Traditions
J

Tradition · Restorationist

Jehovah’s Witnesses

Followersabout 9.2 millionpeak publishers (2025)How countedBible Student movement1870sCharles Taze Russell’s Bible study group in Pittsburgh. The name Jehovah’s Witnesses was adopted in 1931.Read the historyCompare with another tradition

A millenarian restorationist movement known for public ministry.

Relationships with other traditions

How it took shape

Key timeline

View timeline in full
  1. 1870sApproximate

    Bible study in Pittsburgh

    C. T. Russell’s group begins; the workbook gives 1870.

  2. 1879

    Zion’s Watch Tower

    Russell begins publishing the magazine now called The Watchtower.

  3. 1931

    Name adopted

    Under Joseph F. Rutherford, the main body of Bible Students adopts the name Jehovah’s Witnesses.

  4. 1961

    New World Translation

    Complete edition of the movement’s own Bible translation.

Classification
Restorationist. Witnesses identify as Christians restoring first-century Christianity and reject the doctrine of the Trinity. Most other Christian bodies do not regard them as part of historic Trinitarian Christianity.
What this entry covers
A single church. Jehovah's Witnesses, directed by the Governing Body at Warwick, New York.
Bible Student movement
1870s. Charles Taze Russell’s Bible study group in Pittsburgh. The name Jehovah’s Witnesses was adopted in 1931.

Relationships with other traditions

Restoration movement1870s–1931

From the Bible Students to Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah’s Witnesses · the historic creedal churches

Restoration movement: A movement that describes itself as restoring original Christianity, rather than reforming or continuing an existing church. It is not modelled as a schism.

The movement grew from Charles Taze Russell's Bible study group in Pittsburgh in the 1870s and took the name Jehovah's Witnesses in 1931. Witnesses describe themselves as Christians following the Christianity Jesus taught, and reject the doctrine of the Trinity.
2 sources

Full timeline

  1. 1870sApproximate

    Bible study in Pittsburgh

    C. T. Russell’s group begins; the workbook gives 1870.

    Explained below: From the Bible Students to Jehovah's Witnesses

  2. 1879

    Zion’s Watch Tower

    Russell begins publishing the magazine now called The Watchtower.

  3. 1931

    Name adopted

    Under Joseph F. Rutherford, the main body of Bible Students adopts the name Jehovah’s Witnesses.

    Explained below: From the Bible Students to Jehovah's Witnesses

  4. 1961

    New World Translation

    Complete edition of the movement’s own Bible translation.

  • God and Christ

    Jehovah alone is Almighty God; Jesus is his Son, the first of his creation. The workbook’s “Arian Christology” is an outside comparison.
    Source

  • The Kingdom

    God’s Kingdom will soon replace human government; Witnesses remain politically neutral.
    Source

    Not re-read in session.

    Provisional: broadly supported, but awaiting fuller checking.

  • Blood

    Members refuse blood transfusions on biblical grounds.
    Source

    Not re-read in session.

    Provisional: broadly supported, but awaiting fuller checking.

Positions used in comparisons

Short, sourced statements that the Atlas compares across traditions. Where a tradition has no single teaching authority, the record says whose statement it follows.

God
Jehovah is 'the one true and Almighty God'; Witnesses find 'no Scriptural basis for the Trinity doctrine'.
Source
Christ
Jesus is honoured as Saviour and Son of God but 'is not Almighty God'.
Source
Scripture and authority
Beliefs are based on the Bible's 66 books; a Governing Body provides worldwide direction.
Source
Salvation and grace
Benefiting from Jesus's ransom requires faith, a changed way of life and baptism.
Source
Church and ministry
Congregations are overseen by unsalaried elders who 'do not form a clergy class', under the Governing Body.
Source

Compare these positions with another tradition

  • Kingdom Halls and ministry

    Congregational meetings, an annual Memorial of Christ’s death, and house-to-house preaching.
    Source

    The annual Memorial is reported in the service-year report; meeting and preaching practice is not separately sourced.

    Provisional: broadly supported, but awaiting fuller checking.

The follower figure

about 9.2 million peak publishers (2025)

What is counted
Active publishers (people reporting preaching activity)
As of
service year to 31 August 2025
Reported by
Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
Type
Recorded by the reporting body
Coverage
Worldwide. Publishers are people who report preaching activity; this is not a count of all adherents.
Do not add
The 2025 Memorial attendance of 20.6 million includes many people who are not Witnesses.
This entry is
A single church. Jehovah's Witnesses, directed by the Governing Body at Warwick, New York.
The 2025 service year report gives a peak of 9,205,326 publishers and Memorial attendance of 20,635,015.
Source

Replaces the starting figure. Workbook: 8,600,000 (no source or date).

Figures from different traditions measure different things and must not be added together or ranked against each other.

About the image · Editorial placeholder

Editorial initial. Jehovah’s Witnesses do not use the cross.

Editorial status

Editorial draft. Built from the starting workbook with editorial corrections and framing. It has not yet been checked against independent sources.

References

  • Workbook linkNot yet checked

    jw.org

    Link supplied in the source workbook (“Christian Denominations”, row 27). It has not been checked to confirm that it supports every claim in that row.

Original workbook record

Imported unchanged from “Christian Denominations”, row 27. Values here are the starting dataset, not verified facts; where the Atlas differs, the reason is noted below.

Denomination / Tradition
Jehovah's Witnesses
Broader Tradition
Restorationism / Non-Trinitarian
Date Established / Split
1870 AD
Origin / Location
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Forming Event / Schism
Bible Student Movement
Approx. Practitioners
8,600,000
Broke Away From
Protestant / Bible Student Movement
Primary Reason for Split / Core Doctrine
Rejection of the Trinity in favor of Arian Christology (Jesus as created Son); door-to-door proselytizing and rejection of blood transfusions.
Reference / Information Link
https://www.jw.org

Editorial notes on this record

  • Date Established / Split: 1870 is approximate; the name dates from 1931. Shown as “1870s”.
  • Primary Reason for Split / Core Doctrine: “Arian Christology” and “door-to-door proselytizing” are outside characterisations; reworded.

Research sources for this entry

Every relationship, position and figure above cites these. Each links to the Atlas’s single source register, which shows what each source supports and whether it was read.