I. Group Profile 

1. Name: The Amish

2. Founder: Jakob Amman

3. Date of Birth: February 19,1656

4. Birth Place: Switzerland

5. Year Founded: 1693-1697

6. Brief History:

   The Amish people are descendants of the Anabaptist tradition from 16th century Europe. The Anabaptists eventually split into three groups: the Mennonites of Dutch and Prussian origin, the Hutterian Brethren of Austria, and the Swiss Brethren. The Amish were named after their founder Jakob Amman who decided to split off from the Swiss Brethren. The division did not occur due to differences in fundamental beliefs, but instead it was over conforming to certain norms of the tradition. The Amish people immigrated to Colonial America in the eighteenth century and were able to grow and develop their own tradition. (Hostetler, 1980: 25-36)

7. Sacred or Revered Texts :

   The Bible is the sacred text of the Amish people. The Amish interpret the Bible literally and directly in many cases which explains their lifestyle. In addition to the Bible there are unwritten rules that the Amish people base their morals and way of life. The Ordung are the unwritten rules of the church and are not specified in writing, but are known and closely followed. (Hostetler, 1980: 87-89)

8. Cult or Sect:

   Negative sentiments are typically implied when the concepts "cult" and "sect" are employed in popular discourse. Since the Religious Movements Homepage seeks to promote religious tolerance and appreciation of the positive benefits of pluralism and religious diversity in human cultures, we encourage the use of alternative concepts that do not carry implicit negative stereotypes. For a more detailed discussion of both scholarly and popular usage of the concepts "cult" and "sect," please visit our Conceptualizing "Cult" and "Sect" page, where you will find additional links to related issues.

9. Size of Group:

   Estimates of the total number of Amish in North America vary. Melton reports 30,000 in 1995 and 900 in Canada. Three quarters of all Amish are located in just three states: ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. The large majority of Amish live in rural areas. The total Amish population is estimated at 134,000, but only adults are counted as full church members. (Melton, 1996: 729)

II. Beliefs of the Group

The roots of the Amish tradition comes from the Swiss Anabaptist movement in 16th century Europe. Jakob Amman decided to split from the Anabaptists in 1693 and his followers became known as the Amish. The division from the Anabaptists was not based on differences in fundamental beliefs, but more on the differences about conforming to certain norms. Jakob Amman established customs like feet-washing as religious practice, having males grow beards after marriage, and strict dress codes. He also encouraged direct reading and interpretation of the Bible. In addition, he advocated living by duty, honor, personal loyalty and religious calling. The main controversy between the Amish and the Anabaptists involved Meidung which translates as to shun or excommunicate. The Anabaptist movement believes that only the pure should be involved in religion and if that member were to fall into sinful actions, he/she should be excommunicated and shunned.

Jakob Amman's interpretation and practice of Meidung was even more strict than that of the Anabaptists. He told his followers to shun all members that leave the Amish church and those who marry an outsider. He also preached that one should not buy from, sell to, or even eat at the same table as the excommunicated individual. such strict traditions have been passed down generation to generation and have kept the Amish lifestyle stable. (Hostetler, 1980:72-75)

Currently, many of the important differences in the Amish way of life are the customs and moral principles. Such beliefs have become known to the followers as the Amish Charter. This is an unwritten set of rules and beliefs that all Amish people strive to uphold. Once an Amish individual is baptized he/she is then bound to the Ordnung also known as the rules of the Amish Church.

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 because that would be seen as consorting with those that are shunned. (Hostetler and Schreiber)

The Amish society is one that is separate and intent on keeping the outside world out of their lives. The Amish choose to keep their lives simple and examine change very carefully before accepting it. In general, if the idea or invention will not help to keep their lives as simple as possible it will most likely be rejected. The Amish religion and way of life is based on Christian morals, traditions, and customs, that have lasted over many generations.

III. Links to Amish Web Sites

Amish Connections on the WWW
This remarkable page has organized over 400 links to Mennonite materials on the Internet including approximately 50 on the Amish. Materials are broken down into a dozen categories. http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bpl/menno.html#amish

The Amish---History, Belifes, and Practives
This link provides a concise summary of many of the facts of the history and beliefs of the Amish tradition. For more details on the beliefs and practices of the Amish, see this OCRT page.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/amish.htm

The National Committee for Amish Religious Freedom
This is a voluntary advocacy group dedicated to protecting the religious freedom of the Amish and promoting religious freedom in general. This is an informative page that offers a brief history of the Old Order Amish, documents pertaining to the famous

Wisconsin vs. Yoder case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the state did not have a compelling interest in requiring the Amish to send their children to public schools.
http://www.holycrosslivonia.org/amish/index.htm

"The Plain People"----The Amish
This link provides a question and answer session to some of the most commonly asked questions about the Amish way of life. This link concentrates on the Pennsylvania Dutch Amish tradition. This site has commercial information for tourists, but it provides lots of interesting information. It even includes a description of an Amish wedding.
http://www.800padutch.com/amish.html

Joel Hartman is an emertis professor in Rural Sociology at the University of Missouri who is still teaching a course on the Amish. His web page has a laid-back quality, but it contains a fair amount of interesting information including quite a number of papers written by his students on Amish topics.
http://web.missouri.edu/~rsocjoel/

Plain Prey
This is a series of articles published in the Kansas City Times in 1996 which focuses on health issues and the vulnerability of Amish to medical fraud. http://www.kcstar.com/plain/

Study Web Religion: Amish
A page of links to Amish materials. http://www.studyweb.com/links/1308.html

The Religious Movements Mennonite Page
This Mennonite Page was also created by Kenneth Alger, a student in Religious Movements course at the University of Virginia and should be viewed as a companion page to this one. If provides more details on the history of the anabaptist tradition, a different bibliography and a substantially different set of links.
http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/Mennon.html

 

IV. Bibliography

Visiting Mennonite Communities