ABSTRACT
Anthropological interpretations of religion generally have assumed that the supportive effects of religion on culture outweigh any disruptive consequences.
The authors of this chapter sought to discern whether people responded to the loss of their religion, their religious community, or their spirituality in the same manner as those who experienced
GRIEF AS A RESPONSE TO LOSS OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY
Excommunicated members are stigmatized. and shunned by the community of family, friends, and business colleagues [13]. Anyone who continues to socialize with the outcasts is also ostracized. ''The threat of social isolation is a powerful deterrent to disobedience in a community where everyone is linked by family ties" [13].
