The paper presents key findings from nationwide, anonymous online survey of the Jehovah's Witness community in post-genocide Rwanda (JW-RWA), especially relating to psychosocial responses to stressful or traumatic events. Using study findings from a combination of validated measures and questions specific to the study population, the aspects of strong religious identity, religion as coping, and prosocial attitudes are examined in light of trauma events in the lives of respondents.
The survey data provides a strong basis for conclusions about the religious functioning of Jehovah's Witnesses, beginning with insights into respondents' conversion experience, intrinsic versus extrinsic orientation, degree of commitment, and God-image. In light of the inescapable influence of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, not only on those who experienced the event but also subsequent generations, the study also explored the topics of forgiveness, social relations, centrality of genocide, and posttraumatic growth.
While the presentation cannot touch specifically on all these aspects, this paper is one example of the insights that this rich and complex dataset of the JW-RWA study contributes to the field. The conclusions in this paper are grounded in the author's research into the distinctive religious identity and social interactions of Jehovah's Witnesses and argues that this identity in the Rwandan context support religious coping and the development of prosocial attitudes in the aftermath of stressful events.