“We are also just normal people, like everybody else.” : Young Jehovah’s Witnesses in Belgium and their Experiences of Others’ Conceptions About their Religion.

Sammanfattning: This study examines young Jehovah’s Witnesses’ experiences of others’ conceptions of their religion in media and through real-life encounters, and how they think it affects their everyday life. To get an insight into their subjective experiences, this research applied a qualitative approach with an interpretivist epistemological standpoint and constructionism as an ontological position. The data was collected through individual semi-structured interviews through Zoom. The participants consisted of eight Jehovah’s Witnesses living in Belgium, in the age range 14 to 18. The data was analysed using thematic analysis while employing an inductive approach. Goffman’s (1990; 1967) theories of self-presentation and face-work is discussed in relation to the main the findings. Findings showed that young Jehovah’s Witnesses encountered portrayals of child abuse, blood transfusion, and negative humour, and portrayals that invoked positive emotions, and neutral and correct information, although some had never seen any kind of portrayals of their religion in the media. All of them had come across what they classed as misconceptions about non-celebrations and prohibitions, cultism, and refusal of medical treatments, which they perceived as inaccurate or partially inaccurate. Some positive conceptions they came across were that Jehovah’s Witnesses were perceived as kind, helpful, and respectful. They believed others’ conceptions of their religion to be a result of word of mouth and partially through media portrayals, rather than first-hand experiences. Furthermore, they believed that inaccurate information and misconceptions about their religion were widespread due to lack of knowledge and misguided or spiteful former Jehovah’s Witnesses. They were self-aware of how and where they express their religious beliefs in different social contexts. They employed various coping strategies, e.g., sharing their experiences with fellow believers, relying on their religious beliefs,trying to think differently about a negative situation to maintain their well-being or avoiding negative content on media.