Admittedly, sometimes it does. For example, a 1998 report by the research company Sofres found that 1 out of 20 marriages in which only one mate was a Witness had serious problems when that one converted.

Jesus foretold that those who follow his teachings would at times suffer family strife. (Matthew 10:32-​36) Historian Will Durant notes that under the Roman Empire, “Christianity was charged with breaking up the home,” and some of Jehovah’s Witnesses face the same charge today. Does this mean, though, that the Witness causes the discord?

European Court of Human Rights

When ruling on the accusation that Jehovah’s Witnesses break up families, the European Court of Human Rights said that non-Witness family members often cause conflict by refusing “to accept and to respect their religious relative’s freedom to manifest and practise his or her religion.” The Court added: “This situation is common to all mixed-belief marriages and Jehovah’s Witnesses are no exception.” Even when faced with religious intolerance, though, Jehovah’s Witnesses strive to follow the Bible’s counsel: “Return evil for evil to no one. . . . If possible, as far as it depends on you, be peaceable with all men.”​—Romans 12:17, 18.