Excommunication

Excommunication is a disciplinary measure by which a religious institution restricts or removes a person's membership or privileges within it. It is used most commonly in Christian churches, where it prevents the person from participating in sacred activities, particularly the Eucharist, and from holding office or rank in the church.

Religious institutions state that excommunication has two formal purposes: to protect doctrine and the order of the believing community, and to compel the person to cease the conduct for which they are charged. For this reason, excommunication is often defined as a temporary measure that can be lifted if the person repents, rather than a permanent irreversible judgment.

Origins and history

The concept of removing someone from the community of believers predates Christianity. Judaism had practices of ostracism and communal exclusion. Early Christian churches used such practices against those accused of heresy or grave public offences. In medieval Europe, excommunication by the Catholic Church was sometimes employed for political purposes, as excluding a king or ruler could affect his authority and his subjects' loyalty.

Types and procedures

The Roman Catholic Church's canon law distinguishes between different penalties, of which excommunication is the most severe form of 'medicinal punishment'. There is excommunication incurred automatically when the act is committed (latae sententiae) and excommunication pronounced by church authority case by case (ferendae sententiae). Excommunication does not invalidate a person's baptism; Catholic teaching holds that baptism is indelible, so excommunication suspends communion but does not negate baptismal status.

Other religions and communities

Eastern Orthodox and some Protestant churches have similar practices under different names, such as suspension from communion or ecclesiastical discipline. Other religious and non-religious communities—including associations and political organizations—employ exclusionary measures with social functions similar to those of excommunication: severance of contact and application of social pressure.

Social effects

In societies where religion and community life are closely intertwined, excommunication can have real consequences: loss of business, marriage, and family ties. This means the force of the measure depends on the degree to which the community recognizes religious authority, not solely on church law. In societies with separation of religion and state, excommunication has no legal effect.