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Amish

January 19, 2024

This article is about a group of traditionalist Christian church fellowships. For other uses, see Amish (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Amis people.

The Amish (/ˈɑːmɪʃ/; Pennsylvania German: Amisch; German: Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are an ethnoreligious group with Swiss German and Alsatian origins.[2] Consisting of several Anabaptist Christian church fellowships, they are closely related to Mennonites, a separate Anabaptist denomination.[3] The Amish are known for simple living, plain dress, Christian pacifism, and slowness to adopt many conveniences of modern technology, with a view neither to interrupt family time, nor replace face-to-face conversations whenever possible, and a view to maintain self-sufficiency. The Amish value rural life, manual labor, humility and Gelassenheit (submission to God's will). As they rarely accept converts, maintain a separate language and culture from surrounding populations, and hold their faith in common, they have been described by scholars as an ethnoreligious group, combining features of an ethnicity and a denomination.[4][5]

Amish
An Amish family riding in a traditional Amish buggy in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Total population
383,565
(2023, Old Order Amish)[1]
Founder
Jakob Ammann
Regions with significant populations
United States (large populations in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania; notable populations in Kentucky, Missouri, Michigan, New York, and Wisconsin; small populations in various other states)
Canada (mainly in Ontario)
Religions
Anabaptist
Scriptures
The Bible
Languages
English
Pennsylvania Dutch
Swiss German
The Amish come from Switzerland

The Amish church began with a schism in Switzerland within a group of Swiss and Alsatian Mennonite Anabaptists in 1693 led by Jakob Ammann.[6] Those who followed Ammann became known as Amish.[7] In the second half of the 19th century, the Amish divided into Old Order Amish and Amish Mennonites; the latter do not abstain from using motor cars, whereas the Old Order Amish retained much of their traditional culture. When people refer to the Amish today, they normally refer to the Old Order Amish, though there are other subgroups of Amish. In the early 18th century, many Amish and Mennonites immigrated to Pennsylvania for a variety of reasons.

Most Amish speak Pennsylvania Dutch, but Indiana's Swiss Amish also speak Alemannic dialects.[8] As of 2023, over 377,000 Old Order Amish lived in the United States, and about 6,000 lived in Canada: a population that is rapidly growing.[9] Amish church groups seek to maintain a degree of separation from the non-Amish world. Non-Amish people are generally referred to as "English" by the Amish, and outside influences are often described as "worldly".

Amish church membership begins with adult baptism, usually between the ages of 16 and 23. Church districts have between 20 and 40 families, and worship services are held every other Sunday in a member's home or barn. The rules of the church, the Ordnung, which differs to some extent between different districts, are reviewed twice a year by all members of the church. The Ordnung must be observed by every member and covers many aspects of day-to-day living, including prohibitions or limitations on the use of power-line electricity, telephones, and automobiles, as well as regulations on clothing. Generally, a heavy emphasis is placed on church and family relationships. The Amish typically operate their own one-room schools and discontinue formal education after grade eight (age 13 – 14). Most Amish do not buy commercial insurance or participate in Social Security. As present-day Anabaptists, Amish church members practice nonresistance and will not perform any type of military service.[10]

History edit

Beginnings of Anabaptist Christianity edit

 
Cover of The Amish and the Mennonites, 1938
 
An old Amish cemetery in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 1941
Main article: Anabaptism

The Anabaptist movement, from which the Amish later emerged, started in circles around Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531) who led the early Reformation in Switzerland. In Zürich on January 21, 1525, Conrad Grebel and George Blaurock practiced believer's baptism to each other and then to others.[11] This Swiss movement, part of the Radical Reformation, later became known as Swiss Brethren.[12]

Emergence of the Amish edit

The term Amish was first used as a Schandename (a term of disgrace) in 1710 by opponents of Jakob Amman, an Anabaptist leader. The first informal division between Swiss Brethren was recorded in the 17th century between Oberländers (those living in the hills) and Emmentalers (those living in the Emmental). The Oberländers were a more extreme congregation; their zeal pushed them into more remote areas.[citation needed]

Swiss Anabaptism developed, from this point, in two parallel streams, most clearly marked by disagreement over the preferred treatment of "fallen" believers. The Emmentalers (sometimes referred to as Reistians, after bishop Hans Reist, a leader among the Emmentalers) argued that fallen believers should only be withheld from communion, and not regular meals. The Amish argued that those who had been banned should be avoided even in common meals. The Reistian side eventually formed the basis of the Swiss Mennonite Conference. Because of this common heritage, Amish and conservative Mennonites from southern Germany and Switzerland retain many similarities. Those who leave the Amish fold tend to join various congregations of Conservative Mennonites.[13][14]

