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{{short description|Censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community}}
{{for-multi|non-religious equivalents|Expulsion (disambiguation)|the 2016 album|Excommunication (album)}}
[[File:Giorgio Vasari, Scomunica di Federico II da parte di Gregorio IX, 1572-73, 03 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Fanciful 16th-century fresco in the [[Sala Regia (Vatican)|Sala Regia]], by [[Giorgio Vasari]], depicting [[Pope Gregory IX]] excommunicating [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]]. Since few details were provided to the artist, Vasari chose to paint an excommunication scene generically. In the traditional excommunication procedure, the pope and his priests would hurl burning candles on the ground and stamp them out. The painter however here chose to show the pope personally stepping on the emperor.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jong |first1=Jan L. de |title=The power and the glorification : papal pretensions and the art of propaganda in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries |date=2012 |publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press |location=University Park |isbn=978-0271062372 |pages=140−141}}</ref>]]
'''Excommunication''' is an institutional act of religious [[censure]] used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in [[Koinonia|communion]] with other members of the congregation, and of receiving the [[sacrament]]s.

It is practiced by all of the ancient churches (such as the [[Catholic Church]], [[Oriental Orthodoxy|Oriental Orthodox churches]] and the [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern Orthodox churches]]) as well as by other [[Christian denominations]]; however, it is also used more generally to refer to similar types of institutional religious exclusionary practices and [[shunning]] among other religious groups. The [[Amish]] have also been known to excommunicate members that were either seen or known for breaking rules, or questioning the church, a practice known as shunning. [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] use the term '''disfellowship''' to refer to their form of excommunication.

The word ''excommunication'' means putting a specific individual or group out of communion. In some denominations, excommunication includes spiritual [[Damnation|condemnation]] of the member or group. Excommunication may involve [[Exile|banishment]], shunning, and [[shaming]], depending on the group, the offense that caused excommunication, or the rules or norms of the religious community. The grave act is often revoked in response to manifest [[penance|repentance]].

== Bahá'í Faith ==
{{main|Covenant-breaker}}
[[File:Mirza MuhammedAli-Ghusn-i-Akbar.gif|thumb|upright=0.9|[[Mírzá Muhammad ʻAlí]], son of [[Bahá'u'lláh]] was excommunicated by [['Abdu'l-Bahá]].]]

Excommunication among [[Bahá'í Faith|Bahá'ís]] is rare and generally not used for transgressions of community standards, intellectual dissent, or conversion to other religions.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Smith|first=Peter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z7zdDFTzNr0C|title=An Introduction to the Baha'i Faith|year=2008|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-86251-6|page=115|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Momen|first=Moojan|date=September 2007|title=Marginality and apostasy in the Baha'i community|url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1016/j.religion.2007.06.008|journal=Religion|language=en|volume=37|issue=3|pages=187–209|doi=10.1016/j.religion.2007.06.008|s2cid=55630282|issn=0048-721X|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Instead, it is the most severe punishment, reserved for suppressing organized dissent that threatens the unity of believers.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Sergeev|first=Mikhail|url=https://brill.com/view/title/32083|title=Theory of Religious Cycles: Tradition, Modernity, and the Bahá'í Faith|date=2015-09-17|publisher=Brill {{!}} Rodopi|isbn=978-90-04-30107-8|pages=94–95|doi=10.1163/9789004301078}}</ref> ''[[Covenant-breaker]]'' is a term used by Bahá'ís to refer to a person who has been excommunicated from the Bahá'í community for breaking the '[[Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh|Covenant]]': actively promoting schism in the religion or otherwise opposing the legitimacy of the chain of succession of leadership.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hartz|first=Paula|url=https://bahai-library.com/hartz_bahai_faith|title=World Religions: Baha'i Faith|date=2009|publisher=Chelsea House Publishers|isbn=978-1-60413-104-8|edition=3rd|location=New York|pages=138}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web|last=Winters|first=Jonah|year=2010|title=Glossary of Bahá'í terms|url=https://bahai-library.com/winters_bahai_glossary|website=Baha'i Library Online}}</ref>

Currently, the [[Universal House of Justice]] has the sole authority to declare a person a Covenant-breaker,<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=McMullen|first=Michael |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/922640375 |title=The Bahá'ís of America: the growth of a religious movement |date=2015|isbn=978-1-4798-0971-4 |publisher=New York University Press |location=New York |pages=21 |oclc=922640375}}</ref> and once identified, all Bahá'ís are expected to shun them, even if they are family members.<ref name=":1" /> According to 'Abdu'l Baha Covenant-breaking is a contagious disease.<ref>{{Cite thesis |title=Baha'ism: History, transfiguration, doxa |url=https://scholarship.rice.edu/handle/1911/61990 |date=2010|degree=Thesis|first=Hutan|last=Hejazi Martinez|hdl=1911/61990}}</ref> The Bahá'í writings forbid association with Covenant-breakers and Bahá'ís are urged to avoid their literature, thus providing an exception to the Bahá'í principle of ''independent investigation of truth''. Most Bahá'ís are unaware of the small [[Bahá'í divisions]] that exist.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ph.D|first=Vernon Elvin Johnson|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BKTTDwAAQBAJ|title=Baha'is in Exile: An Account of Followers of Baha' U' llah Outside the Mainstream Baha'I Religion|year=2020|publisher=Dorrance Publishing|isbn=978-1-64530-574-3|pages=xxxi–xxxv|language=en}}</ref>

== Christianity ==
The purpose of excommunication is to exclude from the church those members who have behaviors or teachings contrary to the beliefs of a Christian community ([[heresy]]).<ref>Ronald F. Youngblood, ''Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary: New and Enhanced Edition'', Thomas Nelson Inc., 2014, p. 378</ref> It aims to protect members of the church from abuses and allow the offender to recognize their error and repent.

=== Catholic Church ===
{{main|Excommunication (Catholic Church)}}
[[File:9402 - Venezia - Calle della Pietà - Lapide della ex ruota degli esposti -1548- - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto 12-Aug-2007.jpg|thumb|upright|Plaque on exterior of the [[Chiesa della Pietà, Venice|Chiesa della Pietà]] in [[Venice]], the church of the orphanage. This is where the [[foundling wheel]] once stood. The inscription declares, citing a 12 November 1548 papal bull of [[Pope Paul III]], that God inflicts "maledictions and excommunications" on all who abandon a child of theirs whom they have the means to rear, and that they cannot be absolved unless they first refund all expenses incurred.]]

Within the Catholic Church, there are differences between the discipline of the majority [[Latin Church]] regarding excommunication and that of the [[Eastern Catholic Churches]].

==== Latin Church ====
[[File:Portrait of Martin Luther as an Augustinian Monk.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Martin Luther]] was excommunicated by [[Pope Leo X]] [[Decet Romanum Pontificem|in 1521]].]]
Excommunication can be either {{lang|la|[[latae sententiae]]}} (automatic, incurred at the moment of committing the offense for which canon law imposes that penalty) or {{lang|la|ferendae sententiae}} (incurred only when imposed by a legitimate superior or declared as the sentence of an ecclesiastical court).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P4V.HTM|title=Code of Canon Law, canon 1314 |publisher=Vatican.va |access-date=2012-04-03}}</ref>
[[File:Threat of excommunication to thieves of books in the library of the university of Salamanca (Spain).jpg|thumb|left|Threat of excommunication for stealing books from the [[Salamanca University]] library]]

The Catholic Church teaches in the [[Council of Trent]] that "excommunicated persons are not members of the Church, because they have been cut off by her sentence from the number of her children and belong not to her communion until they repent".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05678a.htm | title=Catholic Encyclopedia: Excommunication |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref>

In the papal bull {{lang|la|[[Exsurge Domine]]}} (May 16, 1520), [[Pope Leo X]] condemned [[Martin Luther|Luther]]'s twenty-third proposition according to which "excommunications are merely external punishments, nor do they deprive a man of the common spiritual prayers of the Church". [[Pope Pius VI]] in {{lang|la|[[Auctorem Fidei]]}} (August 28, 1794) condemned the notion which maintained that the effect of excommunication is only exterior because of its own nature it excludes only from exterior communion with the Church, as if, said the pope, excommunication were not a spiritual penalty binding in heaven and affecting souls.<ref name="Catholic">{{Catholic|wstitle=Excommunication|author=A. Boudinhon |inline=1}} "Canonists usually treat of excommunication in their commentaries on the Corpus Juris Canonici, at the title De sententia excommunicationis (lib. V, tit. xxxix). Moralists deal with it apropos of the treatise on censures (De Censuris). One of the best works is that of D'Annibale  Summula Theologiæ moralis (5th ed., Rome, 1908). For details consult the numerous commentaries on the Constitution Apostolicæ Sedis. Special works by ancient writers: Avila, De censuris (Lyons, 1608); Suarez, De censuris (Coimbra, 1603). Altieri, De censuris ecclesiasticis (Rome, 1618). – Cf. Kober, Der Kirchenbann (Tübingen, 1857)."</ref> The excommunicated person, being excluded from the society of the Church, still bears the indelible mark of Baptism and is subject to the jurisdiction of the Church. They are excluded from engaging in certain activities. These activities are listed in Canon 1331 §1, and prohibit the individual from any ministerial participation in celebrating the sacrifice of the Eucharist or any other ceremonies of worship; celebrating or receiving the sacraments; or exercising any ecclesiastical offices, ministries, or functions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P4X.HTM |title=Code of Canon Law, canon 1331 §1 |publisher=Vatican.va |access-date=2014-07-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080329021837/https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P4X.HTM |archive-date=29 March 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catechism/catechism-of-the-catholic-church/epub/index.cfm|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church|work=usccb.org}}</ref>

