The Amish

1
The Amish

• History
• Beliefs
• Conflicts and Problems

2
History

• 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

3
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.

4
Mennonites and Amish

• 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.
• 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.

5
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.

6
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.

7
Beliefs

• 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.

8
Practices

• Practices of the Old Order Amish are listed
  below.
• Some smaller Amish groups have adopted more
  progressive practices.
• 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.

9
Marriage

• 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.

10
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.

11
Beliefs

• 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

12
Gelassenheit

• 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

13
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.

14
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 204, the second of the
  Ten Commandments
• "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image,
  or any likeness of anything that...is in the
  earth..."

15
Conflicts and problems

• 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.
• Accidents
• Highway accidents between motor vehicles and
  Amish black horse and buggies are a concern to
  many.
• 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.

16
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.

17
Buggies

• 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.

18
Amish Buggies
http//www-personal.umich.edu/bpl/mennocon.htmla
mish
19
Buggy Signs
http//members.tripod.com/amishbuggy/miscpics.htm
20
Genetic diseases

• 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.

21
Daily Life

• 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.

22
Farm with Milk Ready for Pick up
http//www-personal.umich.edu/bpl/mennocon.htmla
mish
23
Market Day
24
Amish Farm in Ohio
25
AMISH ROMANCE AND WEDDINGS

• 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.

26
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.

27
The Amish In their Own Words

• Chapters 1-4

28
Internet Sources

• http//www.religioustolerance.org/amish.htm
• http//www.angelfire.com/ct/beawriter/amish.html