Migration to North America edit

Amish began migrating to Pennsylvania, then-regarded favorably due to the lack of religious persecution and attractive land offers, in the early 18th century as part of a larger migration from the Palatinate and neighboring areas. Between 1717 and 1750, approximately 500 Amish migrated to North America, mainly to the region that became Berks County, Pennsylvania, but later moved, motivated by land issues and by security concerns tied to the French and Indian War. Many eventually settled in Lancaster County. A second wave of around 1,500 arrived around the mid-19th century and settled mostly in Ohio, Illinois, Iowa and southern Ontario. Most of these late immigrants eventually did not join the Old Order Amish but more liberal groups.[15]

1850–1878 Division into Old Orders and Amish Mennonites edit

Main article: Old Order Movement

Most Amish communities that were established in North America did not ultimately retain their Amish identity. The major division that resulted in the loss of identity of many Amish congregations occurred in the third quarter of the 19th century. The forming of factions worked its way out at different times at different places. The process was rather a "sorting out" than a split. Amish people are free to join another Amish congregation at another place that fits them best.[citation needed]

In the years after 1850, tensions rose within individual Amish congregations and between different Amish congregations. Between 1862 and 1878, yearly Dienerversammlungen (ministerial conferences) were held at different places, concerning how the Amish should deal with the tensions caused by the pressures of modern society.[16] The meetings themselves were a progressive idea; for bishops to assemble to discuss uniformity was an unprecedented notion in the Amish church.[citation needed] By the first several meetings, the more traditionally minded bishops agreed to boycott the conferences.[citation needed]

The more progressive members, comprising roughly two-thirds of the group, became known by the name Amish Mennonite, and eventually united with the Mennonite Church, and other Mennonite denominations, mostly in the early 20th century. The more traditionally minded groups became known as the Old Order Amish.[17] The Egli Amish had already started to withdraw from the Amish church in 1858. They soon drifted away from the old ways and changed their name to "Defenseless Mennonite" in 1908.[18] Congregations who took no side in the division after 1862 formed the Conservative Amish Mennonite Conference in 1910, but dropped the word "Amish" from their name in 1957; in the year 2000 many congregations left to organize the Biblical Mennonite Alliance in order to continue the practice of traditional Anabaptist ordinances, such as headcovering.[19][20]

Because no division occurred in Europe, the Amish congregations remaining there took the same way as the change-minded Amish Mennonites in North America and slowly merged with the Mennonites. The last Amish congregation in Germany to merge was the Ixheim Amish congregation, which merged with the neighboring Mennonite Church in 1937. Some Mennonite congregations, including most in Alsace, are descended directly from former Amish congregations.[21][22]

20th century edit

Although splits happened among the Old Order in the 19th century in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, a major split among the Old Orders took until World War I. At that time, two very conservative affiliations emerged – the Swartzentruber Amish in Holmes County, Ohio, and the Buchanan Amish in Iowa. The Buchanan Amish soon were joined by like-minded congregations all over the country.[23]

With Germany's aggression toward the US in World War I came the suppression of the German language in the US that eventually led to language shift of most Pennsylvania German speakers, leaving the Amish and other Old Orders as almost the only speakers by the end of the 20th century. This created a language barrier around the Amish that did not exist before in that form.[24]

In the late 1920s, the more change minded faction of the Old Order Amish, that wanted to adopt the car, broke away from the mainstream and organized under the name Beachy Amish.[25]

During the Second World War, the old question of military service for the Amish came up again. Because Amish young men in general refused military service, they ended up in the Civilian Public Service (CPS), where they worked mainly in forestry and hospitals. The fact that many young men worked in hospitals, where they had a lot of contact with more progressive Mennonites and the outside world, had the result that many of these men never joined the Amish church.[26]

In the 1950s, the Beachy Amish, as with the New Order Amish, laid heavy emphasis on the New Birth, personal holiness and Sunday School education.[27][28] The ones who wanted to preserve the old way of the Beachy became the Old Beachy Amish.[25]

Until about 1950, almost all Amish children attended small, rural, non-Amish schools, but then school consolidation and mandatory schooling beyond eighth grade caused Amish opposition. Amish communities opened their own Amish schools. In 1972, the United States Supreme Court exempted Amish pupils from compulsory education past eighth grade. By the end of the 20th century, almost all Amish children attended Amish schools.[29]

In the last quarter of the 20th century, a growing number of Amish men left farm work and started small businesses because of increasing pressure on small-scale farming. Though a wide variety of small businesses exists among the Amish, construction work and woodworking are quite widespread.[30] In many Amish settlements, especially the larger ones, farmers are now a minority.[31] Approximately 12,000 of the 40,000 dairy farms in the United States are Amish-owned as of 2018.[32][33]

