Patriotic fervor has been whipped up, and the cult of emperor worship has a modern-day counterpart in the wave of nationalism that has swept the earth.

In the United States, hundreds of children and teachers were dismissed from schools because they did not salute the national flag, while in Germany the Witnesses were viciously persecuted for refusing to salute the swastika. As already noted, Hitler’s Nazis killed thousands of Jehovah’s loyal servants because they refused to share in such nationalistic idolatry. In the 1930’s, during Japan’s heyday of Shinto emperor worship, two pioneer ministers sowed much Kingdom seed in Japanese-occupied Taiwan. The military rulers threw them into prison, where one of them died because of the harsh treatment. The other was later released, only to be shot in the back​—a modern-day Antipas. To this day, there are lands where worship of nationalistic symbols and exclusive devotion to the State are demanded. Many youthful Witnesses have been imprisoned, and not a few executed, because of their courageous stand as Christian neutrals.

7. How did youngsters in India face the issue of nationalistic worship, and with what result?

⁷ Youngsters in school have faced similar issues. In 1985, in the state of Kerala, India, three young children of Jehovah’s Witnesses refused to compromise their Bible-based faith, declining to sing the national anthem. They stood respectfully while others sang, but they were nonetheless expelled from school.