Meidung (shunning) is the harshest punishment in the Amish world. Worse than prison.
For What
Buying a car. Connecting electricity. Rejecting community rules after baptism. Adultery. Serious deception. Not for minor things — for conscious violation of core principles.
What It Looks Like
No one speaks to the shunned. Can't eat at the same table. Can't accept or give help. Can't do business. Family (parents, children, siblings) must comply too. A mother can't sit at a table with her shunned son. That hurts most.
Strictness
Depends on community. Strict (Old Order): full avoidance, including family. Moderate: family may communicate, but not at table or church. Lenient (New Order): warning, temporary suspension, then dialogue.
Return
Possible. Public repentance before community (Bann). Kneeling. Acknowledging the error. Community votes to accept back. If accepted — full forgiveness, past forgotten. No 'probation' or 'conditional.'