Amish AmericansReligious Minorities

History of the Amish Church

Mennonites and the Anabaptists

Early Church History• In 1517 Martin Luther started the

Protestant Reformation in Germany

• It was the first time the Bible was translated into a language that was more accessible to common people

• After Luther the Reformation spread to many other countries

Anabaptists• Anabaptists are a denomination of the

Protestant Church that was formed in Germany

• The name means baptize again, the name comes from their belief that believers should be baptized as adults and not as infants

• Anabaptists are the precursor to Amish and Mennonites

Mennonites• Mennonites are

Anabaptists that were followers of Menno Simons, who was a former Catholic Priest

• They faced a lot of persecution, not only from the Catholics, but other Protestants as well

Amish FoundationsJakob Amman of Switzerland founded the Amish church in 1693, as a different denomination than the Menonnites

Amman wanted Communion services more than once a year

And he wanted to be able to have more reforms within the Church, since the Mennonites did not agree, he formed his own church and the followers were known as Amish

Because of religious persecutions and economic troubles the Amish moved to many places around Europe as well as the New World, so that by the year 1801 there were Amish from Pennsylvania all the way to Russia

Amish Settlements in AmericaOhio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Canada

Amish in America 1700’s

The Amish immigrated to the new world because of economic reasons and religious persecutions

They settled with many other German speakers in SE PA, and parts of VA and MD, and were called “Pennsylvania Dutch” even though not all the immigrants were Amish

Made their own culture including language dialect, clothing and architecture style, known as PA Dutch

Amish Architecture

• Ties to the land cause for moving out west into OH, IL, IA, and up north into Canada

• New Amish immigrants became known as “Swiss Amish” and settled mostly in IN

• Amish continued to move west as the century progressed

• Many of the new European immigrants were more liberal than the older immigrants, causing a split between the two groups in the mid 1800’s

Amish in America 1800’s

Amish in America 1900’s

By 1937 there were no longer any Amish in Europe, the ones that didn’t immigrate to the US either dissolved themselves or assimilated when the local Mennonites.

The differences between the liberal and conservative Amish resulted in the formation of four different groups of Amish Americans

Four Amish Groups“Old Order Amish”

The most conservative group

“Amish Mennonites”The more liberal groups

The Egly Amish- Bishop Henry Egly

The Stuckley Amish- Bishop Joseph Stuckey

Amish Belief SystemDoctrinePractices

DoctrineOnly adults can choose to join the Church, as such children are not members of the Church and cannot be baptized until they are old enough to decide for themselves to join the Church

Leading a life like Jesus Christ by separating from the world. This belief comes from the Scripture in the New Testament book of Romans which warns believers from conforming to the world Two kingdoms exist, the Kingdom of Heaven, and the Kingdom of Earth, and individuals have to choose to which Kingdom it is that they wish to belong

Communion two times a year, only for Church members, includes feet washing

Church ServicesChurch services are conducted every other week, and take place in homes through out the community, there are about 30 Amish families per community, so each family hosts about once a year

Men and Women sit on opposite sides

The service usually lasts a few hours

Hymns are sang from the Ausbund, an old hymnal used by the Amish

After the service lunch is usually served

PracticesRules followed in the Amish church are called Ordnung, the specifics vary between communities as they are allowed to make their own, but they rules themselves are similar

Plain DressMen: grow beards according to scripture, not moustaches (military connotations), hair is trimmed with no style, combed front with bangs, a plain dark colored suit, trousers with suspenders, no collar on the shirt, and no pockets on the coat

Women: do not wear jewelry, plain long sleeve dress, bonnet, and an apron, hair is not cut, parted down the middle, Unmarried: black apron, Married: White apron

Plain Dress

PracticesHumility

The Kingdom of Earth and the Kingdom of HeavenSeparation from the world

No Modern Technology

Separation of Church and StateNo government benefits, SS, or insurance

Hochmut= Pride, HaughtinessDo not attend school past 8th grade, Education leads to pride

Every child learns PA Dutch, and English

Photographs are not allowed, they lead to vanity

Demut= HumilityPlain Dress

PracticesGelassenheit= calmness, placidity, “letting-be”

Peaceful, non-violentWere attacked by both sides of the Revolutionary War for not joining a side

Families paid $300 to not be drafted into the Civil War

During the Korean War Amish were required to work for the government in a non military way

RumspringaMeans “Running Around”

Teens go through Rumspringa before they can join the Church

RumspringaThe outside world is the Devils Playground

RumspringaRemember, only people who choose to join the Church can be baptized, how do you know if you want to join if you have only ever known Amish?

This is the time when teens are allowed to experience everything the outside world has to offer

“Dress English”

Drive Cars

Listen to Pop Music

Cable TV

Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking

Wear Make-up and Jewelry

Amish in the City

RumspringaAfter Rumspringa the New member is baptized, and becomes a member of the Church, if they decide they want to leave the Church they are excommunicated and shunned

Shunning= AvoidanceCan be caused by a number of things, from having a telephone, to drinking alcohol

Active members must avoid the offending individual in all social activitiesSpouses may continue to live together but they may not engage in sexual intercourse

A separate table at family gatherings

Some are expelled from the community and are not allowed contact with their family

Modern Technology and the Amish-AmericanA fine line between how much you can assimilate and still remain Amish

Modern TechnologyAmish Americans don’t use cars, they use buggies

They don’t use electricity

They don’t have TV

Or internet

Modern TechnologyMany  Amish Americans are finding it harder to cope with the old ways, and are

able to find a compromise between modern technology and modern conveniences.

Holmes County, Ohio Amish, they have found that for their farms to be able to be profitable they have to be able to use modern technology

Farmers have started to use gasoline powered farm machinery to be able to keep up with the changing economy

Additionally many Amish use gas powered generators to power their homes appliances, such as a stove and refrigerator

Disabled people are allowed to use motorized wheelchairs, and electricity is allowed if medical equipment is needed

Some Amish even use modern conveniences such as phones, tractors, and computers

Each Amish congregation is allowed to make up their own rules regarding what technology they are allowed to use

TourismInvasion of “The English”

TourismMany people visit the Amish communities to see their “simple life” or to buy goods from the Amish such as hand crafted furniture, or food stuffs, homemade quilts and crafts.

It is both a blessing and a curse for the AmishThe money the tourists bring is good for the economy, but many of the people who visit don’t understand the Amish way of life