Press Releases > Jehovah’s Witnesses’ View on Teaching Religious Beliefs to Their Children

Jehovah’s Witnesses’ View on Teaching Religious Beliefs to Their Children

March 2023

Jehovah’s Witnesses do not force their children to adopt their faith. (See the article: Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Force Their Children to Adopt Their Faith?) All Jehovah’s Witnesses, even minors, make their own personal decisions to learn, accept, and practice what the Bible teaches. Infants and children who are not yet mature enough to make their own decisions cannot become a believer. Children of Jehovah’s Witness parents who desire to be baptized will go through the same procedures of personal study and reach a level of maturity before they would be accepted for baptism. See the article How do I become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses? at www.jw.org.

As it is recognized domestically and internationally, parents have the right to raise their children according to their beliefs and moral values. However, it is an individual’s decision, whether as a mature child under the care of their parents or as an independent adult, to become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. This is in harmony with the liberty of parents protected by Article 18, Clause 4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Article 14, Clauses 1 and 2 of the Convention of the Rights of the Child.

Please see the full press release for more information on the following subjects:

  • Medical Choice
  • Teaching of Children
  • Excommunicated Jehovah’s Witnesses
  • Education