Jehovah's Witnesses
As of 2011, there were 94,000 active Jehovah's Witnesses in Cuba (about 0.85% of the population), in 1,289 congregations. Over 236,000 attended the observance of the Memorial of Christ's death in that year.
From 1938 to 1947, the number of Jehovah's Witnesses in Cuba increased from about 100 to 4,000. After World War II, membership in Cuba increased to 20,000, and by 1989 there were approximately 30,000 members. The movement was banned in Cuba in 1974, and members have been imprisoned for their refusal of military service. During the Mariel boatlift in 1980, about 3000 Witnesses left Cuba. They were forced out because "they continued to worship God in their own way." In 1994, the Cuban government released representatives of the Watch Tower Society, and members were permitted to meet in groups of up to 150 at Kingdom Halls and other places for worship. A branch office of Jehovah's Witnesses, with a print shop, was opened in Havana in the same year. In 1998, Witnesses were permitted to meet at larger conventions in major cities in Cuba.
See also: Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses#CubaRead more about this topic: Religion In Cuba
Famous quotes containing the words jehovah and/or witnesses:
“Then did they to Jehovah cry
When they were in distress:
And therupon he bringeth them
Out of their anguishes.”
—Bible: Hebrew Psalm CVII (Bay Psalm Book)
“The writer isn’t made in a vacuum. Writers are witnesses. The reason we need writers is because we need witnesses to this terrifying century.”
—E.L. (Edgar Lawrence)