Until the early 20th century, Old Order Amish identity was not linked to the limited use of technologies, as the Old Order Amish and their rural neighbors used the same farm and household technologies. Questions about the use of technologies also did not play a role in the Old Order division of the second half of the 19th century. Telephones were the first important technology that was rejected, soon followed by the rejection of cars, tractors, radios, and many other technological inventions of the 20th century.[34]

Old Order Mennonites, Old Colony Mennonites and the Amish are often grouped together in North America's popular press. This is incorrect, according to a 2017 report by Canadian Mennonite magazine:[35]

The customs of Old Order Mennonites, the Amish communities and Old Colony Mennonites have a number of similarities, but the cultural differences are significant enough so that members of one group would not feel comfortable moving to another group. The Old Order Mennonites and Amish have the same European roots and the language spoken in their homes is the same German dialect. Old Colony Mennonites use Low German, a different German dialect.

Religious practices edit

Main articles: Anabaptist doctrine and Amish religious practices
 
A scan of the historical document Diß Lied haben die sieben Brüder im Gefängnüß zu Gmünd gemacht

Two key concepts for understanding Amish practices are their rejection of Hochmut (pride, arrogance, haughtiness) and the high value they place on Demut (humility) and Gelassenheit (calmness, composure, placidity), often translated as "submission" or "letting be". Gelassenheit is perhaps better understood as a reluctance to be forward, to be self-promoting, or to assert oneself. The Amish's willingness to submit to the "Will of Jesus", expressed through group norms, is at odds with the individualism so central to the wider American culture. The Amish anti-individualist orientation is the motive for rejecting labor-saving technologies that might make one less dependent on the community. Modern innovations such as electricity might spark a competition for status goods, or photographs might cultivate personal vanity. Electric power lines would be going against the Bible, which says that you shall not be "conformed to the world" (Romans 12:2).[citation needed]

Amish church membership begins with baptism, usually between the ages of 16 and 23. It is a requirement for marriage within the Amish church. Once a person is baptized within the church, he or she may marry only within the faith. Church districts have between 20 and 40 families and worship services are held every other Sunday in a member's home or barn. The district is led by a bishop and several ministers and deacons who are chosen by a combination of election and cleromancy (lot).[36]

The rules of the church, the so-called Ordnung, which differs to some extent between different districts, is reviewed twice a year by all members of the church. Only if all members give their consent to it, Lord's supper is held. The Ordnung must be observed by every member and covers many aspects of day-to-day living, including prohibitions or limitations on the use of power-line electricity, telephones, and automobiles, as well as regulations on clothing. As present-day Anabaptists, Amish church members practice nonresistance and will not perform any type of military service. The Amish value rural life, manual labor, humility, and Gelassenheit, all under the auspices of living what they interpret to be God's word.[citation needed]

Members who do not conform to these community expectations and who cannot be convinced to repent face excommunication and shunning. The modes of shunning vary between different communities.[37] On average, about 85 percent of Amish youth choose to be baptized and join the church.[38] During an adolescent period of rumspringa (dialectal [Pennsylvania] German for "around running") in some communities, nonconforming behavior that would result in the shunning of an adult who had made the permanent commitment of baptism, may be met with a degree of forbearance.[39][failed verification]

Way of life edit

Main article: Amish way of life
 
Amish couple in horse-driven buggy in rural Holmes County, Ohio, September 2004

Amish lifestyle is regulated by the Ordnung ("rules")[40] which differs slightly from community to community and from district to district within a community. There is no central Amish governing authority. Each Amish community makes its own decisions, and what is acceptable in one community may be unacceptable in another.[41] The Ordnung is agreed upon – or changed – within the whole community of baptized members prior to Communion which takes place two times a year. The meeting where the Ordnung is discussed is called Ordnungsgemeine in Standard German and Ordningsgmee in Pennsylvania Dutch. The Ordnung include matters such as dress, permissible uses of technology, religious duties, and rules regarding interaction with outsiders. In these meetings, women also vote in questions concerning the Ordnung.[42]

Bearing children, raising them, and socializing with neighbors and relatives are the greatest functions of the Amish family. Amish typically believe that large families are a blessing from God. Farm families tend to have larger families, because sons are needed to perform farm labor.[43] Community is central to the Amish way of life.

