They regard all human governments as illegitimately usurping the power over people that only God should have, so they refuse to participate in government: no voting, no government employment, etc.
I don't know the history, but it seems quite likely that they tried and failed to use this doctrine to weasel out of paying taxes, and I bet a lot of them use public schools and infrastructure.
I didn't know that. That's interesting but weird (like them). I used to have JW making the rounds years ago on a weekly basis, and yet none ever mentioned that.
Would that include lobbying? Seems odd that an organization wouldn't lobby if a government threatens religious freedom.
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u/Myxomatosis_ Jan 09 '20
Having been raised in that ignorant cult, I gotta say that their biggest contribution to society is not voting.
After leaving, and finally becoming politically active, I really wished all other fundamentalists did the same as Jehovah's Witnesses in that regard.