Raised in the Jehovah’s Witness Cult, and Surviving the Escape

Come hear the saga of a young man whose family raised him in the Jehovah’s Witness (JW) Christian cult, and who left when he decided he did not believe the cult’s religious dogma. He now inspires others to escape the narrow rigid JW world.
The Atheist Community of San Jose and the Humanist Community in Silicon Valley are proud to jointly host Nate Vizcarra from Irvine, California, in a hybrid presentation (in person and on Zoom) on Sunday February 4 at 11:00 am in Mountain View. We encourage you to come meet Nate and other atheists and humanists, hear his inspiring life story, engage in lively Q&A, and join us for further discussion with Nate over lunch.
Nate will give us a brief history of the Jehovah’s Witness cult, and will describe what it is like to grow up in such a constricted and controlling environment. We will discover what led him to question the beliefs he had been taught and how he managed to exit the JW community. He will tell us about the shunning that follows after someone is audacious and courageous enough to leave JW.
Our enthusiastic speaker will tell us about the support network that exists to ease the transition out of JW for anyone who chooses to leave, and Nate’s role in that network. The sudden loss of family and friends can be harmful for the escapees from JW. How did Nate cope, and how has the ex-JW support network helped others?
Nate Vizcarra was raised in Orange County and is now a software engineer. He will tell us how he has rebuilt his life after JW, and created new family and friends to replace those lost to him.
Please sign up for this event ahead of time on Meetup, and tell us in the notes whether you will stay for the luncheon buffet (request $10 per person for the lunch). This information helps us with planning. We look forward to seeing you there! At this event, we also expect to be hosting a large group of students from Dr. Elizabeth Drescher’s university course on “Nonreligion in America.” Come help us introduce these college students to humanism and atheism!
If you wish to attend on Zoom, sign up on Meetup (meetup.com/ACof SJ/events or meetup.com/humanistcommunity) and we will send you the Zoom link. If you have further questions or have difficulty signing up on Meetup, contact Judy at: judy.b@sanjoseatheists.com.