On becoming a witness : religious conversion into the Jehovah's witnesses in Singapore.

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to understand why some Singaporeans decide to convert into a Christian sect called the Jehovah’s Witnesses and adopt certain unconventional lifestyles, despite it being banned and de-registered in Singapore. This study will be on the premise of Starke and Finke’s (2000) micro theories of religion, which argues that religious actors make rational decisions, within a religious economy. I argue that certain pre-disposing conditions of the converts, early socialization patterns with the Witnesses and doctrine appeal, all contribute to the motivations of Singaporeans to convert into this religious group. This study also contends that doctrine appeal is not of secondary importance to socialization and rational choice theories of religious conversion.