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Loading... - Amish Communities Don’t Try to Convert Others. With half a dozen children in the average family and 90% of children choosing to remain Amish as adults, Amish communities are in no danger of dying out.
- Congregations Are Determined By Geography. Often, Christians determine which church to attend after visiting several. They will most likely then pick which one suits them best.
- Retirement is Another Stage of Life. In Amish communities, retirement is a very personal decision. While the retired person may no longer partake in a trade full-time, he or she usually moves next door to the kids and works full-time as a grandparent.
- Communion Happens in the Spring or Fall. Much of Amish life, especially religious traditions, are informal but heavily ingrained within the community.
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- Overview
- History and church structure
- Beliefs and way of life
The Amish are a Christian group in North America. The term refers primarily to the Old Order Amish Mennonite Church. The church originated in the late 17th century among followers of Jakob Ammann. The Old Order Amish are known for their rejection of most of the social change and technological innovation found in modern society.
Where are Amish communities located in North America?
In the early 21st century, there were about 250,000 Amish living in more than 200 Old Order Amish settlements in the United States and Canada. The largest were located in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, and Kansas, and others were found in Wisconsin, Maine, Missouri, and Minnesota.
What is the difference between Amish and Mennonite beliefs?
In formal religious doctrine, Amish religious doctrine differs little from the Mennonites. Holy Communion is celebrated twice each year, while foot washing is practiced by both groups. Baptism takes place about the age of 17 to 20 years. Religious services are conducted in High German and Pennsylvania Dutch.
How do the Amish dress?
Jakob Ammann (c. 1644–c. 1730) was a Mennonite leader whose controversial teachings caused a schism among his coreligionists in Switzerland, Alsace, and southern Germany. Ammann insisted that any excommunicated Mennonite church member should be shunned socially and that anyone who lied should be excommunicated. Following Jesus’ example, he introduced foot washing into the worship service and taught that church members should dress in a uniform manner, that beards should not be trimmed, and that it was wrong to attend services in a state church. Although Ammann sought reconciliation with the Mennonites, he continued to insist that all who had been excommunicated should be avoided, and therefore his attempts at reconciliation failed. Amish communities sprang up in Switzerland, Alsace, Germany, Russia, and Holland, but emigration to North America in the 19th and 20th centuries and assimilation with Mennonite groups gradually eliminated the Amish in Europe.
The Amish began emigrating to North America early in the 18th century; they first settled in eastern Pennsylvania, where a large settlement remains. Schism and disruption occurred after 1850 because of tensions between the “new order” Amish, who accepted social change and technological innovation, and the “old order,” or traditional, Amish, who largely did not. During the next 50 years, about two-thirds of the Amish formed separate, small churches of their own or joined either the Mennonite Church or the General Conference Mennonite Church.
Humility, family, community, and separation from the world are the mainstays of the Amish. Everyday life and custom are governed by an unwritten code of behaviour called the Ordnung, and shunning (Meidung) remains an integral way in which the community deals with disobedient members. In formal religious doctrine, the Amish differ little from the Mennonites. Holy Communion is celebrated twice each year, and foot washing is practiced by both groups. Persons are baptized when they are admitted to formal membership in the church, about the age of 17 to 20 years. Religious services are conducted in High German, and Pennsylvania Dutch (see Pennsylvania German)—an admixture of High German, various German dialects, and English—is spoken at home and is common in daily discourse. The services are held on a rotating basis in family homes and barns. A large wagon, filled with benches for the service and dishes and food for the meal that follows, will often be pulled to the host’s property. In most Amish homes a special place is reserved alongside the Bible for the Martyr’s Mirror, a book chronicling Amish history and honouring the many Amish, Mennonite, and Anabaptist forebears who died for their faith. The Budget, established in 1890, is the national newspaper serving the many Amish and Mennonite communities; it is published in Sugarcreek, Ohio.
The Amish are best known for their plain clothing, most of it self-made, and nonconformist lifestyle. Men and boys wear broad-brimmed black hats, dark-coloured suits, straight-cut coats without lapels, broadfall pants, suspenders, solid-coloured shirts, and black socks and shoes. Their shirts may fasten with conventional buttons, but their coats and vests fasten with hooks and eyes. Men grow beards after they marry but are forbidden to have mustaches. Old Order Amish women and girls wear bonnets, long full dresses with capes over the shoulders, shawls, and black shoes and stockings; their capes and aprons are fastened with straight pins or snaps. Amish women never cut their hair, which is worn in a bun, and they are not allowed to wear jewelry of any kind. The Amish attire, which is essentially that of 17th-century European peasants, reflects their reluctance to change, their respect for tradition, and their interpretation of biblical strictures against conforming to the ways of the world (e.g., Romans 12:2).
