The Amish people in the United States are an ancient religious sect, direct descendants of the Anabaptists of 16th century Europe. Following the promise of religious tolerance in America, the Amish settled within the United States. There are several groups of Amish, who follow different rules related to dress, technology, and family life.
In general, the Amish value a simple life, centered on the family, following devout Christian beliefs. The Amish separate themselves from American society and reject intermarriage with non-Amish as a way of preserving their values.
Anabaptists, Mennonites, and Amish
Not to be confused with the term anti-Baptist, Anabaptist Christians, the early Amish, challenged the reforms of Martin Luther and others during the Protestant Reformation. Anabaptists rejected infant baptism in favor of baptism (or re-baptism) as adult believers. In addition, they taught the separation of church and state, something that had not been heard in the 16th century. Later known as the Mennonites, after the Dutch Anabaptist leader Menno Simons (1496-1561), a large group of Anabaptists fled to Switzerland and other remote areas of Europe to escape religious persecution.
At the end of the 17th century, a group of devout individuals led by Jakob Ammann separated from the Swiss Mennonites, mainly due to the lack of strict application of the meidung or rejection, an excommunication of disobedient or negligent members. In addition, they differed on other matters, such as foot washing and the lack of rigid regulation of the wardrobe. This group became known as the Amish and, to this day, they still share most of the same beliefs as their Mennonite cousins. The distinction between the Amish and the Mennonites is largely one of dress and form of worship.
Amish settlements in America
The first sizable group of Amish arrived in the United States around 1730 and settled near Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, as a result of William Penn’s experiment in religious tolerance.
However, the Pennsylvania Amish are not the largest group of Amish in the United States, as is commonly thought. The Amish have settled in up to 24 states, Canada, and Central America, although about 80 percent are found in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. The highest concentration of Amish is found in Holmes County, Ohio, and adjacent counties in northeastern Ohio, about 100 miles from Pittsburgh. Next in size is a group of Amish people in Elkhart and the surrounding counties in Northeast Indiana. Then comes the Amish settlement in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
The Amish population in the US numbers over 150,000 and is growing, due to the large family size (seven children on average) and a church member retention rate of about 80 percent.
Amish Orders
All aspects of Amish life are dictated by a list of written or oral rules, known as Ordnung or “order” in German, that describe the basics of the Amish faith and help define what it means to be Amish. For an Amish person, the Ordnung can dictate almost every aspect of lifestyle, from dress and hair length to buggy styling and farming techniques. The Ordnung varies from community to community and order to order, which explains why you will see some Amish in cars, while others do not accept the use of battery-operated lights.
By some estimates, there are as many as eight different orders within the Amish population, with the majority affiliated with one of the five religious orders: Old Order Amish, New Order Amish, Andy Weaver Amish, Beachy Amish, and Swartzentruber Amish. These churches operate independently of each other with differences in how they practice their religion and conduct their daily lives. The Old Order Amish are the largest group. The Amish Swartzentruber, a branch of the Old Order, are the most conservative.
Amish dress
Symbolic of their faith, Amish clothing styles foster humility and separation from the world. The Amish dress in a very simple style, avoiding anything but the most basic ornamentation. The clothes are homemade from plain fabrics and are mostly dark in color.
Amish men generally wear straight-cut suits and coats without collars, lapels, or pockets. Pants never have pleats or cuffs and are worn with suspenders. Belts are prohibited, as are sweaters, ties, and gloves. Men’s shirts fasten with traditional buttons on most orders, while coats and vests fasten with hooks and eyes. Young men shave before marriage, while married men must grow beards. Mustaches are prohibited.
Amish women generally wear solid colored dresses with long sleeves and a full skirt, covered with a cape and an apron. They never cut their hair and wear it in a braid or bun at the back of their head hidden with a little white cap or black beanie. The clothes are fastened with straight pins or brooches, the stockings are made of black cotton, and the shoes are also black. Amish women cannot wear patterned clothing or jewelry. The rules of the specific Amish order may dictate dress matters as explicit as the length of a skirt or the width of a seam.
Use of technology
The Amish are reluctant to any technology that they believe weakens the family structure. Conveniences such as electricity, television, cars, telephones, and tractors are seen as a temptation that could cause vanity, create inequality, or alienate the Amish from their tight-knit community and as such are not encouraged or accepted by the majority. of the orders. .
Most Amish cultivate their fields with horse-drawn machinery, live in houses without electricity, and travel in horse-drawn carts. It is common for Amish communities to allow the use of telephones, but not in the home. Instead, several Amish families will share a phone in a log cabin between farms.
Electricity is sometimes used in certain situations, such as electric cattle fences, flashing electric lights on buggies, and home heating. Windmills are often used as a source of naturally generated electrical power in such cases. It’s also not unusual to see the Amish wearing 20th century conveniences like inline skates, disposable diapers, and gas barbecue grills because the Ordnung doesn’t specifically prohibit them.
