Shunning

Shunning is a social control mechanism used most commonly in small, tight-knit social groups to punish those who violate the most serious group rules. It is related to banishment and exile, although shunning is based on social rather than physical isolation or separation. In social groups where a person's social identity and well-being are closely tied to regular interaction with other group members, shunning can be a very emotionally painful and effective punishment for those who violate group rules. Shunning is used for only the most serious offenses, and the punishment is usually applied only after a formal judicial procedure. Although shunning may be applied for life, it is typically limited to a set period, which is often ended by another formal hearing or by evidence that the person is now acting in a socially responsible manner. Shunning may be applied to the individual rule breaker's family as well, which puts pressure on family members to act to correct the behavior of the offender. There is no empirical research on the effectiveness of shunning, but it is believed to be effective because it deters repeat behavior by the offender in the future, deters similar behavior by others, and marks for the community those behaviors that are considered unacceptable.

In contemporary North America, three groups who employ shunning are the Old Order Amish, the Rom (more commonly known as Gypsies), and Jehovah's Witnesses. Although the groups differ in their relationship to the wider society, their shunning practices each display the basic features of shunning as a social control mechanism. The Amish are a religious group who by choice live apart from and maintain harmonious but distant relations with non-Amish. They stress simple living, marriage within the group, and strict adherence to community rules called Ordung. There are some significant cultural differences across Amish groups, although all base their way of life on the Bible, and violation of group rules is seen as a violation of the rules set forth in the Scriptures. The society uses various punishments for wrongdoers, including gossip, a lecture by church officials, and public confession. Shunning is the most severe punishment and is used for only the most serious offenses, such as marrying a non-Amish person, adultery, too much contact with the outside world, and drunkenness. It is also used when the other, less severe punishments fail to change a person's unacceptable behavior. Shunning is instituted only through a unanimous vote by the church community, and the shunned person's family may be shunned as well.

The biblical basis for shunning is Matthew 18: 15–17: “Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church; but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be into thee as an heathen man and a publican.” For an Amish man or woman, shunning is “social death,” as all social relations are with other Amish. The person is faced with the choice of leaving the community (often an economic and social impossibility) or acting quickly to end the shunning by submitting to a humiliating public confession and repentance.

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