The Amish
History
Beliefs
Conflicts and Problems
History
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During the Reformation in 16th Century Europe, Luther
and Calvin promoted the concepts of individual freedom
and the priesthood of all believers.
In what has been called "the radical reformation", some
religious reformers took these beliefs to a logical
conclusion; they preached that the believer should
separate themselves from all secular activities.
One of the largest groups, the Anabaptists promoted:
– baptism during adulthood after confession of faith, instead of
during infancy
– the total separation of religion from and state
– worship services in the home rather than at church
“Free Churches”
The religious movements that they founded are
called "free churches" as contrasted to the state
churches which were normal for the time.
 Their groups were simple associations of adult
Christians.
 Most groups were wiped out in wars or
programs of genocide which were organized by
various governments, and both the main-line
Protestant and Roman Catholic churches.
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Mennonites and Amish
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The Mennonites are named after Menno Simons
(1496-1561), a Dutch Anabaptist leader.
– They were severely persecuted and fled to
Switzerland and other more remote areas of Europe.
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The Amish began as a split-off sect of the Swiss
Mennonites during the late 17th century.
– Their founder was Jacob Amman, who based his
beliefs and practices on the writings of Simons and on
the 1632 Mennonite Dordrecht Confession of Faith.
Amish in the Americas
Some Amish migrated to the United States, started in
the early 18th century. As a result of William Penn's
"holy experiment" in religious tolerance, many Amish
started settling in Lancaster County, PA during the
1720's.
 Other groups settled in or moved to New York, Illinois,
Indiana, Iowa, Missouri and Ohio, etc.
 They have attempted to preserve the elements of late
17th century European rural culture.
 They reject most of the developments of the modern
society.
 During the 1860's, a series of conferences were held in
Wayne County OH to deal with modern pressures. Partly
as a result of these conferences, the Amish split into a
number of divisions, including the conservative Old
Order Amish and various more liberal groups.
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Membership
Membership in the main Amish church, the Old
Order Amish Mennonite Church is not reported.
 The other Amish groups are relatively small.
Probably the total of all Amish groups would be
on the order of 100,000 in 22 states, including
about 45,000 in Ohio and smaller numbers in
Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York, etc.
 There are about 1,500 in Ontario, Canada.
Almost all members are descendants of Amish
parents. Converts are believed to constitute less
than 10% of the total membership.
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Beliefs
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The Amish are a very conservative Christian faith group.
Many of their beliefs are identical to those of
Fundamentalist and other Evangelical churches,
including baptism, a literal interpretation of the Bible,
etc.
Differences include:
– Their belief in remaining separate from the rest of the world.
Their rejection of involvement with the military or warfare.
– Each district is autonomous; there is no centralized Amish
organization.
– They have traditionally avoided attempts to seek converts.
– Recently, some Amish groups have become active in
evangelization. the Ordnung is an oral tradition which regulates
the Amish way of life.
– Specific details of the Ordnung differ among various church
districts.
Practices
Practices of the Old Order Amish are listed
below.
 Some smaller Amish groups have adopted more
progressive practices.
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– Members usually speak a German dialect called
Pennsylvania Dutch (Deutsch).
– High German is used during worship.
– They learn English at school. Schools are one-room
buildings run by the Amish. Formal education beyond
Grade 8 is discouraged, although many youth are
given further instruction in their homes after
graduation.
– Members do not own or use automobiles.
– They do not use electricity, or have radios or TV sets.
Marriage
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Marriages outside the faith are not allowed.
Couples who plan to marry are "published" in late
October.
They are married in one of their homes during November
or early December.
Men follow the laws of the Hebrew Scriptures with
regards to beards. They do not grow mustaches,
because of the long association of mustaches with the
military.
Men usually dress in a plain, dark colored suit.
Women usually wear a plain colored dress with long
sleeves, bonnet and apron. Women wear a white prayer
covering if married; black if single. At death, a woman is
usually buried in her bridal dress, which is often blue or
purple.