Working hard is considered godly, and some technological advancements have been considered undesirable because they reduce the need for hard work. Machines such as automatic floor cleaners in barns have historically been rejected as this provides young farmhands with too much free time.[44]

Transportation edit

Amish communities are known for traveling by horse and buggy because they feel horse-drawn carriages promote a slow pace of life. But most Amish communities do also allow riding in motor vehicles, such as buses and cars.[45] In recent years many Amish people have taken to using electric bicycles because they are faster than either walking or harnessing up a horse and buggy.[41]

Clothing edit

Main article: Plain dress

The Amish are known for their plain attire. Men wear solid colored shirts, broad-brimmed hats, and suits that signify similarity amongst one another. Amish men grow beards to symbolize manhood and marital status, as well as to promote humility. They are forbidden to grow mustaches because mustaches are seen by the Amish as being affiliated with the military, which they are strongly opposed to, due to their pacifist beliefs. Women have similar guidelines on how to dress, which are also expressed in the Ordnung, the Amish version of legislation. They are to wear calf-length dresses, muted colors along with bonnets and aprons. Prayer kapps and bonnets are worn by the women because they are a visual representation of their religious beliefs and promote unity through the tradition of every woman wearing one. The color of the bonnet signifies whether a woman is single or married. Single women wear black bonnets and married women wear white. The color coding of bonnets is important because women are not allowed to wear jewelry, such as wedding rings, as it is seen as drawing attention to the body which can induce pride in the individual.[46][page needed] All clothing is sewn by hand, but the way to fasten the garment widely depends on whether the Amish person is a part of the New Order or Old Order Amish.[47][page needed] The Old Order Amish seldom, if ever, use buttons because they are seen as too flashy; instead, they use the hook and eye approach to fashion clothing or metal snaps. The New Order Amish are slightly more progressive and allow the usage of buttons to help attire clothing.[citation needed]

Cuisine edit

Amish cuisine is noted for its simplicity and traditional qualities. Food plays an important part in Amish social life and is served at potlucks, weddings, fundraisers, farewells, and other events.[48][49][50][51] Many Amish foods are sold at markets including pies, preserves, bread mixes, pickled produce, desserts, and canned goods. Many Amish communities have also established restaurants for visitors. Amish meat consumption is similar to the American average though they tend to eat more preserved meat.[52]

Amish cuisine is often mistaken for the similar cuisine of the Pennsylvania Dutch with some ethnographic and regional variances,[53] as well as differences in what cookbook writers and food historians emphasize about the traditional foodways and intertwined religious culture and celebrations of Amish communities. While mythologies about the diffusion of shoofly pie are common subject matter for studies of American cuisine, food anthropologists point out that the culinary practices of Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish are innovative and dynamic, evolving across time and geographical spaces, and that not all the Pennsylvania Dutch are Amish, and not all Amish live in Pennsylvania. Distinguishing local mythologies from culinary fact is accomplished by dedicated anthropological field studies in combination with studies of literary sources, usually newspaper archives, diaries and household records.[54]

Subgroups edit

Main article: Subgroups of Amish

Over the years, the Amish churches have divided many times mostly over questions concerning the Ordnung, but also over doctrinal disputes, mainly about shunning. The largest group, the "Old Order" Amish, a conservative faction that separated from other Amish in the 1860s, are those who have most emphasized traditional practices and beliefs. The New Order Amish are a group of Amish whom some scholars see best described as a subgroup of Old Order Amish, despite the name.[citation needed]

Affiliations edit

As of 2011, about 40 different Old Order Amish affiliations were known to exist. The eight major affiliations are listed below, with Lancaster as the largest one in number of districts and population:[55]

Affiliation Date established Origin States Settlements Church districts
Lancaster 1760 Pennsylvania 8 37 291
Elkhart-LaGrange 1841 Indiana 3 9 176
Holmes Old Order 1808 Ohio 1 2 147
Buchanan/Medford 1914 Indiana 19 67 140
Geauga I 1886 Ohio 6 11 113
Swartzentruber 1913 Ohio 15 43 119
Geauga II 1962 Ohio 4 27 99
Swiss (Adams) 1850 Indiana 5 15 86

Use of technology by different affiliations edit

The table below indicates the use of certain technologies by different Amish affiliations. The use of cars is not allowed by any Old and New Order Amish, nor are radio, television, or in most cases the use of the Internet. Three affiliations – "Lancaster", "Holmes Old Order" and "Elkhart-LaGrange" — are not only the three largest affiliations but also represent the mainstream among the Old Order Amish. The most conservative affiliations are at the top, the most modern ones at the bottom. Technologies used by very few are on the left; the ones used by most are on the right. The percentage of all Amish who use a technology is also indicated approximately.[timeframe?] The Old Order Amish culture involves lower greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors and activities with the exception of diet, and their per-person emissions has been estimated to be less than one quarter that of the wider society.[56]