[[File:Isabelo de los Reyes, Sr..jpg|right|thumb|upright|[[Isabelo de los Reyes]], founder of the [[Aglipayan Church]], was excommunicated by [[Pope Leo XIII]] in 1903 as a [[Schism (religion)|schismatic]] [[apostate]].]]
Under current Catholic canon law, excommunicates remain bound by ecclesiastical obligations such as attending Mass, even though they are barred from receiving the [[Eucharist in the Catholic Church|Eucharist]] and from taking an active part in the liturgy (reading, bringing the offerings, etc.). "Excommunicates lose rights, such as the right to the sacraments, but they are still bound to the obligations of the law; their rights are restored when they are reconciled through the remission of the penalty."<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JKgZEjvB5cEC&q=%22excommunicated+remain%22|title=New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law|isbn=978-0809140664|last1=Beal|first1=John P.|last2=Coriden|first2=James A.|last3=Green|first3=Thomas J.|year=2000|publisher=Paulist Press }}</ref>

These are the only effects for those who have incurred a {{lang|la|latae sententiae}} excommunication. For instance, a priest may not refuse Communion publicly to those who are under an automatic excommunication, as long as it has not been officially declared to have been incurred by them, even if the priest knows that they have incurred it—although if the person's offence was a "manifest grave sin", then the priest is obliged to refuse their communion by [[canon 915]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zenit.org/article-34521?l=english |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130113095612/http://www.zenit.org/article-34521?l=english |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-01-13 |title=Edward McNamara, "Denying Communion to Someone" |publisher=Zenit.org |date=2012-03-27 |access-date=2013-02-02 }}</ref> On the other hand, if the priest knows that excommunication has been imposed on someone or that an automatic excommunication has been declared (and is no longer merely an undeclared automatic excommunication), he is forbidden to administer Holy Communion to that person.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P38.HTM#5T |title=1983 Code of Canon Law, canon 915 |publisher=Intratext.com |date=2007-05-04 |access-date=2013-02-02}}</ref>

In the [[Catholic Church]], excommunication is normally resolved by a declaration of [[repentance]], profession of the Creed (if the offense involved heresy) and an Act of Faith, or renewal of obedience (if that was a relevant part of the offending act, i.e., an act of [[Schism in Christianity|schism]]) by the excommunicated person and the lifting of the censure ([[absolution]]) by a priest or bishop empowered to do this. "The absolution can be in the internal (private) forum only, or also in the external (public) forum, depending on whether scandal would be given if a person were privately absolved and yet publicly considered unrepentant."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholicreference.net/index.cfm?id=31598 |author=John Hardon|title=Modern Catholic Dictionary "Absolution from censure" |publisher=Catholicreference.net |access-date=2012-04-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323035104/http://www.catholicreference.net/index.cfm?id=31598 |archive-date=23 March 2012 }}</ref>

==== Eastern Catholic Churches ====
{{see also|Eastern Catholic canon law}}
In the [[Eastern Catholic Churches]], excommunication is imposed only by decree, never incurred automatically by {{lang|la|latae sententiae}} excommunication. A distinction is made between minor and major excommunication. Those on whom minor excommunication has been imposed are excluded from receiving the [[Eucharist (Catholic Church)|Eucharist]] and can also be excluded from participating in the [[Divine Liturgy]]. They can even be excluded from entering a church when divine worship is being celebrated there. The [[decree (canon law)|decree]] of excommunication must indicate the precise effect of the excommunication and, if required, its duration.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum orientalium, die XVIII Octobris anno MCMXC – Ioannes Paulus PP. II |url=https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/la/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_19901018_codex-can-eccl-orient-3.html |access-date=2023-05-11 |website=www.vatican.va}}</ref>

Those under major excommunication are in addition forbidden to receive not only the Eucharist but also the other sacraments, to administer sacraments or sacramentals, to exercise any ecclesiastical offices, ministries, or functions whatsoever, and any such exercise by them is null and void. They are to be removed from participation in the Divine Liturgy and any public celebrations of divine worship. They are forbidden to make use of any privileges granted to them and cannot be given any dignity, office, ministry, or function in the church, they cannot receive any pension or emoluments associated with these dignities etc., and they are deprived of the right to vote or to be elected.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum orientalium, die XVIII Octobris anno MCMXC – Ioannes Paulus PP. |url=https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/la/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_19901018_codex-can-eccl-orient-3.html |access-date=2023-05-11 |website=www.vatican.va}}</ref>

=== Eastern Orthodox Church ===
In the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], excommunication is the exclusion of a member from the [[Eucharist]]. It is not expulsion from the churches. This can happen for such reasons as not having confessed within that year; excommunication can also be imposed as part of a penitential period. It is generally done with the goal of restoring the member to full communion. Before an excommunication of significant duration is imposed, the bishop is usually consulted. The Eastern Orthodox do have a means of expulsion, by pronouncing [[anathema]], but this is reserved only for acts of serious and unrepentant heresy. As an example of this, the [[Second Council of Constantinople]] in 553, in its eleventh capitula, declared: "If anyone does not anathematize [[Arius]], [[Eunomius of Cyzicus|Eunomius]], [[Macedonius I of Constantinople|Macedonius]], [[Apollinaris of Laodicea|Apollinaris]], [[Nestorius]], [[Eutyches]] and [[Origen]], as well as their impious writings, as also all other heretics already condemned and anathematized by the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, and by the aforesaid four Holy Synods and [if anyone does not equally anathematize] all those who have held and hold or who in their impiety persist in holding to the end the same opinion as those heretics just mentioned: let him be anathema."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf214.xii.vii.html |title=NPNF2-14. The Seven Ecumenical Councils - Christian Classics Ethereal Library |publisher=Ccel.org |date=2005-06-01 |access-date=2014-07-29}}</ref>

=== Lutheran churches ===
Although Lutheranism technically has an excommunication process, some denominations and congregations do not use it. In the [[Smalcald Articles]] Luther differentiates between the "great" and "small" excommunication. The "small" excommunication is simply barring an individual from the [[Eucharist|Lord's Supper]] and "other fellowship in the church".<ref>Smalcald Articles III, 9</ref> While the "great" excommunication excluded a person from both the church and political communities which he considered to be outside the authority of the church and only for civil leaders.<ref>{{cite book |last1 = Kolb |first1 = Robert |last2 = Wengert |first2 = Timothy |year = 2000 |title = Book of Concord |publisher = Augsburg Fortress |page=323}}</ref> A modern Lutheran practice is laid out in the [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]]'s 1986 explanation to the [[Luther's Small Catechism|Small Catechism]], defined beginning at Questions No. 277–284, in "The Office of Keys".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation|publisher=Concordia Publishing House|year=1986|isbn=0-570-01535-9|location=St. Louis, MO|pages=223–226}}</ref>

Many Lutheran denominations operate under the premise that the entire congregation (as opposed to the pastor alone) must take appropriate steps for excommunication, and there are not always precise rules, to the point where individual congregations often set out rules for excommunicating laymen (as opposed to clergy). For example, churches may sometimes require that a [[vote]] must be taken at Sunday services; some congregations require that this vote be unanimous.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lutheransonline.com/servlet/lo_ProcServ/dbpage=page&mode=display&gid=20051505062631281101111555&pg=20051578012321128501111555 |title=Risen Savior Lutheran Church, Orlando, FL – Constitution |publisher=Lutheransonline.com |access-date=2012-04-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511024600/http://www.lutheransonline.com/servlet/lo_ProcServ/dbpage%3Dpage%26mode%3Ddisplay%26gid%3D20051505062631281101111555%26pg%3D20051578012321128501111555 |archive-date=11 May 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the Church of Sweden and the [[Church of Denmark]], excommunicated individuals are turned out from their parish in front of their congregation.<ref name="Burder1841"/> They are not forbidden, however, to attend church and participate in other acts of devotion, although they are to sit in a place appointed by the priest (which was at a distance from others).<ref name="Burder1841">{{cite book|last=Burder|first=William|title=Religious Ceremonies and Customs|url=https://archive.org/details/religiousceremon00burd|year=1841|language=en |pages=[https://archive.org/details/religiousceremon00burd/page/308 308–309]}}</ref>

The Lutheran process, though rarely used, has created unusual situations in recent years due to its somewhat [[democratic process|democratic]] excommunication process. One example was an effort to get [[serial killer]] [[Dennis Rader]] excommunicated from his denomination (the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]]) by individuals who tried to "lobby" Rader's fellow church members into voting for his excommunication.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dakotavoice.com/200508/20050816_5.asp|title=Operation Rescue Calls for Excommunication of BTK Killer|website=www.dakotavoice.com|access-date=2017-12-10}}</ref>

=== Anglican Communion ===

==== Church of England ====
The Church of England does not have any specific canons regarding how or why a member can be excommunicated, although it has a canon according to which ecclesiastical burial may be refused to someone "declared excommunicate for some grievous and notorious crime and no man to testify to his repentance".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.churchofengland.org/more/policy-and-thinking/canons-church-england/section-b |title=Canons of the Church of England |website=www.churchofengland.org}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=December 2021}}

The punishment of imprisonment for being excommunicated from the Church of England was removed from English law in 1963.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukcm/1963/1/section/82/1991-02-01 |title= Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1963, section 82(4) |website=www.legislation.gov.uk}}</ref>

Historian Christopher Hill found that, in pre-revolutionary England, excommunication was common but fell into disrepute because it was applied unevenly and could be avoided on payment of fines.<ref>Christopher Hill ''Society and Puritanism in Pre-Revolutionary England.'' Secker & Warburg 1964</ref>

==== Episcopal Church of the United States of America ====
The [[ECUSA]] is in the [[Anglican Communion]], and shares many canons with the Church of England which would determine its policy on excommunication.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Excommunication |url=https://www.episcopalchurch.org/glossary/excommunication/ |access-date=2022-04-14 |website=The Episcopal Church |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Reformed churches ===
In the [[Reformed Church]]es, excommunication has generally been seen as the culmination of [[church discipline]], which is one of the three [[Marks of the Church (Protestantism)|marks of the Church]]. The [[Westminster Confession of Faith]] sees it as the third step after "admonition" and "suspension from the sacrament of the Lord's Supper for a season."<ref>[[Westminster Confession of Faith]], xxx.4.</ref> Yet, [[John Calvin]] argues in his ''[[Institutes of the Christian Religion]]'' that church censures do not "consign those who are excommunicated to perpetual ruin and damnation", but are designed to induce repentance, reconciliation and restoration to communion. Calvin notes, "though ecclesiastical discipline does not allow us to be on familiar and intimate terms with excommunicated persons, still we ought to strive by all possible means to bring them to a better mind, and recover them to the fellowship and unity of the Church."<ref>{{Cite web |title=John Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion – Christian Classics Ethereal Library |url=https://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes.vi.xiii.html |access-date=2023-05-11 |website=www.ccel.org |at=IV.12.10}}</ref>

At least one modern Reformed theologian argues that excommunication is not the final step in the disciplinary process. [[Jay E. Adams]] argues that in excommunication, the offender is still seen as a brother, but in the final step they become "as the heathen and tax collector" ([[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 18:17). Adams writes, "Nowhere in the Bible is excommunication (removal from the fellowship of the Lord's Table, according to Adams) equated with what happens in step 5; rather, step 5 is called 'removing from the midst, handing over to Satan,' and the like."<ref>[[Jay E. Adams]], ''Handbook of Church Discipline'' (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986), 74.</ref>

Former Princeton president and theologian, [[Jonathan Edwards (theologian)|Jonathan Edwards]], addresses the notion of excommunication as "removal from the fellowship of the Lord's Table" in his treatise entitled "The Nature and End of Excommunication". Edwards argues:
<blockquote>"Particularly, we are forbidden such a degree of associating ourselves with (excommunicants), as there is in making them our guests at our tables, or in being their guests at their tables; as is manifest in the text, where we are commanded to have no company with them, no not to eat [...] That this respects not eating with them at the Lord's supper, but a common eating, is evident by the words, that the eating here forbidden, is one of the lowest degrees of keeping company, which are forbidden. Keep no company with such a one, saith the apostle, no not to eat – as much as to say, no not in so low a degree as to eat with him. But eating with him at the Lord's supper, is the very highest degree of visible Christian communion. Who can suppose that the apostle meant this: Take heed and have no company with a man, no not so much as in the highest degree of communion that you can have? Besides, the apostle mentions this eating as a way of keeping company which, however, they might hold with the heathen. He tells them, not to keep company with fornicators. Then he informs them, he means not with fornicators of this world, that is, the heathens; but, saith he, 'if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, etc. with such a one keep no company, no not to eat.' This makes it most apparent, that the apostle doth not mean eating at the Lord's table; for so, they might not keep company with the heathens, any more than with an excommunicated person".<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Nature and End of Excommunication |url=http://www.jonathan-edwards.org/Excommunication.html |access-date=2023-02-08 |website=www.jonathan-edwards.org}}</ref></blockquote>

===Methodism===
In the [[Methodist Episcopal Church]], individuals were able to be excommunicated following "trial before a jury of his peers, and after having had the privilege of an appeal to a higher court".<ref name="Simpson1883"/> Nevertheless, an excommunication could be lifted after sufficient [[penance]].<ref name="Simpson1883">{{cite book|last=Simpson|first=Matthew|title=Cyclopaedia of Methodism: Embracing Sketches of Its Rise, Progress, and Present Condition, with Biographical Notices and Numerous Illustrations|year=1883|publisher=L.H. Everts|language=en |page=351}}</ref>

[[John Wesley]], the founder of the Methodist Churches, excommunicated sixty-four members from the Newcastle Methodist society alone for the following reasons:<ref name="Watts2014">{{cite web|url=http://um-insight.net/perspectives/what-would-john-wesley-expel-you-for%3F/|title=What Would John Wesley Expel You For?|last=Watts|first=Joel L.|date=26 June 2014|publisher=United Methodist Insight|language=en|access-date=24 May 2018}}</ref>
{{blockquote|Two for cursing and swearing.<br />
Two for habitual Sabbath-breaking.<br />
Seventeen for drunkenness.<br />
Two for retailing spiritous liquors.<br />
Three for quarrelling and brawling.<br />
One for beating his wife.<br />
Three for habitual, wilful lying.<br />
Four for railing and evil-speaking.<br />
One for idleness and laziness. And,<br />
Nine-and-twenty for lightness and carelessness.<ref name="Watts2014"/>}}

The [[Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection]], in its 2014 ''Discipline'', includes "homosexuality, lesbianism, bi-sexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and any attempt to alter one's gender by surgery", as well as remarriage after divorce among its excommunicable offences.<ref name="AWMC2014">{{cite book|title=The Discipline of the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection (Original Allegheny Conference)|year=2014|publisher=[[Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection]]|location=[[Salem, Ohio|Salem]]|language=en|pages=21, 45, 125}}</ref>

The [[Evangelical Wesleyan Church]], in its 2015 ''Discipline'', states that "Any member of our church who is accused of neglect of the means of grace or other duties required by the Word of God, the indulgence of sinful tempers, words or actions, the sowing of dissension, or any other violation of the order and discipline of the church, may, after proper labor and admonition, be censured, placed on probation, or expelled by the official board of the circuit of which he is a member. If he request a trial, however, within thirty dates of the final action of the official board, it shall be granted."<ref name="EWC2015">{{cite book|title=The Discipline of the Evangelical Wesleyan Church |year=2015|publisher=[[Evangelical Wesleyan Church]]|language=en|pages=152}}</ref>

===Anabaptist tradition===

====Amish====
[[Amish]] communities practice variations of excommunication known as "shunning". This practice may include isolation from community events or the cessation of all communication.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Amish tradition of shunning is key to Ohio hair-cutting trial |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna49050710 |access-date=2023-04-04 |website=NBC News |date=16 September 2012 |language=en}}</ref>

====Mennonites====
[[Mennonite]] communities use the "ban", separation and correction on baptized members that fall into sin. Separated members must be avoided or "shunned" until they repent and reform. Shunning must be done in the spirit of moderation and Christian charity; the aim is not to destroy but to reform the person.<ref>{{cite web
	| url = http://www.reformedmennonite.org/files/pubs/pamphlets/History_Reformed_Mennonite_Church.pdf
	| title = A History of the Reformed Mennonite Church 
    | last=Eshleman 
    | first=Wilmer J. 
    | page = 7
    | date = 1969
	| website = Internet Archive
	| access-date = 29 March 2024
}}</ref>

====Hutterites====
[[Hutterites|Hutterite]] communities use a form of excommunication called "the ban" on baptized members that fall into sin repeatedly.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our Beliefs |url=https://hutterites.org/our-beliefs/ |access-date=2024-03-09 |website=Hutterites |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Baptists===
For [[Baptists]], excommunication is used as a last resort by denominations and churches for members who do not want to repent of beliefs or behavior at odds with the [[confession of faith]] of the community.<ref>William H. Brackney, ''Historical Dictionary of the Baptists'', Scarecrow Press, US, 2009, p. 183</ref> The vote of community members, however, can restore a person who has been excluded.

=== The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints {{anchor|The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints}} ===<!-- This section is linked from [[Shunning]] -->
{{Main|Church membership council}}
[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) practices excommunication as a penalty for those who commit serious [[sin]]s, ''i.e.'', actions that significantly impair the name or moral influence of the church or pose a threat to other people. In 2020, the church ceased using the term "excommunication" and instead refers to "withdrawal of membership". According to the church leadership ''[[General Handbook]]'',<ref name="GH">{{Cite web |title=32. Repentance and Church Membership Councils |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/eng/manual/general-handbook/32-repentance-and-membership-councils |access-date=2023-05-11 |website=www.churchofjesuschrist.org |language=en}}</ref> the purposes of withdrawing membership or imposing membership restrictions are, (1) to help protect others; (2) to help a person access the redeeming power of Jesus Christ through repentance; and (3) to protect the integrity of the Church. The origins of LDS disciplinary procedures and excommunications are traced to a revelation [[Joseph Smith]] dictated on 9 February 1831, later canonized as [[Doctrine and Covenants]], section 42 and codified in the ''General Handbook''.<ref name="Bush1981">Lester E. Bush. [https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V14N02_76.pdf Excommunication and Church Courts: A Note from the General Handbook of Instructions], ''[[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought]]'', Vol 14 no 2, Summer 1981</ref>

The LDS Church also practices the lesser sanctions of private counsel and caution and informal and formal membership restrictions. (Informal membership restrictions was formerly known as "probation"; formal membership restrictions was formerly known as "disfellowshipment".)<ref>{{cite web |title=LDS Church releases new handbook for leaders and members |url=https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/lds-church-releases-new-handbook-for-leaders-and-members |website=FOX13 Salt Lake City |date=19 February 2020 |access-date=8 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |date=2020 |publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |location=Salt Lake City, Utah |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/general-handbook/32-repentance-and-membership-councils?lang=eng#title_number7 |chapter=32.3}}</ref>

Formal membership restrictions are used for serious sins that do not rise to the level of membership withdrawal.<ref name="GH" /> Formal membership restriction denies some privileges but does not include a loss of church membership. Once formal membership restrictions are in place, persons may not take the [[sacrament (Latter Day Saints)|sacrament]] or enter church [[temple (LDS Church)|temples]], nor may they offer public prayers or sermons. Such persons may continue to attend most church functions and are allowed to wear [[temple garment]]s, pay tithes and offerings, and participate in church classes if their conduct is orderly. Formal membership restrictions typically lasts for one year, after which one may be reinstated as a member in good standing.<ref>{{cite book |title=General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |date=2020 |publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |location=Salt Lake City, Utah |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/general-handbook/32-repentance-and-membership-councils?lang=eng#title_number70 |chapter=32.11.3}}</ref>

In the more grievous or recalcitrant cases, withdrawal of membership becomes a disciplinary option.<ref name="GH" /> Such an action is generally reserved for what are seen as the most serious [[sin]]s, including committing serious [[crime]]s such as murder, [[child abuse]], and incest; committing [[adultery]]; involvement in or teaching of [[polygamy]]; involvement in [[homosexuality|homosexual]] conduct; [[apostasy]]; participation in an [[abortion]]; teaching false doctrine; or openly criticizing church leaders.<ref>{{cite book |title=General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |date=2020 |publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |location=Salt Lake City, Utah |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/general-handbook/32-repentance-and-membership-councils?lang=eng#title_number71 |chapter=32.11.4}}</ref> The ''General Handbook'' states that formally joining another church constitutes apostasy and is worthy of membership withdrawal; however, merely attending another church does not constitute apostasy.<ref>{{cite book |title=General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |date=2020 |publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |location=Salt Lake City, Utah |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/general-handbook/32-repentance-and-membership-councils?lang=eng#title_number30 |chapter=32.6.3.2}}</ref>

A withdrawal of membership can occur only after a formal [[church membership council]].<ref>The procedure followed by a church membership council is described in church handbooks and the [[Doctrine and Covenants]] {{LDS||d&c|102|9|18}}</ref> Formerly called a "disciplinary council" or a "church court", the councils were renamed to avoid focusing on guilt and instead to emphasize the availability of repentance.<ref name = GH/>

The decision to withdraw the membership of a [[Melchizedek priesthood (Latter Day Saints)|Melchizedek priesthood]] holder is generally the province of the leadership of a [[Stake (Mormonism)|stake]].<ref name = GH/> In such a disciplinary council, the stake presidency and, sometimes in more difficult cases, the stake [[High council (Mormonism)|high council]] attend.<ref name = GH/> It is possible to appeal a decision of a stake membership council to the church's [[First Presidency (LDS Church)|First Presidency]].<ref name="GH-appeal">{{cite book |title=General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |date=2020 |publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |location=Salt Lake City, Utah |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/general-handbook/32-repentance-and-membership-councils?lang=eng#title_number78 |chapter=32.13}}</ref>

For females and for male members not initiated into the Melchizedek priesthood, a [[ward (LDS Church)|ward]] membership council is held.<ref name = GH/> In such cases, a [[bishop (Latter Day Saints)|bishop]] determines whether withdrawal of membership or a lesser sanction is warranted. He does this in consultation with his two counselors, with the bishop making the final determination after prayer.<ref>{{cite book |title=General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |date=2020 |publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |location=Salt Lake City, Utah |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/general-handbook/32-repentance-and-membership-councils?lang=eng#title_number57 |chapter=32.9.3}}</ref> The decision of a ward membership council can be appealed to the stake president.<ref name="GH-appeal"/>

The following list of variables serves as a general set of guidelines for when membership withdrawal or lesser action may be warranted, beginning with those more likely to result in severe sanction:<ref name = GH/>

#Violation of covenants: [[Covenant (Latter Day Saints)|Covenants]] are made in conjunction with specific [[ordinance (Latter Day Saints)|ordinances]] in the LDS Church. Violated covenants that might result in excommunication are usually those surrounding marriage covenants, temple covenants, and priesthood covenants.
#Position of trust or authority: The person's position in the church hierarchy factors into the decision. It is considered more serious when a sin is committed by an [[area seventy]]; a stake, [[mission president|mission]], or [[temple president]]; a [[bishop (Latter Day Saints)|bishop]]; a [[patriarch (Latter Day Saints)|patriarch]]; or a [[Mormon missionary|full-time missionary]].
#Repetition: Repetition of a sin is more serious than a single instance.
#Magnitude: How often, how many individuals were impacted, and who is aware of the sin factor into the decision.
#Age, maturity, and experience: Those who are young in age, or immature in their understanding, are typically afforded leniency.
#Interests of the innocent: How the discipline will impact innocent family members may be considered.
#Time between transgression and confession: If the sin was committed in the distant past, and there has not been repetition, leniency may be considered.
#Voluntary confession: If a person voluntarily confesses the sin, leniency is suggested.
#Evidence of repentance: Sorrow for sin, and demonstrated commitment to repentance, as well as faith in Jesus Christ all play a role in determining the severity of discipline.

Notices of withdrawal of membership may be made public, especially in cases of apostasy, where members could be misled.<ref name = GH/> However, the specific reasons for individual withdrawal of membership are typically kept confidential and are seldom made public by church leadership.<ref>{{cite web |title=Church Discipline |url=https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-discipline |website=Newsroom |date=5 May 2014 |publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] |access-date=8 February 2023}}</ref>

Those who have their membership withdrawn lose the right to partake of the [[Sacrament (Mormonism)|sacrament]]. Such persons are permitted to attend church meetings but participation is limited: they cannot offer public prayers, preach sermons, and cannot enter [[Temple (LDS Church)|temples]]. Such individuals are also prohibited from wearing or purchasing [[temple garment]]s and from paying [[tithe]]s. A person whose membership has been withdrawn may be re-baptized after a waiting period of at least one year and sincere [[repentance]], as judged by a series of interviews with church leaders.<ref>{{Cite journal
  | last =Burton
  | first =Theodore M.
  | author-link = Theodore M. Burton
  | title =To Forgive is Divine
  | journal =[[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]]
  | page =70
  | date =May 1983
  | url =https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1983/05/to-forgive-is-divine
  }}</ref>

Some critics have charged that LDS Church leaders have used the threat of membership withdrawal to silence or punish church members and researchers who disagree with established policy and doctrine, who study or discuss [[Controversies regarding The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|controversial subjects]], or who may be involved in disputes with local, stake leaders or [[general authorities]]; see, e.g., [[Brian Evenson]], a former [[BYU]] professor and writer whose fiction came under criticism from BYU officials and LDS Leadership.<ref name="Sunstone1995">"[https://www.sunstonemagazine.com/pdf/099-86-95.pdf BYU Professor Under Fire for Violent Book] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605050254/https://www.sunstonemagazine.com/pdf/099-86-95.pdf |date=5 June 2013 }}", ''[[Sunstone (magazine)|Sunstone]]'', August 1995.</ref><ref>Evenson wrote: "I had a strong defense for my position [in writing fiction], but as I met with administrators, including [BYU] President Rex Lee and Provost (now General Authority) Bruce Hafen, it became clear that they weren't interested in hearing why I was writing; they were interested in getting me to stop writing." Evenson, Brian. "[http://www.vachss.com/media/righteous/evenson_1.html When Religion Encourages Abuse: Writing Father of Lies]." First published in ''The Event'', 8 October 1998, p. 5., accessed 15 November 2012</ref><ref>"[http://www.aaup.org/nr/rdonlyres/27eb0a08-8d25-4415-9e55-8081cc874ac5/0/brigham.pdf Report: Academic Freedom and Tenure: Brigham Young University] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120921091553/http://www.aaup.org/NR/rdonlyres/27EB0A08-8D25-4415-9E55-8081CC874AC5/0/Brigham.pdf |date=21 September 2012 }}", ''Academe'', September–October 1997</ref> Another notable case of excommunication from the LDS Church was the "[[September Six]]", a group of intellectuals and professors, five of whom were excommunicated and the sixth disfellowshipped. However, church policy dictates that local leaders are responsible for membership withdrawal, without influence from church headquarters. The church thus argues that this policy is evidence against any systematic persecution of scholars or dissenters. Data shows per-capita excommunication rates among the LDS Church have varied dramatically over the years, from a low of about 1 in 6,400 members in the early 1900s to one in 640 by the 1970s, an increase which has been speculatively attributed to "informal guidance from above" in enforcing the growing list of possible transgressions added to ''General Handbook'' editions over time.<ref name=Bush1981/>

=== Jehovah's Witnesses ===
{{Main|Jehovah's Witnesses and congregational discipline#Disfellowshipping|l1=Jehovah's Witnesses and congregational discipline}}
[[Jehovah's Witnesses]] practice a form of excommunication, using the term "disfellowshipping", in cases where a member is believed to have unrepentantly committed one or more of several documented "serious sins".<ref>{{cite journal|title=Discipline That Can Yield Peaceable Fruit |publisher=Watch Tower Society|journal=The Watchtower|date=15 April 1988|page=26}}</ref>

When a member confesses to, or is accused of, a ''serious sin'', a ''judicial committee'' of at least three [[Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses#Elders|elders]] is formed. This committee investigates the case and determines the magnitude of the sin committed. If the person is deemed guilty of a disfellowshipping offense, the committee then decides, on the basis of the person's attitude and "works befitting repentance".<ref>Bible:  {{bibleverse||Acts|26:20}}</ref>

Disfellowshipping is a severing of friendly relationships between all Jehovah's Witnesses and the disfellowshipped person. Interaction with extended family is typically restricted to a minimum, such as presence at the reading of wills and providing essential care for the elderly. Within a household, typical family contact may continue, but without spiritual fellowship such as family Bible study and religious discussions. Parents of disfellowshipped minors living in the family home may continue to attempt to convince the child about the group's teachings. Jehovah's Witnesses believe that this form of discipline encourages the disfellowshipped individual to conform to biblical standards and prevents the person from influencing other members of the congregation.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite journal|journal=Our Kingdom Ministry|title=Display Christian Loyalty When a Relative Is Disfellowshipped|pages=3–4|date=August 2002}}</ref>

Along with breaches of the Witnesses' moral code, openly disagreeing with the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses is considered grounds for shunning.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> These persons are labeled as "apostates" and are described in Watch Tower Society literature as "mentally diseased".<ref name="WT-w06">''The Watchtower'', 15 January 2006, pp. 21–25</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=The Watchtower|date=July 2011|page=16|title=Will You Heed Jehovah's Clear Warnings?|quote=Well, apostates are "mentally diseased", and they seek to infect others with their disloyal teachings.}}</ref> Descriptions of "apostates" appearing in the Witnesses literature have been the subject of investigation in the UK to determine if they violate religious hatred laws.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/28/jehovahs-witness-magazine_n_985479.html | work=HuffPost| first=Benjamin | last=Hart | title=Jehovah's Witness Magazine Brands Defectors 'Mentally Diseased' | date=28 September 2011}}</ref> Sociologist Andrew Holden claims many Witnesses who would otherwise defect because of disillusionment with the organization and its teachings, remain affiliated out of fear of being shunned and losing contact with friends and family members.<ref name="Pratt">Pratt, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 1:192.</ref> Shunning employs what is known ''as relational aggression'' in psychological literature. When used by church members and member-spouse parents against excommunicant parents it contains elements of what psychologists call ''parental alienation''. Extreme shunning may cause trauma to the shunned (and to their dependents) similar to what is studied in the psychology of torture.<ref name=Pratt/>{{request quotation|date=December 2013}}

Disassociation is a form of shunning where a member expresses verbally or in writing that they do not wish to be associated with Jehovah's Witnesses, rather than for having committed any specific 'sin'.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=The Watchtower|date=15 January 1982|page=31|title=Questions From Readers|quote=It would be best if he did this in a brief letter to the elders, but even if he unequivocally states orally that he is renouncing his standing as a Witness, the elders can deal with the matter.}}</ref> Elders may also decide that an individual has disassociated, without any formal statement by the individual, by actions such as accepting a blood transfusion,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/790967.stm|title=Jehovah's Witnesses drop transfusion ban|quote="transfusions have been relegated to 'non-disfellowshipping events' ... If a member has a transfusion, they will, by their actions disassociate themselves from the religion."}}</ref> or for joining another religious<ref>{{cite journal|journal=The Watchtower|date=15 October 1986|page=31|title=Questions From Readers|quote=the person no longer wants to have anything to do with Jehovah's people and is determined to remain in a false religion? They would then simply announce to the congregation that such one has disassociated himself and thus is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses.}}</ref> or military organization.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=The Watchtower|date=15 January 1982|page=31 |title=Questions From Readers|quote=The second situation involves a person who renounces his standing in the congregation by joining a secular organization whose purpose is contrary to counsel such as that found at Isaiah 2:4, ... neither will they learn war anymore.}}</ref> Individuals who are deemed by the elders to have disassociated are given no right of appeal.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Our Kingdom Ministry|date=August 2002|page=3|title=Display Christian Loyalty When a Relative Is Disfellowshipped}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|journal=The Watchtower|date=15 April 1988|page=27|title=Discipline That Can Yield Peaceable Fruit}}</ref>

Each year, congregation elders are instructed to consider meeting with disfellowshipped individuals to determine changed circumstances and encourage them to pursue reinstatement.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=The Watchtower|date=15 August 1992|page=31|title=A Step on the Way Back}}</ref> Reinstatement is not automatic after a certain time period, nor is there a minimum duration; disfellowshipped persons may talk to elders at any time but must apply in writing to be considered for reinstatement into the congregation.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=The Watchtower|date=15 November 2006|pages=27&ndash;28|title=Always Accept Jehovah's Discipline}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|journal=The Watchtower|date=15 April 1991|page=21|title=Imitate God's Mercy Today}}</ref> Elders consider each case individually, and are instructed to ensure "that sufficient time has passed for the disfellowshipped person to prove that his profession of repentance is genuine".<ref>{{cite book|title=Pay Attention to Yourselves and to All the Flock|page=129|publisher=Watch Tower Society}}</ref> A judicial committee meets with the individual to determine their repentance, and if this is established, the person is reinstated into the congregation and may participate with the congregation in their formal ministry (such as house-to-house preaching).<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Our Kingdom Ministry|date=December 1974|title=Question Box|publisher=Watch Tower Society}}</ref>

A Witness who has been formally reproved or reinstated cannot be appointed to any ''special privilege of service'' for at least one year. Serious sins involving child sex abuse permanently disqualify the sinner from appointment to any congregational ''privilege of service'', regardless of whether the sinner was convicted of any secular crime.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=The Watchtower|date=1 January 1997|page=29|title=Let Us Abhor What Is Wicked|quote=For the protection of our children, a man known to have been a child molester does not qualify for a responsible position in the congregation.}}</ref>

===Christadelphians===
Similarly to many groups having their origins in the 1830s [[Restoration Movement]],<ref>In fact, the earliest use of the term in their literature refers to the disfellowship of their founder, John Thomas, by Alexander Campbell: ''The Christadelphian'' 10:103 (January 1873). 32.</ref> [[Christadelphians]] call their form of excommunication "disfellowshipping", though they do not practice "shunning". Disfellowshipping can occur for moral reasons, changing beliefs, or (in some ecclesias) for not attending [[Eucharist|communion]] (referred to as "the emblems" or "the breaking of bread").<ref>A distinction can be detected between these three reasons in that which of the three applies is usually made clear in the notice which the ecclesia will post in the Ecclesial News section of The Christadelphian. This is since one purpose is to make other ecclesias aware lest the member try to circumvent the suspension by simply going to another ecclesia. See "Christadelphians, fellowship" in Bryan R. Wilson, ''Sects and Society'', University of California, 1961 {{ISBN?}}</ref>

In such cases, the person involved is usually required to discuss the issues.<ref>The expected practice is to discuss first with 2 or 3 witnesses, as per Matt.18:15–20. See Wilson, op.cit.</ref> If they do not conform, the church ('meeting' or 'ecclesia') is recommended by the management committee ("Arranging Brethren") to vote on disfellowshipping the person. These procedures were formulated 1863 onwards by early Christadelphians,{{Citation needed|date=June 2010}} and then in 1883 codified by [[Robert Roberts (Christadelphian)|Robert Roberts]] in ''A Guide to the Formation and Conduct of Christadelphian Ecclesias'' (colloquially "The Ecclesial Guide").<ref>{{cite web |first=Robert |last=Roberts |title=A Guide to the Formation and Conduct of Christadelphian Ecclesias |location=Birmingham |year=1883 |url=http://www.thechristadelphians.org/htm/books/guide/index.html |access-date=26 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061006040727/http://www.thechristadelphians.org/htm/books/guide/index.html |archive-date=6 October 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> However Christadelphians justify and apply their practice not only from this document but also from passages such as the exclusion in 1Co.5 and recovery in 2Co.2.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.thechristadelphian.com| title = See discussion of 1Co.5 in Ashton, M. ''The challenge of Corinthians'', Birmingham, 2006; previously serialised in The Christadelphian 2002–2003}}</ref>

Christadelphians typically avoid the term "excommunication" which many associate with the Catholic Church; and may feel the word carries implications they do not agree with, such as undue condemnation and punishment, as well as failing to recognise the remedial intention of the measure.<ref>The term "withdraw from" is frequently found as a synonym for "disfellowship" in older Christadelphian ecclesial news entries, but this usage is less common today since it is now more widely realised that the term "withdraw from" in 2Th.3:6, 1Tim.6:5 is not describing the full "turn over to Satan" 1Co5:5,1Tim.1:20. See Booker G. ''1 & 2 Thessalonians'', Nicholls A.H.''Letters to Timothy and Titus'', Birmingham</ref>

* Behavioural cases. Many cases regarding moral issues tend to involve relational matters such as marriage outside the faith, divorce and remarriage (which is considered adultery in some circumstances by some ecclesias), or homosexuality.<ref>Generally Christadelphians do not consider remarriage as adultery, but adultery is often at the root of a marriage breakup. See ''Reflections on Marriage and Divorce'', The Christadelphian, Birmingham.</ref> Reinstatement for moral issues is determined by the ecclesia's assessment of whether the individual has "turned away" from (ceased) the course of action considered immoral by the church. This can be complex when dealing with cases of divorce and subsequent remarriage, with different positions adopted by different ecclesias, but generally within the main "Central" grouping, such cases can be accommodated.<ref>Carter, J. Marriage and Divorce, CMPA Birmingham 1955</ref>
* Doctrinal cases. Changes of belief on what Christadelphians call "first principle" doctrines are difficult to accommodate unless the individual agrees to not teach or spread them, since the body has a documented Statement of Faith which informally serves as a basis of ecclesial membership and interecclesial fellowship. Those who are disfellowshipped for reasons of differing belief rarely return, because they are expected to conform to an understanding with which they do not agree. Holding differing beliefs on fundamental matters is considered as error and [[apostasy]], which can limit a person's salvation. However, in practice disfellowship for doctrinal reasons is now unusual.<ref>e.g. ''News from the Ecclesias'', in The Christadelphian, in a typical year (Jan.–Dec. 2006) contained only two suspensions for doctrinal reasons in the UK, both indicating that the member had already left of his/her own choice.</ref>

In the case of adultery and divorce, the passage of time usually means a member can be restored if he or she wants to be. In the case of ongoing behaviour, cohabitation, homosexual activity, then the terms of the suspension have not been met.

The mechanics of "refellowship" follow the reverse of the original process; the individual makes an application to the "ecclesia", and the "Arranging Brethren" give a recommendation to the members who vote.<ref>Christadelphians interpret the "epitimia of the majority" 2Co.2:6 in different ways; some consider it the majority of all members, some the majority of elders. See Whittaker H.A., ''Second Corinthians'', Biblia</ref> If the "Arranging Brethren" judge that a vote may divide the ecclesia, or personally upset some members, they may seek to find a third party ecclesia which is willing to "refellowship" the member instead. According to the Ecclesial Guide a third party ecclesia may also take the initiative to "refellowship" another meeting's member. However this cannot be done unilaterally, as this would constitute [[heteronomy]] over the [[autonomy]] of the original ecclesia's members.<ref>An exception noted in Roberts' Ecclesial Guide is where the original meeting is known for having a position out of step with other ecclesias. In practice however such cases are extremely unusual and the attempt to refellowship another ecclesia's member when the original ecclesia considers that they have not "mended their ways" may cause an interecclesial breach. The original ecclesia may notify the Christadelphian Magazine that the third party ecclesia is interfering in their own discipline of their own member, and news of refellowship will be blocked from News From the Ecclesias, and consequently the community as a whole will not recognise the refellowship. See Booker, G. ''Biblical Fellowship'' Biblia, Perry, A. ''Fellowship Matters'' Willow Books.</ref>

===Society of Friends (Quakers)===
Among many of the Society of Friends ([[Quakers]]) groups  one is ''read out of meeting'' for behaviour inconsistent with the sense of the meeting.<ref>{{cite web|title=Free Quaker Meeting House|publisher=Independence Hall Association|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|url=http://www.ushistory.org/tour/free-quaker-meeting-house.htm}}</ref> In Britain a meeting may record a minute of disunity.<ref>{{cite web|title=Quaker Faith and Practice|publisher=Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)|location=London |url=https://qfp.quaker.org.uk/passage/11-32/}}</ref> However it is the responsibility of each meeting, quarterly meeting, and yearly meeting, to act with respect to their own members. For example, during the Vietnam War many Friends were concerned about Friend [[Richard Nixon]]'s position on war which seemed at odds with their beliefs; however, it was the responsibility of Nixon's own meeting, the East Whittier Meeting of [[Whittier, California]], to act if indeed that meeting felt the leading.<ref name="Peter">{{cite web|author=Blood-Paterson, Peter|year=1998|title=Holy Obedience: Corporate Discipline and Individual Leading|publisher=New York Yearly Meeting|url=http://www.nyym.org/leadings/holy_obedience.html|access-date=16 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121201204008/http://www.nyym.org/leadings/holy_obedience.html|archive-date=1 December 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> They did not.<ref name="Mayer">{{Cite book|author=Mayer, Milton Sanford|year=1975|title=The Nature of the Beast|publisher=University of Massachusetts Press|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=O7O29dFrtfUC&pg=PA310 310&ndash;315]|isbn=978-0-87023-176-6}}</ref>

In 17th- and 18th-Century North America, before the founding of abolitionist societies, Friends who too forcefully tried to convince their coreligionists of the evils of slavery were read out of meeting. Benjamin Lay was read out of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting for this.<ref name="Peter" /> During the American Revolution over 400 Friends were read out of meeting for their military participation or support.<ref name="Mayer" />

===Iglesia ni Cristo===
{{Lang|tl|[[Iglesia ni Cristo]]|italic=no}} practices expulsion of members it deems to have gravely sinned or gone against the teachings and doctrines of the church. The Sanggunian, the church's council, has jurisdiction to expel members from the church. People expelled by the church are referred to as ''dismissed'' ({{Langx|tl|tiwalag}}). Offenses that may be grounds for expulsion include marrying a non-member, having a romantic relationship with a non-member, becoming pregnant out of wedlock (unless the couple marries before the child is born) and most especially disagreeing with the church administration.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Doyo|first1=Ceres|author-link=Maria Ceres Doyo|title=Tiwalag|url=http://opinion.inquirer.net/87364/tiwalag|access-date=9 November 2015|newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer|date=6 August 2015}}</ref> An expelled member can be re-admitted by pledging obedience to the church administration and its rules, values and teachings.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Francisco|first1=Katerina|title=Iglesia ni Cristo can re-admit expelled Manalo kin|url=http://www.rappler.com/nation/100272-iglesia-cristo-readmit-expelled-manalo-kin|access-date=9 November 2015|work=Rappler|date=23 July 2015}}</ref>

== Unitarian Universalism ==
[[Unitarian Universalism]], being a [[liberal religion|liberal religious]] group and a [[Congregationalist polity|congregational]] denomination, has a wide diversity of opinions and sentiments. Nonetheless, Unitarian Universalists have had to deal with disruptive individuals. Congregations which had no policies on disruptive individuals have sometimes found themselves having to create such policies, up to (and including) expulsion.<ref name="uua.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.uua.org/interconnections/21966.shtml|title=Policies for Handling Disruptive People|author=Donald E. Skinner|work=UUA.org|date=15 April 1998}}</ref>

By the late 1990s, several churches were using the West Shore UU Church's policy as a model. If someone is threatening, disruptive, or distracting from the appeal of the church to its membership, a church using this model has three recommended levels of response to the offending individual. While the first level involves dialogue between a committee or clergy member and the offender, the second and third levels involve expulsion, either from the church itself or a church activity.<ref name="uua.org"/><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.uua.org/sites/live-new.uua.org/files/documents/congservices/safecongs/disruptive_policy.pdf |title=Policy regarding disruptive behavior |access-date=6 November 2015 |archive-date=24 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151224141529/http://www.uua.org/sites/live-new.uua.org/files/documents/congservices/safecongs/disruptive_policy.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uufdekalb.org/member-center/policies-bylaws/safe-congregation-policy|title=Safe Congregation Policy|work=uufdekalb.org}}</ref>

== Buddhism ==
{{main|Pāṭimokkha}}
There is no direct equivalent to excommunication in [[Buddhism]]. However, in the [[Theravadan]] monastic community monks can be expelled from monasteries for heresy or other acts. In addition, monks have four vows, called the four defeats, which are abstaining from sexual intercourse, stealing, murder, and lying about spiritual gains (e.g., having special power or ability to perform miracles). If any one is broken, the monk is automatically a layman again and can never become a monk in his or her current life.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bhikkhu Pāṭimokkha: The Bhikkhus' Code of Discipline|url=https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/vin/sv/bhikkhu-pati.html#pr|access-date=2022-02-21|website=www.accesstoinsight.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Buddhist Monastic Code: Chapter 4|url=https://www.nku.edu/~kenneyr/Buddhism/lib/modern/bmc/ch4.html|access-date=2022-02-21|website=www.nku.edu}}</ref>

Most Japanese Buddhist sects hold ecclesiastical authority over their followers and have their own rules for expelling members of the sangha, lay or bishopric. The lay [[Japanese Buddhist]] organization [[Sōka Gakkai]] was expelled from the [[Nichiren Shoshu]] sect in 1991.<ref>{{Cite web|title=BBC Religions – Buddhism: Nichiren Buddhism|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/subdivisions/nichiren_1.shtml|access-date=2022-02-21|website=www.bbc.co.uk|language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Hinduism ==
[[Hinduism]] is too diverse to be seen as a homogenous and monolithic religion. It is often described an [[folk religion|unorganised]] and [[syncretist]] religion with a conspicuous absence of any listed [[doctrine]]s. There are multiple [[religious institution]]s (equivalent to Christian [[Church (congregation)|ecclesia]]) within Hinduism that teach slight variations of [[Dharma]] and [[Karma]], hence Hinduism has no concept of excommunication and hence no Hindu may be ousted from the Hindu religion, though a person may easily lose [[Caste system in India|caste]] status through [[gramanya]] for a very wide variety of infringements of caste prohibitions. This may or may not be recoverable. However, some of the modern organised sects within Hinduism may practice something equivalent to excommunication today, by ousting a person from their own sect.

In medieval and early-modern times (and sometimes even now) in South Asia, excommunication from one's ''[[caste]]'' (''[[jāti]]'' or [[Varna (Hinduism)|''varna'']]) used to be practiced (by the [[Caste panchayat|caste-councils]]) and was often with serious consequences, such as abasement of the person's caste status and even throwing him into the sphere of the [[Dalit (outcaste)|untouchables]] or [[bhangi]]. In the 19th century, a Hindu faced [[Kala pani (taboo)|excommunication for going abroad]], since it was presumed he/she would be forced to break caste restrictions and, as a result, become polluted.<ref name="Britannica - Outcaste">{{citation | url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/435540/outcaste |title=Outcaste |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref>

After excommunication, it would depend upon the caste-council whether they would accept any form of repentance (ritual or otherwise) or not. Such current examples of excommunication in Hinduism are often more political or social rather than religious, for example the excommunication of lower castes for refusing to work as scavengers in Tamil Nadu.<ref name="Article-TheHindu">{{citation | url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sundaymagazine/article1074200.ece | location=Chennai, India | newspaper=The Hindu | title=Imprisoned for life | date=9 January 2011}}</ref>

Another example of caste-related violence and discrimination occurred in the case of the Gupti [[Isma'ilism|Ismailis]] from the Hindu Kachhiya caste. Interestingly, Hindu members of this caste began prayers with the inclusion of the mantra “[[Om|OM]], by the command, [[Basmala|in the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful]]” (''om farmānjī bi’smi’l-lāh al-raḥmān al-raḥīm''), but never found it objectionable or Islamic. However, in the early 1930s, after some conflict with caste members due to their profession of allegiance to the [[Imamate in Ismaili doctrine|Ismaili Imam]], this group, known as the Guptis, were excommunicated from the caste completely as they appeared to be breaking caste solidarity. This was also significant for the Gupti community as, for the first time, they could be identified as a distinct group based on their religious persuasion. Some of the more daring Guptis also abandoned their former practice of [[Taqiya|pious circumspection (''taqiyya'')]] as Hindus, claiming that since they had been excommunicated, the caste no longer had any jurisdiction over their actions.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Virani|first=Shafique N.|title=Taqiyya and Identity in a South Asian Community|url=https://www.academia.edu/36996009|journal=The Journal of Asian Studies|year=2011|volume=70|issue=1|pages=99–139|doi=10.1017/S0021911810002974|s2cid=143431047|issn=0021-9118}}</ref>

An earlier example of excommunication in Hinduism is that of [[Shastri Yagnapurushdas]], who voluntarily left and was later expelled from the [[Vadtal Gadi]] of the [[Swaminarayan Sampraday]] by the then Vadtal acharya in 1906. He went on to form his own institution, ''Bochasanwasi Swaminarayan Sanstha'' or ''BSS'' (now [[BAPS]]) claiming [[Gunatitanand Swami]] was the rightful spiritual successor to [[Swaminarayan]].<ref name="isbn0-691-12048-X">{{cite book |title=The camphor flame: popular Hinduism and society in India |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, N.J |year=2004 |page=172 |isbn=0-691-12048-X}}</ref><ref name="isbn052165422X">{{cite book | author=Raymond Brady Williams | title=Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=2001 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tPkexi2EhAIC|isbn=0-521-65422-X |access-date=26 March 2011|page=54}}</ref>

== Sikhism ==
''[[Patit]]'' is a Sikh term which is sometimes translated into English as apostate. It refers to a person who [[Amrit Sanskar|initiated]] into [[Sikhism|Sikh religion]], but violated the religious rules of Sikhi.<ref name="google">{{cite book |title=Sikhism Today |author=Jhutti-Johal, J. |date=2011|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|isbn=9781847062727|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=37i7uAYe6QEC|page=99|accessdate=2015-01-12}}</ref> The [[Sikh Rehat Maryada]] (Code of Conduct), Section Six states the transgressions which cause a person to become a ''patit'':

* Dishonouring the [[Kesh (Sikhism)|hair]];
* Eating the meat of an animal slaughtered the [[Kutha meat|Kutha]] way;
* Cohabiting with a person other than one's spouse;
* Using an intoxicant (such as smoking, drinking alcohol, using recreational drugs or tobacco)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sikh diet |date=21 October 2021 |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/india-news-nihangs-all-you-need-to-know-about-them/398285 |website=www.outlookindia.com}}</ref>

These four kurahit causes of apostasy were first listed by [[Guru Gobind Singh]] in his [[The 52 Hukams of Guru Gobind Singh|52 hukams]] (commandments).

== Islam ==
{{Main|Takfir}}
Since there has been no universally and univocally recognized religious authority among the many [[Islamic schools and branches|Islamic denominations]] that have emerged throughout history, papal excommunication has no exact equivalent in Islam, at least insofar as the attitudes of any conflicting religious authorities with regard to an individual or another sect are judged to be coordinate, not subordinate to one another. Nonetheless, condemning heterodoxy and punishing heretics through [[shunning]] and [[ostracism]] is comparable with the practice in non-Catholic Christian faiths.

Islamic theologians commonly employ two terms when describing measurements to be taken against schismatics and heresy: [[wikt:هجر|هَجْر]] (''hajr'', "abandoning") and [[wikt:تكفير|تَكْفِير]] (''[[takfīr]]'', "making or declaring to be a nonbeliever"). The former (هَجْر, ''hajr'') signifies the act of abandoning somewhere (such as migration, as in the Islamic prophet's journey out of Mecca, which is called [[Hegira|al-Hijra]] ("the (e)migration")) or someone (used in the Qur'an in the case of disciplining a dissonant or disobedient wife<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://quran.com/4/34 |title = Surah An-Nisa – 34 |website=quran.com}}</ref> or avoiding a harmful person<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://quran.com/73/10 |title = Surah Al-Muzzammil – 10 |website=quran.com}}</ref>). The latter (تَكْفِير, ''takfīr'') means a definitive declaration that denounces a person as a kāfir ("infidel"). However, because such a charge would entail serious consequences for the accused, who would then be deemed to be a [[wikt:مرتد|مُرْتَدّ]] (''murtadd'', "a [[backsliding|backslider]]; an apostate), less extreme denunciations, such as an accusation of [[wikt:بدعة|بِدْعَة]] (''bidʽah'', "[deviant] innovation; heresy") followed by shunning and excommunication have historically preponderated over apostasy trials.

''[[Takfīr]]'' has often been practiced through the courts.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Badar|first1=Mohamed |last2=Nagata |first2=Masaki |last3=Tueni |first3=Tiphanie |date=2017|title=The Radical Application of the Islamist Concept of Takfir.|url=https://www.geopoldia.org/images/bedas-tueni2.pdf|journal=Arab Law Quarterly|volume=31|issue=2|pages=134–162|ssrn=2971764|doi=10.1163/15730255-31020044}}</ref> More recently,{{When|date=June 2009}} cases have taken place where individuals have been considered nonbelievers.{{Citation needed|date=December 2007}} These decisions followed lawsuits against individuals, mainly in response to their writings that some have viewed as anti-Islamic. The most famous cases are of [[Salman Rushdie]], [[Nasr Abu Zayd]], [[Nawal El-Saadawi]], and of the [[Ahmadiyya|Ahmadiyya Muslim Community]]. The repercussions of such cases have included divorce, since under traditional interpretations of Islamic law, Muslim women are [[Islamic marital jurisprudence|not permitted to marry]] non-Muslim men.

== Judaism ==
''[[Herem (censure)|Herem]]'' is the highest ecclesiastical censure in [[Judaism]]. It is the total exclusion of a person from the [[Jew]]ish community. Except for cases in the [[Charedi]] community, ''cherem'' stopped existing after [[The Enlightenment]], when local Jewish communities lost their political autonomy, and Jews were integrated into the gentile nations in which they lived.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35978328 |title=My secret life as a gay ultra-Orthodox Jew |website=www.bbc.com |date=2016-04-11 |access-date=2019-07-11 |language=en-GB}}</ref> A ''[[siruv]]'' order, equivalent to a [[contempt of court]], issued by a [[Rabbinical court]] may also limit religious participation.

Rabbinical conferences of movements do expel members from time to time,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://forward.com/news/323587/when-reform-leaders-downplay-charges-of-rabbis-behaving-badly/ |title=When Reform Leaders Downplay Charges of Rabbis Behaving Badly |date=2 November 2015 |work=The Forward}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jta.org/2015/06/12/news-opinion/united-states/rabbi-marc-schneier-blames-rca-expulsion-on-mail |title=Hamptons rabbi blames expulsion on mail snafu, not affair |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=12 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?aid=/20121104/cityandregion/121109641/1057 |title=Expelled rabbi's role in High Holy Day service condemned |work=buffaloNews.com |access-date=6 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151121155211/http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?aid=%2F20121104%2Fcityandregion%2F121109641%2F1057|archive-date=21 November 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> but sometimes choose the lesser penalty of censuring the offending rabbi.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/27/nyregion/rabbi-is-censured-not-expelled-by-her-conservative-colleagues.html |title = Rabbi is Censured, Not Expelled, by Her Conservative Colleagues |newspaper = The New York Times |date = 27 January 2005 |last1 = Berger|first1 = Joseph}}</ref> Between 2010 and 2015, the [[Reform Judaism|Reform Jewish]] [[Central Conference of American Rabbis]] expelled six rabbis, the [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jewish]] [[Rabbinical Council of America]] expelled three, and the [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative Jewish]] [[Rabbinical Assembly]] expelled one, suspended three, and caused one to resign without eligibility for reinstatement.<ref name="forward.com">{{cite web |url=http://forward.com/news/309828/whos-investigating-the-rabbis-who-cross-the-line/ |title=Who's Investigating Rabbis Who Cross the Line? |date=11 June 2015 |work=The Forward}}</ref> While the CCAR and RCA were relatively shy about their reasons for expelling rabbis, the RA was more open about its reasons for kicking rabbis out. Reasons for expulsion from the three conferences include sexual misconduct, failure to comply with ethics investigations, setting up conversion groups without the conference's approval, stealing money from congregations, other financial misconduct, and getting arrested.<ref name="forward.com"/>

Judaism, like Unitarian Universalism, tends towards [[Congregationalist polity|congregationalism]], and so decisions to exclude from a community of worship often depend on the congregation. Congregational bylaws sometimes enable the board of a synagogue to ask individuals to leave<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishjournal.com/articles/item/getting_kicked_out_of_shul_20061208 |title=Getting kicked out of shul – Articles |work=Jewish Journal|access-date=6 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122050759/http://www.jewishjournal.com/articles/item/getting_kicked_out_of_shul_20061208 |archive-date=22 November 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> or not to enter.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/convicted-of-soliciting-a-minor-rabbi-is-banned-from-dc-area-synagogue/ |title=Convicted of soliciting a minor, rabbi is banned from DC-area synagogue |work=The Times of Israel}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vosizneias.com/27950/2009/02/24/vilnius-lithuania-chabad-rabbi-in-vilna-banned-from-main-shul-by-the-jewish-kehilla/ |title=Vilnius, Lithuania – Chabad Rabbi in Vilna Banned from Main Shul by the Jewish Kehilla |work=vosizneias.com |date=24 February 2009}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Banishment in the Bible]]
* [[Disconnection (Scientology)|Disconnection]]
* [[Excommunication of actors by the Catholic Church]]
* [[Interdict]]
* [[List of people excommunicated by the Catholic Church]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
* ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', by [[J. Gordon Melton]] {{ISBN|0-8103-6904-4}}
* Ludlow, Daniel H. ed, ''Encyclopedia of Mormonism'', Macmillan Publishing, 1992. {{ISBN?}}
* Esau, Alvin J., "The Courts and the Colonies: The Litigation of Hutterite Church Disputes", Univ of British Columbia Press, 2004. {{ISBN?}}
* [[Margaret Gruter|Gruter, Margaret]], and Masters Roger, [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927194610/http://www.bepress.com/gruterclassics/ostracism/ ''Ostracism: A Social and Biological Phenomenon, (Amish) Ostracism on Trial: The Limits of Individual Rights''], [http://www.gruter.org Gruter Institute] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928015552/http://www.gruter.org/ |date=28 September 2007 }}, 1984.
* Beck, Martha N., ''Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith'', Crown, 2005. {{ISBN?}}
* Stammer, Larry B., "Mormon Author Says He's Facing Excommunication", ''Los Angeles Times'', Los Angeles, CA.: 9 December 2004. p. A.34.
* D'anna, Lynnette, "Post-Mennonite Women Congregate to Address Abuse", ''Herizons'', 3/1/93.
* Anonymous, "Atlanta Mennonite congregation penalized over gays", ''The Atlanta Journal the Atlanta Constitution'', Atlanta, GA: 2 January 1999. p. F.01.
* Garrett, Ottie, Garrett Irene, ''True Stories of the X-Amish: Banned, Excommunicated, Shunned'', Horse Cave KY: Nue Leben, Inc., 1998. {{ISBN?}}
* Garret, Ruth, Farrant Rick, ''Crossing Over: One Woman's Escape from Amish Life'', Harper San Francisco, 2003. {{ISBN?}}
* [[John A. Hostetler|Hostetler, John A.]] (1993), ''Amish Society'', The Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore. {{ISBN?}}
* MacMaster, Richard K. (1985), ''Land, Piety, Peoplehood: The Establishment of Mennonite Communities in America 1683–1790'', Herald Press: Kitchener & Scottdale. {{ISBN?}}
* [[Stephen Scott (writer)|Scott, Stephen]] (1996), ''An Introduction to Old Order and Conservative Mennonite Groups'', Good Books: Intercourse, Pennsylvania. {{ISBN?}}
* Juhnke, James, ''Vision, Doctrine, War: Mennonite Identity and Organization in America, 1890–1930'', (The Mennonite Experience in America #3), Scottdale, PA, Herald Press, p.&nbsp;393, 1989.

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Excommunication ''Excommunication, the Ban, Church Discipline and Avoidance'' (from ''Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia'' Online)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060220194235/http://www.bepress.com/context/gruterclassics/article/1035/viewcontent/ Ostracism on Trial: The Limits of Individual Rights (Amish)]
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05678a.htm ''Catholic Encyclopaedia'' on excommunication]
* [http://www.spirithome.com/excommunication.html The two sides of excommunication] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080215064946/http://www.spirithome.com/excommunication.html |date=15 February 2008 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080226195127/http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Sections/TVNews/Nightly%20News/2007/11-Nov/statement.pdf Jehovah's Witnesses press release regarding expulsion of child molesters]

{{Authority control}}
{{Investiture Controversy}}

[[Category:Excommunication| ]]
[[Category:Investiture Controversy]]
[[Category:Disengagement from religion]]
[[Category:Punishments in religion]]
[[Category:Church discipline]]