Being Excommunicated
While Meidung means to be shunned by the Amish community, there’s a much more serious punishment known as Bann. If the infraction is serious enough to be permanently excommunicated, that means you’re in the Bann and treated as an outsider. It depends on your ‘crime’, but you could be shunned for any amount of time. Even though it sounds harsh, the purpose is for the person to realize what they did wrong and apologize for it.
Being Excommunicated
DNA Testing
Nowadays, thanks to modern technology, everyone wants to get DNA testing to learn more about where they come from and maybe even find some long-lost relatives. That is, everyone except the Amish, who don’t allow it. That’s the reason it’s easy to marry your third cousin in their community. They believe that if inbreeding occurs, it’s God’s will.
DNA Testing