On September 4, 2021, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation website (Abc.net.au) published an article describing the difficult journey of two former Jehovah's Witnesses believers from the cult. The full text of the China Anti-Cult Network is translated below.
Shirley and Naomi say it takes a long time to recover from years of "indoctrination."
Australian woman Sherrie D'Souza was 46 when she was first allowed to sing the national anthem, and Naomi Mourra was 22 when she first celebrated her birthday. For years, both were dissuaded from voting in the elections.
The two Sydney women lived in a bubble for the first half of their lives: they had to get permission to say and do, and disobedience would cost themselves the brunt.
They are both "Jehovah's Witnesses" believers. According to the group, there are currently more than 70,000 adherents in Australia. The governing body of the organization is entirely male-controlled, and the "elders" act in accordance with the policies set forth in the guidelines, which are kept secret from ordinary believers. The organization declares that the end of the world will come at any time, the entire human race will be destroyed, and only the "witnesses" can live forever in heaven.
Naomi said she was stressed to become a full-time door-to-door missionary
The "Witnesses" have no pension or savings, they are told that in heaven, it is meaningless, everything is abundant in heaven. To go to heaven, preaching must be the focus of life, and anything that distracts you from it will be condemned, even from higher education to playing musical instruments, and so on.
In addition, the sect banned blood transfusions for believers, a move that led to many legal disputes, with only a few "Jehovah's Witnesses" cautiously receiving certain blood products. The sect also practiced a number of little-known canons within the sect, designed to isolate believers from the outside world. For example, believers must remain politically neutral and must not vote in elections, join the Defence Forces or celebrate birthdays.
Shirley used to attend the Kingdom Meeting House in Camden, on the outskirts of Sydney
Both Shirley and Naomi grew up in devout "Jehovah's Witnesses" families, finished their studies in 10th grade, were persuaded to work full-time for the church and became "regular pioneers," and spent at least 70 hours a month knocking on doors to recruit new "disciples," before finally "waking up."
Patriarchal society
Shirley spent 26 years trying to be the best "witness." That means succumbing to men, she said. The couple said women are defined by their relationships with men: the husband makes all the decisions and the wife obeys unconditionally.
"I used to do this, but now it makes me sick." Shirley said.
In 2015, when Shirley began attending a college health course, her husband Sasha attended a meeting at the local Kingdom Hall, a gathering place for the believers of jehovah's Witnesses, who met twice a week at the kingdom meeting house, and the elders questioned why he had let his wife go to school. Sasha later broke away from Jehovah's Witnesses at the same time as his wife.
Shirley and her husband Sasha at the 2009 Jehovah's Witnesses conference
After more than two decades of silent obedience, in 2017, Shirley broke the "Jehovah's Witnesses" prohibition on believers from reading anything from the outside world and had an experience known as "awakening." She read the final report of the Royal Agency on the Child Sexual Abuse Commission and realized that her beliefs were by no means true.
"Jehovah's Witnesses have consistently taught believers that everything inside the organization comes from God and everything outside comes from Satan. So I thought, why should Satan's organization be asked to tell God's organization how to protect children? That doesn't make sense! But slowly, "I felt manipulated, abused, and betrayed." How could I be so stupid? ”
Shirley and Sasha say the "presbytery" of Jehovah's Witnesses is not transparent on many issues
The Royal Commission heard from survivors of child sexual abuse within Jehovah's Witnesses and identified allegations of abuse against 1,006 believers. However, no one reported the incident to the police. Upon learning of this, Shirley stepped forward and spoke out against jehovah's Witnesses.
In 2019, Jehovah's Witnesses unleashed its most powerful weapon— expelling Shirley and encouraging her family and friends to cut ties with her.
Shirley said: "If you can't get together and disperse, it's just a cult style." ”
Shirley's entire family has cut off contact with her, and former friends are now walking across the street to avoid her.
From "coming out" to stepping onto the stage of performance
It took Naomi a long time to spiritually break away from jehovah's Witnesses.
Naomi, 43, realized that living forever in the shadows as a lesbian would ruin her, for which she had to break away from Jehovah's Witnesses.
Jehovah's Witnesses "condemned homosexuality, so Naomi's sister suggested that she undergo sexual orientation therapy." But Naomi decided to flee to London, where she began performing talk shows, building confidence and accepting her sexuality.
"The first time I went to a gay bar, I was really overwhelmed... I finally found my way. She said. Accepting my sexuality means that I will not be redeemed at the end of the world. ”
Years later, she thought critically about her faith and then submitted her "resignation" to Jehovah's Witnesses.
Naomi says talk shows are part of the reason she's recovered and helped her see the "stupid" side of the organization
When she returned to Sydney, everything was different. Except for her mother, everyone else was avoiding her. Fortunately, she has a "let it go" attitude, because she no longer believes that she will live forever. She took a big step forward by hosting a women-only talk show night in Sydney. She describes herself as "Sydney's only Lebanese ex-Jehovah's Witnesses' lesbian".
Naomi says her talk show isn't meant to mock religious people
Naomi began performing biblical comedy, which she says was all about "gentle stimulation" of religion. "Some people don't like it, but I don't care. My message is that nothing is sacred enough to be ridiculed. ”
Adapt to the outside world
Naomi and Shirley had to undergo treatment to get them back from years of "brainwashing."
Religious Trauma Syndrome (RTS) is an emerging term coined by American psychologist Marlene Winell that gives many people the symptoms of their struggles after breaking away from authoritarian sects. Dr Winnell said: "Psychological trauma does not disappear overnight. Despite rational analysis, the fear of hell can last a lifetime. ”
Marlene Winner says recovering from sectarian trauma means learning to perceive safety again
RTS is just beginning to be recognized, and Shirley and Naomi struggle for a long time to get help. Several therapists told them to pray to heal their psychological wounds. Eventually they found a nonprofit called Recovering from Religion, which aims to help those who struggle with skeptical or non-religious attitudes. Mutual aid organizations are huge in the United States, but they just started in Australia this year, and many people have already reached out to ask for help.
Shirley wants people caught up in highly controlled sects to know that there are avenues for support
"These people need to be heard, understood, and trusted because it's hard for them to break away from the sect and make new friends." Shirley said.
Jehovah's Witnesses refused to sign the remediation plan
Although Shirley and Naomi say they have done a lot of treatment, they are still not sure that Jehovah's Witnesses will make the changes they deserve.
In 2016, the Royal Commission recommended that Jehovah's Witnesses repeal their "two-witness rule" – whereby two people must witness abuse at the same time in order for allegations to be dealt with – and include women in abuse investigations. None of these recommendations have been adopted.
Victims told the Royal Commission that they were often intimidated to report the crime.
Jehovah's Witnesses spokeswoman Pesich Pakovsky said Jehovah's Witnesses had no plans to involve women in the survey because the Bible states that only men can become elders.
Until this year, Jehovah's Witnesses refused to sign up to a national redress plan for child sexual abuse victims.
After the government's vigorous promotion, the new law was introduced, and any religious organization that did not participate in the relevant remedies was at risk of being disqualified from the charitable tax exemption. Two weeks before the new law came into effect, Jehovah's Witnesses expressed their intention to join the remedy, which will be signed later this year.
Shirley and Naomi argue that Australia's definition of charity is too broad. "'Jehovah's Witnesses' should follow the same rules as a normal workplace. Bullying and harassment, homophobia, misogyny... These are illegal in the workplace. Shirley said.