The Discursive Construction of Freedom in the Watchtower Society Helena Chester Diploma of Teaching (Early Childhood): Riverina – Murray Institute of Higher Education Graduate Diploma of Education (Special Education): Victoria College. Master of Education (Honours): University of New England Thesis submitted in fulfilment of requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Charles Darwin University, Darwin. October 2018 Certification I certify that the substance of this dissertation has not already been submitted for any degree and is not currently being submitted for any other degree or qualification. I certify that any help received in preparing this thesis, and all sources used, have been acknowledged in this thesis. Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... 4 Dedication ............................................................................................................................. 5 Thesis Abstract ..................................................................................................................... 6 Keywords .............................................................................................................................. 7 Acronyms and Abbreviations ................................................................................................ 8 Chapter 1: The Discursive Construction of Freedom in the Watchtower Society ................... 9 The Freedom Claim in the Watchtower Society .............................................................. 9 Contextualising the Watchtower Society ...................................................................... 11 The Watchtower Society and Freedom ......................................................................... 15 Levels of Freedom in the Watchtower Society ............................................................. 21 Contesting Claims on Watchtower Freedom ................................................................. 30 Research Data .............................................................................................................. 34 Insider-Outsider Issues in Research .............................................................................. 36 Macro-level content analysis ........................................................................................ 39 Genealogy .................................................................................................................... 39 Outline of Thesis Chapters ........................................................................................... 40 Chapter 2: Literature Review on Freedom ........................................................................... 44 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 44 The Watchtower Society as a Global ‘Body’ ................................................................ 47 Critics of the Watchtower Society ................................................................................ 51 Gender Non-Conformists ............................................................................................. 57 Academic Research on the Watchtower Society ........................................................... 61 Jehovah’s Witnesses and Higher Education .................................................................. 64 The Politics of Fear ...................................................................................................... 68 Historical and Legal Research ...................................................................................... 71 The Watchtower Society and Litigation........................................................................ 72 The Mental Health of Jehovah’s Witnesses .................................................................. 76 Australian Royal Commission Investigation into Child Sexual Abuse .......................... 79 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 91 Chapter 3: Social Theory on Freedom ................................................................................. 94 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 94 Theo-democratic Organisations and Freedom ............................................................... 98 Freedom as Recovery: Choosing Survival ................................................................. 107 Freedom as Resistance and Cooperation: Choosing Security ...................................... 120 The Construction of a Collective Human Superorganism ........................................... 124 1 Disgust Psychology .................................................................................................... 126 Freedom as the Discursive Construction of Social Reality .......................................... 128 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 134 Chapter 4: Methodology for Deconstructing Freedom in the Watchtower Society ............. 137 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 137 Research Paradigms ................................................................................................... 144 Genealogy as Unmasking ‘Accidents’ ........................................................................ 148 Macro-Level Content Analysis and Critical Resistance .............................................. 152 Critical Resistance ..................................................................................................... 153 Insider/Outsider relationships ..................................................................................... 154 Biopsychosocial Theories ........................................................................................... 158 Research Data ............................................................................................................ 161 Ethics, Validity, Reliability ........................................................................................ 169 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 171 Chapter 5: Freedom as Recovery in the Watchtower Society ............................................. 174 Introduction: Pedagogies of Transformation .............................................................. 174 Nature and Role of the Higher Power in Freedom as Recovery................................... 176 A Habitus Model of Recovery .................................................................................... 177 The Construction of Desire and Consent .................................................................... 178 Habitus Reconstruction and Claims of ‘Brainwashing’ ............................................... 179 Pedagogies of Transformation in the Watchtower Society .......................................... 186 The Bible Changes Lives with Fear, Hope and Love .................................................. 187 Life-Narratives in the WTS as ‘Witnessing’ ............................................................... 188 Recovery Narratives and Habitus Reconstruction ....................................................... 194 Discussion.................................................................................................................. 212 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 215 Chapter 6: Freedom for Jehovah’s Witnesses with Same-Sex-Attraction ........................... 217 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 217 Addiction: Recovery .................................................................................................. 223 Apostasy: Immuno-politics ........................................................................................ 233 Apocalypse: Discourses of Fear and Hope ................................................................. 243 Adoption: Cooperation and Resistance ...................................................................... 247 Discussion.................................................................................................................. 252 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 257 Chapter 7: Discussion on the Freedom of the Spirit in the Watchtower Society ................. 261 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 261 Discursive Construction of Freedom in the Watchtower Society ................................ 266 2 Social Freedom: The Spirit-Directed Superorganism ................................................. 267 Freedom through Surrender: Transformation of Habitus ............................................ 269 Non-Conformers in the Watchtower Society: Struggle for Survival ............................ 272 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 274 Chapter 8: Conclusion and