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The Old Order Amish shun personal home-based telephones but will occasionally use a communal one. They also eschew automobiles. They ride bicycles and drive horse-drawn buggies instead, though many of them will, on occasion and in emergencies, ride in cars, trains, and buses operated by others. Although the buggies are traditional boxlike vehicles, they are not always black, as commonly thought; some of them are white, gray, or even yellow, and many Amish and Mennonite groups can be distinguished by their chosen colour of buggy. The buggies may also be equipped with such modern conveniences as heaters, windshield wipers, and upholstered seats. The use of electricity, however, is strongly avoided, as it is a prime connection to the world that could lead to temptations and worldly amenities detrimental to the community and family life; occasional exceptions to this ban have involved Amish who must use electric flashers on their buggies in order to drive legally in their communities and certain farm equipment that could not be operated without a minimal amount of electricity and without which the community’s economic livelihood would be threatened; for example, certain milking equipment may be impossible to operate without some electricity, and electric fences may be deemed critical for keeping cattle. Bottle gas is often used to operate appliances, even barbecue grills, and gas-pressured lanterns and lamps might be used for indoor lighting. The New Order Amish permit the use of electricity, the owning of cars, and telephones in the home.
The Amish are considered excellent farmers, growing and storing the majority of their food and purchasing in stores only staples such as flour and sugar. The Old Order Amish refuse to use most modern farm machinery, preferring the sweat of their brow over the ease of modern conveniences. What modern machinery they do use will often be operated not by electricity but by an alternative power source. The Amish are famous for their barn raisings. These cooperative efforts often involve hundreds of men, as well as scores of women who feed the workers. These custom-made barns are a constant reminder of Amish tradition, community, industry, and craft. The hex signs that often adorn the barns—the round geometric emblems painted to ward off evil—are synonymous with the agricultural communities of the “Pennsylvania Dutch.”
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Sep 8, 2023 · Lancaster County is home to the biggest and historically oldest Amish settlements in the country. Discover more about the Amish’s way of life and beliefs. Whether you’re seeking answers to commonly asked questions or planning an upcoming trip to Lancaster, here are some facts you may not know about the Amish.
- A typical Amish dinner consists of filling meals encompassing a variety of options including meatloaf and roast beef, pork chops, and ham. Dairy is...
- The Amish don’t have any eating restrictions or rules. Individuals can eat anywhere, ranging from large food chains to local restaurants. Discover...
- Amish communities pay income, sales, public school, and property taxes. Paying taxes varies depending on the residing state. Due to religious reaso...
- Earning renown as skilled entrepreneurs, the Amish generate income from a diverse array of businesses, ranging from carpentry and construction to r...
- Frequently prioritizing a lifestyle that aligns with their traditional values, consisting of humility and community, the Amish display a preference...
- The Amish construct a variety of buildings with highly skilled craftsmanship, including houses, churchs, and barns. The community offers a range of...
- Despite a common misconception, the Amish can shop at large retail chains and other stores that aren’t Amish-owned. Visitors in Lancaster, PA may s...
- While the Amish generally aren’t allowed to use electricity in their homes, they are permitted to have batteries and generators. Some uses for batt...
- In general, Amish individuals prefer to avoid having pictures taken because it clashes with their focus on humility. The Amish believe that picture...
- Wedding ceremonies are filled with sermons, hymns, prayers, and scripture readings with a duration of around three hours. A marriage celebration co...
Amish life has influenced some things in popular culture. As the Amish are divided into the Old Order Amish, New Order Amish, and Beachy Amish, the way of life of families depends on the rule of the church community to which they belong.
The Amish fall into three main subgroups—the Old Order Amish, the New Order Amish, and the Beachy Amish—all of whom wear plain dress and live their life according to the Bible as codified in their church's Ordnung.
Apr 13, 2020 · Amish life is fascinating to outsiders, but much of the information we have about the Amish faith and culture is inaccurate. Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about Amish life, taken from reliable sources.
May 10, 2023 · The Amish culture continues to captivate and fascinate many people around the world. Their unique way of life governed by simplicity, community, and self-sufficiency, stands in stark contrast to the fast-paced, technology-driven world that surrounds us.