Religious Observations
They celebrate the traditional Christian holy
days.
 They also observe a Fast Day on October 11.
 Religious services are held in the homes of
members biweekly on Sunday. They meet in a
different home each week.
 Funerals are conducted in the home without a
eulogy, flower decorations, or other display. The
casket is plain, without adornment. A simple
tombstone is erected later.
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Beliefs
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While the Amish subscribe to basic Christian beliefs, such
as the belief in a divine Christ, heaven and hell, receiving
inspiration from scripture, and the church as the body of
Christ, the Amish tradition differs from many other
modern religions, in that their faith is combined in their
entire culture.
The Amish culture is based on ideals which are in direct
contrast with the ideals of modern American culture.
In today's society, emphasis is placed on the individual
and their ability to achieve personal success and
fulfillment.
However, in the Amish culture all emphasis is on the
community. The basic concepts of Amish culture can
best be described by the German word Gelassenheit .
– Gelassenheit is a concept which encompasses many aspects of
Amish life. It can be broken down into five units which include:
personality, symbols, structure, ritual, and values
Gelassenheit
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Gelassenheit teaches Amish to be reserved,
modest, calm, and quiet. It is a way of thinking
about one's relationship with God and to
become completely submissive to God's
authority.
 It also has a great emphasis on serving and
respecting others in the community.
 It includes the ideas of a modest way of acting,
talking, dressing, and walking.
 And it is also a way of stucturing social life so
that communities remain small and simple
Beliefs and Shunning
Some of the most important beliefs held by the Amish
are: separation from the outside world, vow of
obedience, and closeness to nature.
 There are other regulations over societal customs such
as dress, use of inventions and no formal education
beyond elementary school.
 The fear of being shunned and excommunicated keeps
the Amish from being tempted by the outside world.
 The moral beliefs of the Amish Church are based on the
Bible and most of their views stem from literal
translations of the teachings of the Bible.
 The Amish do not try to recruit members from the
outside world because that would be seen as consorting
with those that are shunned.
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Prohibitions
They do not collect social security/Canada
Pension Plan benefits, unemployment insurance
or welfare.
 They maintain mutual aid funds for members
who need help with medical costs, dental bills,
etc.
 They do not take photographs. This is based on
the prohibition in Exodus 20:4, the second of the
Ten Commandments:
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– "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or
any likeness of anything that...is in the earth..."
Conflicts and problems
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Education:
– The Amish's insistence on terminating formal schooling after the
8th grade conflicted with many state's laws which require
children to remain in school until their mid-teens.
– Some Amish migrated from Pennsylvania to other states, like
Missouri, which had more relaxed laws. A ruling by the US
Supreme Court in 1972 recognized their right to limit education
of their children.
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Accidents:
– Highway accidents between motor vehicles and Amish black
horse and buggies are a concern to many.
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Polio:
– There was an outbreak of polio in 1979 among Amish in
Pennsylvania, Iowa, Wisconsin Missouri and Canada. The North
American population of Amish was essentially unvaccinated
against polio at the time.
– The spread of the disease was halted by an emergency
vaccination campaign. This was the last significant outbreak of
the disease in the U.S.
Buggies
Horse-drawn transportation has been maintained
as a matter of Christian discipleship by the most
conservative elements in the Anabaptist family.
 The Old Order Amish, and over half of those
identified as Old Order Mennonites and Old
Colony Mennonites, forbid ownership and driving
of automobiles.
 Small groups of Old Order River Brethren and
Old Order German Baptista have the same rule.
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Buggies
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The Old Order people see the automobile as a
disintegrating force affecting the family, church, and
community.
They feel that cars are an object of pride, not conducive
to self-denial. The Old Orders also avoid involvement
with the evil of insurance by using buggies rather than
cars.
The Old Orders do not feel the car is evil in itself.
By forbidding ownership of cars, it is felt mobility is
limited and thus many temptations are avoided.
