Can Truth Be Found? JW vs Norway
Just in time for the Special Talk titled “Can Truth Be Found?”, let’s take a moment to explore the timeline of events and official statements published on JW.org surrounding the recent court case: Jehovah’s Witnesses vs. Norway. Along the way, we’ll do a little truth-finding exercise of our own — examining not just what was said, but what was left unsaid.
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Oliver
4/8/20257 min read
First of all, let's examine a chronological timeline of key events in the Norway vs. Jehovah’s Witnesses case so far. This timeline focuses on the major developments regarding the legal and administrative disputes over Jehovah’s Witnesses’ registration and state funding in Norway:
About 1985
Jehovah’s Witnesses Begin Receiving State Subsidies: Jehovah’s Witnesses in Norway start receiving state financial support, a practice that continues for over three decades, consistent with Norway’s constitutional provision to support religious communities equally alongside the Church of Norway.
April 24, 2020
New Religious Communities Act Enacted: Norway introduces the Religious Communities Act, which provides a framework for registering religious groups and distributing state subsidies. This law becomes a pivotal reference in later disputes over Jehovah’s Witnesses’ practices.
January 27, 2021
Initial Inquiry Sparks Investigation: The Ministry of Children and Family Affairs receives a letter from Rolf Johan Furuli, a former Jehovah’s Witness District Overseer, raising concerns about the organization’s disfellowshipping and shunning practices. This prompts further scrutiny by Norwegian authorities.
January 27, 2022
State Subsidies Denied for 2021: The County Governor of Oslo and Viken, Valgerd Svarstad Haugland, denies Jehovah’s Witnesses state subsidies for 2021 (approximately 16-18 million NOK annually, or about $1.5 million USD), citing their exclusionary practices as violating the Religious Communities Act. This marks the first significant financial action against the group.
October 25, 2022
Threat of Deregistration: The County Governor sends a letter demanding that Jehovah’s Witnesses change their disfellowshipping practices or face deregistration as a recognized religious community, escalating the conflict.
November 3, 2022
Formal Notice of Potential Deregistration: The State Administrator announces that Jehovah’s Witnesses’ status as a registered religion is at risk, giving them four weeks to adjust their doctrines or lose legal recognition.
December 2, 2022
Governing Body Update #8 is published on jw.org. The host, Brother Anthony Morris states: "The authorities in Norway have threatened to remove our legal registration because of our Scriptural beliefs and practices regarding disfellowshipping. In the future, various governments will challenge our freedom of worship. They may pressure us to change our Scriptural beliefs. But we’re certainly not going to do that!”
Source: https://www.jw.org/finder?srcid=share&wtlocale=E&lank=docid-702022024_1_VIDEO
See exercise below
December 21, 2022
Jehovah’s Witnesses File Lawsuit: Jehovah’s Witnesses file two lawsuits against the Norwegian government: one challenging the denial of state grants and another contesting the threatened loss of registration. These lawsuits are later combined into a single case.
End of 2022
Deregistration Decision Formalized: The County Governor of Oslo and Viken officially revokes Jehovah’s Witnesses’ registration.
December 30, 2022
Temporary Injunction Granted: The Oslo District Court grants Jehovah’s Witnesses a temporary injunction, suspending the deregistration process pending further court review. This allows them to retain their registration and marriage officiant rights temporarily.
Source: https://www.jw.org/finder?wtlocale=E&docid=702023043&srcid=share
February 22, 2023
JW.org states in the JW News section that "it was announced at World Headquarters that Brother Anthony Morris III is no longer serving as a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses."
Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20230222224819/https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/
April 26, 2023
Injunction Revoked: The Oslo District Court revokes the December 2022 injunction after a challenge from the Ministry of Children and Families. Jehovah’s Witnesses lose their registration status immediately and are ordered to pay the state’s legal costs. This also strips them of the right to appoint wedding officiants.
January 8–19, 2024
Oslo District Court Trial: A two-week trial takes place in the Oslo District Court to determine the validity of the state’s decisions to deny subsidies and registration. Witnesses, including former members like Jan Frode Nilsen, testify about the impact of shunning and baptisms of minors. The state argues these practices constitute psychological violence and negative social control, particularly toward children.
March 4, 2024
Oslo District Court Ruling: The court upholds the government’s decision, acquitting the state and ruling that denying Jehovah’s Witnesses subsidies and registration is lawful under the Religious Communities Act. Jehovah’s Witnesses are ordered to pay 1,140,505 NOK (approximately $108,091 USD) in court costs.
March 15, 2024
Within weeks of the Oslo ruling, Governing Body Update #2 announces policy changes: baptized minors under 18 receive more lenient handling, and disfellowshipped individuals may now be greeted based on personal conscience. Members are also allowed to contact them to invite them to meetings. 2 John 9–11 is reinterpreted as applying specifically to apostates. -
Source: https://www.jw.org/finder?wtlocale=E&docid=1112024005&srcid=share ; Elders receive a letter with with “Adjustments to Handling Serious Wrongdoing” (S-395); also see Watchtower - Study Edition for August 2024: https://www.jw.org/finder?wtlocale=E&issue=2024-08&pub=w24&srcid=share
See exercise below
March 27, 2024
Appeal Announced: Jehovah’s Witnesses announce their intent to appeal the Oslo District Court’s decision to the Borgarting Court of Appeal, continuing their legal challenge.