Technology is generally where you will see the biggest differences between the Amish orders. The Swartzentruber and Andy Weaver Amish are ultra-conservative in their use of technology; The Swartzentruber, for example, do not allow the use of battery lights. Old Order Amish has little use for modern technology, but they are allowed to travel in motorized vehicles, including airplanes and cars, although they are not allowed to own them. The New Order Amish allows the use of electricity, car ownership, modern agricultural machines, and telephones in the home.
Amish education
The Amish strongly believe in education, but they only provide formal education up to the eighth grade and only in their own private schools. The Amish are exempt from state compulsory attendance beyond the eighth grade based on religious principles, the result of a 1972 United States Supreme Court ruling.
One-room Amish schools are private institutions operated by Amish parents. Schooling focuses on basic reading, writing, math, and geography, along with vocational training and socialization in Amish history and values. Education is also an important part of home life, as agricultural and household skills are considered an important part of an Amish child’s education.
Amish family life
The family is the most important social unit in Amish culture. Large families with seven to 10 children are common. The tasks are clearly divided by sex roles in the Amish household: the man generally works on the farm while the wife washes, cleans, cooks, and other household chores. There are exceptions, but typically the father is considered the head of the Amish family. German is spoken at home, although English is also taught at school. Amish marries Amish. Mixed marriages are not allowed.
Divorce is not allowed and separation is very rare.
Amish Daily Life
The Amish separate themselves from others for a variety of religious reasons, often citing the following verses from the Bible in support of their beliefs:
- Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. What do justice and evil have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? ” (II Corinthians 6:14)
- “Come out of their midst and be separated,” says the Lord. (II Corinthians 6:17)
- “And do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind so that you can taste what is that good, good, acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12: 2)
Due to their religious beliefs, the Amish try to separate themselves from strangers, in an effort to avoid temptations and sin. Instead, they choose to trust themselves and the other members of their local Amish community. Because of this self-reliance, the Amish do not turn to Social Security or accept other forms of government assistance. Avoiding violence in all its forms means that they don’t serve in the military either.
Each Amish congregation is served by a bishop, two ministers, and a deacon, all men. There is no central Amish church. Worship services are held in the homes of community members where the walls are designed to be set aside for large gatherings. The Amish feel that traditions unite generations and provide an anchor to the past, a belief that dictates how they celebrate church worship services, baptisms, weddings, and funerals.
Amish baptism
The Amish practice adult baptism, rather than infant baptism, believing that only adults can make informed decisions about their own salvation and commitment to the church.
Before baptism, Amish teens are encouraged to get a taste of life in the outside world, in a period known as rumspringa , the Pennsylvania Dutch word for “running.” They are still bound by the beliefs and rules set by their community, but some contempt and experimentation is allowed or overlooked. During this time, many Amish teens use the relaxed rules for a chance to court and have fun in healthy ways, but some may dress in “English,” smoke, talk on a cell phone, or drive in cars.
Rumspringa ends when the young man requests church baptism or decides to permanently leave Amish society. Most choose to remain Amish.
Amish weddings
Amish weddings are simple and joyous events that involve the entire Amish community. Amish weddings are traditionally held on Tuesdays and Thursdays in late fall after the final fall harvest. A couple’s engagement is generally kept secret until a few weeks before the wedding, when their intentions are publicized in the church. The wedding usually takes place in the house of the bride’s parents with a long ceremony followed by a large party for the guests.
The bride usually makes a new dress for the wedding, which will later serve as her “good” dress for formal occasions after the wedding. Blue is the typical color of the wedding dress. However, unlike most elaborate weddings today, Amish weddings do not include makeup, rings, flowers, catering, or photography. Newlyweds often spend their wedding night at the house of the mother of the bride so that they can get up early the next day to help clean the house.
Amish funerals
As in life, simplicity is also important to the Amish in death. Funerals are generally held at the home of the deceased. The funeral service is simple, without praise or flowers. Coffins are simple wooden boxes made within the local community. Most Amish communities will allow embalming of the body by a local funeral home familiar with Amish customs, but no makeup is applied.
An Amish burial and burial are generally held three days after death. The deceased is usually buried in the local Amish cemetery. The tombs are dug by hand. The tombstones are simple, following the Amish belief that no one individual is better than another. In some Amish communities, the tombstone markers are not even engraved. Instead, community ministers maintain a map to identify the occupants of each parcel.
Shun
Meidung or shunning means expulsion from the Amish community for failure to adhere to religious guidelines, including marrying out of faith. The practice of avoidance is the main reason the Amish separated from the Mennonites in 1693. When an individual is rejected, it means that they have to leave their friends, family and lives. All communication and contact is cut off, even between family members. Shunning is serious and is generally considered a last resort after repeated warnings.