Old Orders will make use of public transportation (as
they did in the pre-automobile age) and permit hiring
cars and vans for special needs.
In many communities, mobility is also limited by insisting
on steel wheels on tractors (so they cannot be used for
transportation on the road) and by forbidding bicycles.
Amish Buggies
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bpl/mennocon.html#amish
Buggy Signs
http://members.tripod.com/amishbuggy/miscpics.htm
Genetic diseases
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Some Amish groups have a limited gene pool. For
example, the Amish in Lancaster County, PA, are
descendents of about 200 Swiss citizens who emigrated
in the mid 1700s.
Because they do not marry outsiders and because few
outsiders have joined the order, the
– "community has been essentially a closed genetic population for
more than 12 generations. Thus, intermarriage has brought to
the fore certain genetic mutations that were present in the initial
genetic pool (as they are in any population), making the Amish
host to several inherited disorders."
– These include dwarfism, mental retardation and a large group of
metabolic disorders.
– One in 200 have glutaric aciduria type I; they are born healthy,
but can experience permanent neurological damage when a mild
illness strikes.
Daily Life
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Men get up about five a.m., go to the barn and feed the animals, milk the
cows and process the milk to the cans for truck delivery to the local dairy.
He would then join the family for prayer and breakfast. Depending on the
season, he would work in the fields, preparing the fields for planting (late
winter), planting the crops in the Spring or harvesting the crops in late
Summer or Fall.
He usually works from sunup to sunset in the fields for planting and
harvesting with a break for lunch. In the evening, the cows would need to
be milked again.
Women also get up about five a.m., help with the milking, prepare
breakfast, and if laundry day (usually on Monday) get the gasoline motor
started on her wringer washing machine do the laundry, hanging them out
on the line to dry.
She would work in the kitchen garden, preparing it for planting (with help
from her husband), or harvesting vegetables for meals.
If there are children, she would also get them ready for school, including
packing lunch boxes, etc.
Daytime household duties would be done, i.e., ironing, washing dishes by
hand, baking, and cooking lunch and dinner. Depending on the season, she
would can fruit and vegetables, making jams and jellies, etc. She will also
sew clothes for herself, her husband and their children.
Sundays are for church.
Farm with Milk Ready for Pick up
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bpl/mennocon.html#amish
Market Day
Amish Farm in Ohio
AMISH ROMANCE AND WEDDINGS
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The Amish court in the summer. They meet each other at youth sings
which are held usually on a Sunday night.
Some Amish boys will court with a wagon called appropriately a courting
wagon.
Others will walk with their sweethearts. They'll sing bible songs, laugh,
and maybe even hold hands.
In the fall weddings are announced. These are held in November and
December after the harvest.
There will be a lot of food preparation to feed all the guests. There is no
music at the wedding. There is singing, like chanting.
When the last guests leave the couple can retire to their bedroom in the
bride's mother's home. The next day the couple help with the cleanup.
Then they are free for their honeymoon which is spent traveling from
family to family to thank them for the wedding gifts. If they travel a
distance, they will stay at the family's home for the weekend or
overnight. It takes a year for the couple to visit all the relatives who
have come to their wedding.
The bride doesn't wear white either. She wears her traditional somber
colors but is allowed this once in her life to wear a white organdy apron.
The next time she'll wear it will be at her funeral.
Current Controversies
The attitude of the Amish towards the government has
changed very little from those of the early Anabaptist
forefathers.
 They see the necessity of the government, and any form
of rebellion against it is considered "un-Christian".
 However, while the Amish do see meaning in the
functions of government, they also give limitations to the
authority of the state.
 Several issues and controversies have come up between
the Amish and the state during the 20th century.
 Some of the most controversial include; the
consolidation of small elementary schools, the
requirement of high school attendance, compulsory
welfare systems, and conscription.
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The Amish: In their Own Words
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Chapters 1-4
Internet Sources
http://www.religioustolerance.org/amish.htm
 http://www.angelfire.com/ct/beawriter/amish
.html
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