The Jehovah's Witnesses are a Protestant Christian sect that originated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the 1870s, led by nontrinitarian and restorationist minister Charles Taze Russell. The movement advocated door-to-door preaching, rejected hellfire, immortality of the soul, and trinitarianism, and banned military service, saluting a national flag, and receiving blood transfusions. The movement also believed that holidays such as Christmas, Easter, and birthdays should not be celebrated, saying that they were pagan celebrations that were incompatible with Christianity. In 2016, 8,200,000 people adhered to the Jehovah's Witness faith.