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«IZVESTIYA IRKUTSKOGO GOSUDARSTVENNOGO UNIVERSITETA». SERIYA «POLITOLOGIYA. RELIGIOVEDENIE»
«THE BULLETIN OF IRKUTSK STATE UNIVERSITY». SERIES «POLITICAL SCIENCE AND RELIGION STUDIES»
ISSN 2073-3380 (Print)

List of issues > Series «Political Science and Religion Studies». 2025. Vol 53

Reformism and Conservatism of the Jehovah's Witnesses Organization: Modernizing the Personality of Jesus Christ

Author(s)

N. I. Petev1

1 Vladimir State University named after Alexander and Nikolay Stoletovs, Vladimir, Russian Federation 

Abstract
This article is devoted to the problem of the correlation of reformist and conservative (traditional) elements in the Christology of the religious organization “Jehovah's Witnesses”. The relevance of this topic lies in the fact that as a result of the correlation of the trends of “tradition” and “innovation” of this organization, the idea of Jesus Christ is transformed, as well as the functional specifics of this person within the framework of the faith. The main problem of this work is the formation of an unreduced view of the “renewed” foundations of the Christology of Jehovah's Witnesses. The purpose of the work is a structural and functional analysis of the teaching of Jesus Christ by the “Jehovah's Witnesses” in order to identify the effectiveness or inconsistency of the “modernist” interpretation of Christ in the paradigm of resolving theological contradictions. A number of different methods were used in this study. The dialectical method made it possible to identify problematic components of the Christology of the “Jehovah's Witnesses”, in particular in the paradigm of the question of “divinity”. An analytical approach is necessary for the identification and subsequent analysis of “modernist” introductions within the framework of the doctrine of Christ. The functional approach made it possible to identify the dysfunctionality of the personality of Jesus Christ in the paradigm of “modernization”. The deconstruction method allowed us to dissect the image of Jesus Christ positioned as a monolithic one, and the modeling method allowed us to form an “innovative” version of this personality. In addition, religious studies and psychological approaches were used in the work. The contradictions associated with the “modernization” of the image of Christ are revealed: reduction to a mediator, a surrogate of Adam, abstract matter. The dysfunction of Christ within the framework of the organization's creed, in particular in the aspect of “divinity”, is analyzed and demonstrated. Temporal features in the teaching of Christ are revealed and demonstrated, as well as the consequences of reducing him to a “thing” are shown. The specifics of the formation of Christ as the “brand” of the organization are revealed. The substitution of “modernism-traditionalism” in the paradigm of faith actualization is demonstrated.
About the Authors
Petev Nikolay Ivanovich, Candidate of Sciences (Philosophy), Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies. Vladimir State University 87, Gorkogo st., Vladimir, 600000, Russian Federation e-mail: cyanideemo@mail.ru ORCID 0000-0002-8711-4400
For citation
Petev N.I. Reformism and Conservatism of the Jehovah's Witnesses organization: Modernizing the Personality of Jesus Christ. The Bulletin of Irkutsk State University. Series Political Science and Religion Studies, 2025, vol. 53, pp. 92-104. https://doi.org/10.26516/2073-3380.2025.53.92 (in Russian)
UDC
23+298.9
DOI
https://doi.org/10.26516/2073-3380.2025.53.92
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