The most serious sanction of all is being declared a “covenant breaker.” Although Baha’u’llah himself attempted to abolish the practices of shunning and ritual pollution, contemporary Baha’is, like members of the Watchtower and other cults, shun those who are excommunicated. Only the head of the Baha’i faith can impose this punishment, so that this authority now rests with the House of Justice. Whereas loss of voting rights does not necessarily speak to one's spiritual well-being, being declared a covenant-breaker makes one spiritually condemned. Baha’is are not to speak to or have anything to do with covenant breakers (Hornsby 1983: 148-153). Baha’i friends and family, including the spouse, cut the covenant breaker off. Rank and file Baha’is take the obligation of shunning very seriously, and being cast out from one’s support network can be devastating. This punishment typically is imposed upon a Baha’i who has come into direct conflict with the head of the religion. Most often this is because the individual has put forth a competing claim and attempted to form a Baha’i sect, or because a Baha’i has chosen to join or associate with such a sect. Baha’i officials sometimes even declare ex-Baha’is covenant-breakers. In late 1996 in New Zealand a new Baha’i who refused to terminate her friendship with the daughter of a covenant breaker responded to pressure to do so by formally withdrawing from the Baha’i religion. She was nevertheless declared a covenant breaker (Universal House of Justice 1996d). Individuals can also be shunned for expressions of conscience. Recently, the House of Justice informed an American Baha’i liberal who had been critical of the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly and had urged reform of Baha’i judicial procedure that, should he continue on this path, "he and those with whom he has been closely associated” would “find themselves in direct conflict with the Covenant" (Universal House of Justice 1996b). In Baha'i terminology, they were threatening to have these Baha’is shunned if they continued publicly criticizing (“attacking and undermining”) Baha'i institutions or their policies, even though they were not fomenting a schism. Threats to use shunning for this purpose have increased with the rise of cyberspace.
"The Baha'i Faith in America as Panopticon, 1963-1997".
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