June 1, 2024
In an unprecedented move, the Watchtower Society announced via the "Announcements and Reminders" letter to elders that the August 2024 Watchtower Study Edition would be delayed—the first such delay in the magazine's history. Elders were informed that congregations might receive the September and October issues before the August issue, and further instructions would be provided if the August issue did not arrive in time for its scheduled study in October.
June 18, 2024
The September 2024 Watchtower Study Edition was released, preceding the delayed August issue. This edition contains study articles scheduled for November 11–December 8, 2024.
July 1, 2024
The delayed August 2024 Watchtower Study Edition was finally released on jw.org. This issue, which had been postponed and caused an unusual break in publication order, contains a series of articles addressing adjustments to the disfellowshipping policy, including how elders are to handle cases involving unrepentant wrongdoers and baptized minors.
October 24, 2024
Jehovah’s Witnesses submit a letter to Norway’s Ministry of Children and Families requesting reconsideration of past rulings against them. They highlight recent global adjustments to their shunning policy, including softer approaches to member removal, increased pastoral follow-up, exceptions for minors, and an emphasis on individual conscience in contact decisions.
Source: Letter (A copy of the letter is provided for convenience, but it's each person's responsibility to verify it independently if they're truly committed to finding the truth and want to avoid relying on potentially unreliable sources.)
See exercise below
February 3–14, 2025
Borgarting Court of Appeal Hearing: The appeal case is heard, with key testimonies scheduled for February 7 and 10. Jehovah’s Witnesses argue procedural errors, misinterpretation of doctrine, and violations of religious freedom, while the state defends its actions as protecting individual rights.
March 14, 2025
Borgarting Court of Appeal Ruling: The Court of Appeal reverses the Oslo District Court’s decision, declaring the refusal of grants and registration invalid. It finds that Jehovah’s Witnesses’ practices, including shunning, do not sufficiently violate human rights or children’s rights to justify deregistration, emphasizing religious freedom and proportionality.
March 27, 2025
JW.org publishes the article “Court of Appeal Unanimously Overturns Unconstitutional Ruling in Norway”
See exercise below
April 2025
Potential Further Appeals: As of April 8, 2025, it remains unclear whether the Norwegian government will appeal the Borgarting ruling to the Supreme Court of Norway or if the case might escalate to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), as some experts predict.
Truth-Verification Exercise: Analyzing Jehovah's Witnesses' Public and Internal Communications
Objective:
Critically examine the consistency between Jehovah's Witnesses' public statements and their internal communications regarding their disciplinary practices. This includes analyzing claims made on their official website, insights from the Governing Body Update #8 (December 2022), Governing Body Update #2 (March 2024), the August 2024 Watchtower Study Edition, and an official letter to Norwegian authorities.
Step 1: Review the Official Statement on jw.org
Access the Article:
Identify Key Claims:
Focus on the statement: “The State based its decision on the assertion that we should change our Scriptural practice of removing unrepentant wrongdoers from the congregation.”
Reflect:
Does this imply that Jehovah's Witnesses have not made any changes to their disciplinary practices?
Step 2: Examine the Governing Body Update #8 (December 2022)
Access the Update:
Identify Relevant Statements:
Note any comments regarding the organization's stance on changing doctrinal practices, especially concerning disfellowshipping. (5 min 48 sec)
Reflect:
Do these statements align with or contradict the claim that no changes have been made?
Step 3: Examine the Governing Body Update #2 (March 2024)
Access the Update:
Identify Relevant Statements:
Look for any announcements or discussions about adjustments to congregation practices, particularly those related to disfellowshipping or shunning.
Reflect:
Are there indications of changes or reaffirmations of existing practices?
Step 4: Review the August 2024 Watchtower Study Edition
Access the Publication:
Identify Relevant Articles:
Look for articles discussing congregation discipline, disfellowshipping, or related topics.
Analyze the Content:
Note any stated changes or reaffirmations of policies regarding the treatment of disfellowshipped individuals.
Reflect:
Do these articles indicate any adjustments to the congregation's practices?
Step 5: Access the Official Letter of Jehovah’s Witnesses to Norwegian Authorities
Navigate to the Public Records Portal:
Go to: eInnsyn Public Records
Request the Letter(s):
Order the October 2024 letter(s) from Jehovah's Witnesses to Norway’s Ministry of Children and Families.
You will receive a copy of the requested documents by email a few days later:
Examine the October 24 letter for any mention of adjustments or clarifications to their practices concerning disfellowshipped individuals. Use Google Translate to translate the letter from Norwegian to your language. (A copy of the letter is provided for convenience, but it's each person's responsibility to verify it independently if they're truly committed to finding the truth and want to avoid relying on potentially unreliable sources.)
Reflect:
Does this letter indicate any changes to their disciplinary practices?
Step 6: Compare and Contrast
Analyze Consistencies and Discrepancies:
Compare the information from the jw.org article, the Governing Body Updates #8 and #2, the August 2024 Watchtower Study Edition, and the official letter.
Critical Questions:
Are there any contradictions between the public statements and the internal communications?
Do internal documents suggest changes that are downplayed or denied in public statements?
By completing this exercise, you will gain insights into the alignment (or lack thereof) between Jehovah's Witnesses' public representations and their internal directives concerning their disciplinary practices. This analysis encourages critical thinking and discernment regarding organizational transparency and consistency.