Jehovah's Witnesses: A Personal Analysis

There are hundreds of functional literacies. They can range from brain surgeons to plumbers and despite the popular misconception, they are all valuable. It sometimes takes deep self-examination to realize the things you are literate in. Through my own personal analysis, I have isolated the literacy that shapes my life, character, and goals: religion.
I have chosen to be one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. You may know us as the people who preach door-to-door, offer free bible studies, or the ones who do not celebrate holidays. I could explain to the greatest extent on my beliefs, however on this occasion I want to address how my religion gave me the competence that carved who I am today. I understand that for some, the very topic of faith is sensitive
My family and friends I associated with throughout childhood all shared the same faith and through my own study I decided to become an official member at the age of nine. Being a Witness is not necessarily respected by people. False accusations by other religions, government officials, or the general public produce prejudices and the perceptions that we are a “weird”, “uptight”, “extremist” “cult”. Often, because of our politically neutral stance, Russia, China, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Germany, India, Malawi and many other countries our activities have been, or is currently, banned and members persecuted. Knowing this is just one aspect that gave me literacy. At the age of five, I was aware of these international and cultural disputes. I understood that the world was not restricted to the boundaries I formulated and that things were happening even if they didn’t directly affect me. So therefore at a young age, I was experienced in being conscious of the world around me. This literacy did not dwindle as I aged, instead intensified. I now strive to be aware of the laws, cultures, and histories that molds the society that we live in. Also, being cognizant forced me to evaluate the reason for my faith. No one is “born” a Jehovah’s Witness but must choose to be baptized when they acquire the knowledge and are ready to live accordingly to it. Growing older and realizing that a vast amount of people are being persecuted for their beliefs made me consider the reason for mine. From then on, through the help of bible study programs provided to us, I research and build a faith that makes sense to me so that “[I] should no longer be [as] children, tossed about as by waves and carried here and there by every wind of teaching by means of the trickery of