Awake!: Encyclopedia - Awake!

Awake!

Awake! is a general-interest magazine published by Jehovah's Witnesses.

The magazine's predecessor, first published in 1919 by International Bible Students (an earlier name of Jehovah's Witnesses), was entitled The Golden Age. From 1937 it was called Consolation. (In some countries it was also known as New World for a while.) In 1946 the present magazine called by the name Awake! was released.

Whereas its companion magazine The Watchtower focuses mostly on Bible study and doctrine, Awake! has a wider scope, publishing articles on science, nature and geography, usually with a religious slant.

Other features in the magazine include Bible crosswords or quizzes; "The Bible's Viewpoint," a column applying the Bible to current issues; "Young People Ask,", a column giving Bible-based advice aimed at teens and young-adults; "Watching the World," a selection of single-paragraph news items from a variety of sources; and "From Our Readers", a selection of letters commenting on previous Awake! articles.

Several articles relating to medical conditions have been published in "Awake!". These include the following ailments: dementia (Awake 1998, 22 September); transcient cerebral ischemia] (Awake 1998, 8 February); infectious diseases: (Awake 1999 22 July); bipolar (manic depressive) disorder (Awake 2001, 8 September); and postpartum (postnatal) depression (Awake 2003, 8 March) to cite just a few examples. In addition, articles containing the lifestories of individual members regarding their experiences and circumstance and articles addressing concerns faced by youths are also regular features

Awake!, published monthly, has 32 pages and is printed in full color. As of the start of 2006, it is available in 82 different languages (59 monthly, 23 quarterly), including English, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, and Zulu with a total worldwide circulation of 32,412,000. It is also available, in selected languages, in audio cassette and compact disc (audio and MP3) formats.

In the United States, The Watchtower and its companion Awake! were sold for a small charge until March 1, 1990, when they were made available at no cost, on a freewill donation basis. Jehovah's Witnesses were told the purpose of this change was to "simplify our Bible education work and separate ourselves from those who commercialize religion."

Two months earlier, on January 17, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled religious literature being sold was subject to taxation, which would have required the Watchtower Society to pay tax on the price of the magazines. The Watchtower Society had filed an amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief arguing that the sale of religious literature should be exempt from taxation. The Watchtower Society never informed its members about any of this. [1][2][3][4]

The sale of the magazines, and all Jehovah's Witnesses' literature, continued around the world until the early 1990s, and in some countries until early 2000. The Watchtower is now distributed free of charge everywhere, its printing being funded by voluntary donations.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Awake!", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki