Excommunication

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Excommunication is a religious act used to take off or suspend membership in a religious community.

The word literally means out of communion, or no longer in communion. In some churches, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group. Sometimes sanctions follow excommunication; these include banishment, shunning, and shaming, depending on the group's religion or religious community.

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[edit] Sources

  • Encyclopedia of American Religions, by J. Gordon Melton ISBN 0-8103-6904-4
  • Ludlow, Daniel H. ed, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Macmillan Publishing, 1992.