "Approximately 20 congregations are included in each circuit, and circuits are grouped into districts--41 in the U.S. District and circuit organizations are now found in 210 countries and islands around the world. " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | world | 3,000,000 | - | - | - | 1992 | Bloom, Harold. The American Religion: The Emergence of the Post-Christian Nation. New York: Simon & Schuster (1992); pg. 160. | "Today there are about three million Witnesses here and throughout the world, at the least, not counting almost as many peripheral adherents. " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | world | 4,200,000 | - | - | 211 countries |
1993 | Bedell, Kenneth (ed.). Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches 1993. Abingdon Press: Nashville, Tenn (1993); pg. 99. | "the word has expanded today to include 211 countries. The Witnesses now number more than 4.2 million throughout the world. " |
Jehovah's Witnesses, continued 