SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – A Mormon man who gained notoriety over the past decade for running a website that offers doubting Latter-day Saints a forum to chat has been kicked out of the religion.
John Dehlin announced the decision from regional church leaders Tuesday.
He becomes the second high-profile church member to be excommunicated in the past year in what Mormon scholars consider to be the Utah-based faith’s way of keeping dissenters in line.
Regional church leaders in North Logan told Dehlin in a letter that they made a unanimous decision to excommunicate him for apostasy. The church defines apostasy as repeatedly acting in clear public opposition to the faith.
While not a lifelong ban, excommunication is still a rare move that amounts to the harshest punishment available for a church member.