Editing Excommunication (section)

=== 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/>