Excommunication

Origin

Latin excommūnicāt- participial stem of excommūnicāre lit. ‘to put out of the community,’ < ex- out + commūnis common, on the analogy of commūnicāre

• 16th Century

Definitions

• 1: an ecclesiastical censure depriving a person of the rights of church membership
• 2: exclusion from fellowship in a group or community

Description

Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community. The word means putting someone out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group. Censures and sanctions sometimes follow excommunication; these include banishment, shunning, and shaming, depending on the religion, the offense that caused excommunication, or the rules or norms of the religious community.[1]