They knock on doors, invite themselves in and, if you aren’t home, leave their literature in your mailbox.

Since their organization’s founding, Jehovah’s Witnesses have faced rude rejection and government persecution around the world for their aggressive evangelism.

Their Web site says that, as recently as June, uniformed police with handguns entered private property in the Republic of Georgia, where a convention of 600 Witnesses was being held. Police stopped the meeting.

Closer to home, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Witnesses in numerous court challenges. Last year, the justices by an 8-1 vote overturned the rulings of two Ohio courts that had upheld an ordinance in Stratton, Ohio, that any person knocking at the doors of residential homes must first obtain a permit.

The Witnesses hailed the ruling as protecting “the right of missionaries and any others whose cause compels them to speak to their neighbors.”

Their unassuming forms of worship and Bible study contrast sharply with the controversy stirred by their theology.

They reject the Father, Son and Holy Spirit conception of a “doctrine that has confused and diluted people’s understanding of God’s true position,” according to their Web site. They call the books that form the Old Testament the “Hebrew Scriptures,” and the books of the New Testament the “Christian Greek Scriptures.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses do not celebrate holidays, including Christmas and Easter. They observe the Memorial of Christ’s Death, also called the Lord’s Evening Meal, at congregational meetings held the first evening of the Jewish Passover. Other Christian denominations mark this as the last meal Jesus shared with his disciples before his Crucifixion.

Other beliefs:

. Images, including a cross or crucifix, should not be used in worship.

. Taking blood into the body through the mouth or veins violates God’s laws.

. A Witness should keep separate from the world but obey human laws that do not conflict with God’s laws.

. A Witness should not take part in interfaith movements.

. Baptism by complete immersion symbolizes dedication.

. A clergy class and special titles such as reverend or father are improper.

Because of their approach to the Scriptures, their belief that Satan is the invisible ruler of the world, and their ideas about heaven and the afterlife, Jehovah’s Witnesses have been labeled by some religious leaders and organizations as a cult rather than a Christian denomination.

Statements on their Web site about their beliefs include a limit on the number of people who can get into heaven. Just “144,000 are born again as spiritual sons of God.” Other beliefs about the afterlife include that the human soul ceases to exist at death, hell is mankind’s common grave and that people God approves will receive everlasting life.

– Judy Harrison