Shunning can be the act of social rejection, or emotional distance. In a religious context, shunning is a formal decision by a denomination or a congregation to cease interaction with an individual or a group, and follows a particular set of rules. It differs from, but may be associated with, excommunication. The social rejection occurs when a person or group deliberately avoids association with, and habitually keeps away from an individual or group. This can be a formal decision by a group, or a less formal group action which will spread to all members of the group as a form of solidarity. Shunning can sometimes also be used by an individual to express discontent with an action of their family. Sometimes shunning leads to shunning in itself. An example would be a son using shunning to stop their mother from shunning someone.
Shunning is a sanction against association, often associated with religious groups and other tightly knit organizations and communities. Targets of shunning can include persons who have been labeled as apostates, , , , or anyone the group perceives as a threat or source of conflict.
Social rejection has been established to cause psychological damage and has been categorized as torture[ ( read online) Retrieved June 15, 2015.] Mental rejection is a more individual action, where a person subconsciously or willfully ignores an idea, or a set of information related to a particular viewpoint. Some groups are made up of people who shun the same ideas.
Social rejection was and is a punishment in many customary law or Culture. Such sanctions include the ostracism of ancient Athens and the still-used kasepekang in society. It happens more often in tight communities when people fear losing their social status.
In religion
Christianity
Anabaptism
Certain sects of the
Amish—an
Anabaptist community—practice shunning or
meidung.
Historically, the Schwarzenau Brethren practiced a form of shunning that they called "avoidance," a refusal to eat with even a family member whom the church had placed in "avoidance."
Catholicism
Prior to the Code of Canon Law of 1983, in rare cases (known as excommunication
Vitandus) the
Catholic Church expected adherents to shun an
excommunication member in secular matters.
In 1983, the distinction between vitandi and others ( tolerandi) was abolished, and thus the expectation is not made anymore.
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses practice a form of shunning. For many years, the practice was referred to as "disfellowshipping"; however, the term was discontinued in 2024, and is instead referred to as “removal from the congregation”. A tribunal of elders determines whether an individual has committed a serious sin and is unrepentant. Elders may meet with the individual a number of times to encourage repentance before deciding to remove the person from the congregation.
For many years, members were instructed to not even greet shunned individuals.
Sociologist Andrew Holden's research indicates that many Witnesses who would otherwise defect because of disillusionment with the organization and its teachings retain affiliation out of fear of being shunned and losing contact with friends and family members.
Judaism
Cherem is the highest ecclesiastical censure in the
community. It is the total exclusion of a person from the Jewish community. It is still used in the
Haredi Judaism and
Hasidic Judaism community. In the 21st century, sexual abuse victims and their families who have reported abuse to civil authorities have experienced shunning in the Orthodox communities of New York
[ Ultra-Orthodox Shun Their Own for Reporting Child Sexual Abuse The New York Times, 9 May 2012] and Australia.
[ Rabbis' absolute power: how sex abuse tore apart Australia's Orthodox Jewish community The Guardian, 18 February 2015] Orthodox Jewish men who refuse to grant their wives a divorce are sometimes subject to shunning or shaming, as a form of social pressure intended to compel the husband to allow his wife to leave the marriage. This pressure can take the form of refusing to allow the husband to perform certain religious rituals in the synagogue, refusing his business in commerce, legal solutions such as restraining orders, and
public shaming.
Baháʼí faith
Members of the Baháʼí Faith are expected to shun those that have been declared
, and expelled from the religion,
by the head of their faith.
Covenant-breakers are defined as leaders of schismatic groups that resulted from challenges to legitimacy of Baháʼí leadership, as well as those who follow or refuse to shun them.
Unity is considered the highest value in the Baháʼí Faith, and any attempt at schism by a Baháʼí is considered a spiritual sickness, and a negation of that for which the religion stands.
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology asks its members to quit all communication with "suppressive persons" (those whom the Church deems antagonistic to Scientology). The practice of shunning in Scientology is termed disconnection. Members can disconnect from any person they already know, including existing family members. Many examples of this policy's application have been established in court.
[Judgement of Mr Justice Latey, Re: B & G (Minors) (Custody) Delivered in the High Court
(Family Division), London, 23 July 1984] It used to be customary to write a "disconnection letter" to the person being disconnected from, and to write a public disconnection notice, but these practices have not continued.
The Church states that typically only people with "false data" about Scientology are antagonistic, so it encourages members to first attempt to provide "true data" to these people. According to official Church statements, disconnection is only used as a last resort and only lasts until the antagonism ceases.[ What is Disconnection? (Accessed 5/29/11)] Failure to disconnect from a suppressive person is itself labelled a suppressive act.[California appellate court, 2nd district, 7th division, Wollersheim v. Church of Scientology of California, Civ. No. B023193 Cal. Super. (1986)]
See also
Citations
Sources
Further reading
-
McCowan, Karen, The Oregon Register-Guard, Cast Out: Religious Shunning Provides an Unusual Background in the Longo and Bryant Slayings, March 2, 2003.
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D'anna, Lynnette, "Post-Mennonite Women Congregate to Discuss Abuse", Herizons, March 1, 1993.
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Esua, Alvin J., and Esau Alvin A.J., The Courts and the Colonies: The Litigation of Hutterite Church Disputes, Univ of British Columbia Press, 2004.
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Crossing Over: One Woman's Escape from Amish Life, Ruth Irene Garret, Rick Farrant
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Delivered Unto Satan (Mennonite), Robert L. Bear, 1974, (ASIN B0006CKXQI)
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Children Held Hostage: Dealing with Programmed and Brainwashed Children, Stanley S. Clawar, Brynne Valerie Rivlin, 2003.
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Deviance, Agency, and the Social Control of Women's Bodies in a Mennonite Community, Linda B. Arthur, NWSA Journal, v10.n2 (Summer 1998): pp75(25).
External links
