The JW-RWA study provides insights into the meaning and manifestation of hope for Jehovah’s Witnesses. More than optimism or wishful thinking, hope includes a motivational state for dealing with life’s adversities. As a gauge of how positive and achievable the Witnesses believe their future goals and outcomes are, the study found a consistent positive temporal orientation among Jehovah’s Witnesses across age, gender, and Genocide experiences. The specific measure of hope included factors related to interconnectedness and positive readiness and expectancy, in addition to a future-oriented temporality. High scores of hope show little variation by age, gender, or Genocide experience. For Jehovah’s Witnesses in Rwanda, hope and faith appear integral, as reflected in the uniformity of positive hope responses across different measures and among the various socio-demographic groups. (Hope in Section 6, page 364)
Jehovah’s Witnesses attribute their hope to their religion, with 97% reporting that their hope for the future improved since becoming Witnesses. (Figure 6.25)
Hope for the future is one of the leading reasons individuals decide to become Jehovah’s Witnesses. (Figure 3.4)
A key doctrinal teaching rooted in hope is the core belief that God’s Kingdom will remedy all human suffering. The teaching about the Kingdom underpins the principles of nonviolence and political neutrality. These foundational principles may lie at the heart of individual Witnesses’ ability to face harassment, repression, and violence with a principled resolve to respect life.
Figure 6.25, Perceived Change in Subjective Wellbeing Since Becoming One of Jehovah’s Witnesses
Figure 3.4, Original and Current Attractions to Jehovah’s Witnesses