Affiliation[57] Tractor for fieldwork Roto- tiller Power lawn mower Propane gas Bulk milk tank Mechanical milker Mechanical refrigerator Pickup balers Inside flush toilet Running water bath tub Tractor for belt power Pneumatic tools Chain saw Pressurized lamps Motorized washing machines
Swartzentruber No No No No No No No No No No No Some No No Yes
Nebraska No No No No No No No Some No No No No Some No Yes
Swiss (Adams) No No Some No No No No No Some No No Some Some Some Some
Buchanan/Medford No No No No No No No No No No No Some No Yes Yes
Danner No No No Some No No Some No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No
Geauga I No No No No No No No Some Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Holmes Old Order No Some Some No No No Some Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Elkhart-LaGrange No Some Some Some Some Some Some Some Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Lancaster No No Some Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Nappanee No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Kalona Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Percentage of use
by all Amish 		6 20 25 30 35 35 40 50 70 70 70 70 75 90 97

Language edit

Main article: Pennsylvania Dutch language

Most Old Order Amish speak Pennsylvania Dutch, and refer to non-Amish people as "English", regardless of ethnicity.[58] Two Amish subgroups – called Swiss Amish – whose ancestors migrated to the United States in the 1850s speak a form of Bernese German (Adams County, IN and daughter settlements) or a Low Alemannic Alsatian dialect (Allen County, IN and daughter settlements).[59]

Contrary to popular belief, the word "Dutch" in "Pennsylvania Dutch" is not a mistranslation, but rather a corruption of the Pennsylvania German endonym Deitsch, which means "Pennsylvania Dutch / German" or "German".[60][61][62][63] Ultimately, the terms Deitsch, Dutch, Diets and Deutsch are all cognates and descend from the Proto-Germanic word *þiudiskaz meaning "popular" or "of the people".[64] The continued use of "Pennsylvania Dutch" was strengthened by the Pennsylvania Dutch in the 19th century as a way of distinguishing themselves from later (post 1830) waves of German immigrants to the United States, with the Pennsylvania Dutch referring to themselves as Deitsche and to Germans as Deitschlenner (literally "Germany-ers", compare Deutschländ-er) whom they saw as a related but distinct group.[65]

According to one scholar, "today, almost all Amish are functionally bilingual in Pennsylvania Dutch and English; however, domains of usage are sharply separated. Pennsylvania Dutch dominates in most in-group settings, such as the dinner table and preaching in church services. In contrast, English is used for most reading and writing. English is also the medium of instruction in schools and is used in business transactions and often, out of politeness, in situations involving interactions with non-Amish. Finally, the Amish read prayers and sing in Standard German (which, in Pennsylvania Dutch, is called Hochdeitsch[a]) at church services. The distinctive use of three different languages serves as a powerful conveyor of Amish identity.[66] "Although 'the English language is being used in more and more situations,' Pennsylvania Dutch is 'one of a handful of minority languages in the United States that is neither endangered nor supported by continual arrivals of immigrants.'"[67]

Ethnicity edit

The Amish largely share a German or Swiss-German ancestry.[68] They generally use the term "Amish" only for members of their faith community and not as an ethnic designation. However some Amish descendants recognize their cultural background knowing that their genetic and cultural traits are uniquely different from other ethnicities.[69][70] Those who choose to affiliate with the church, or young children raised in Amish homes, but too young to yet be church members, are considered to be Amish. Certain Mennonite churches have a high number of people who were formerly from Amish congregations. Although more Amish immigrated to North America in the 19th century than during the 18th century, most of today's Amish descend from 18th-century immigrants. The latter tended to emphasize tradition to a greater extent, and were perhaps more likely to maintain a separate Amish identity.[71] There are a number of Amish Mennonite church groups that had never in their history been associated with the Old Order Amish because they split from the Amish mainstream in the time when the Old Orders formed in the 1860s and 1870s. The former Western Ontario Mennonite Conference (WOMC) was made up almost entirely of former Amish Mennonites who reunited with the Mennonite Church in Canada.[72] Orland Gingerich's book The Amish of Canada devotes the vast majority of its pages not to the Beachy or Old Order Amish, but to congregations in the former WOMC.[citation needed]

Para-Amish groups edit

Several other groups, called "para-Amish" by G. C. Waldrep and others, share many characteristics with the Amish, such as horse and buggy transportation, plain dress, and the preservation of the German language. The members of these groups are largely of Amish origin, but they are not in fellowship with other Amish groups because they adhere to theological doctrines (e.g., assurance of salvation) or practices (community of goods) that are normally not accepted among mainstream Amish. The Bergholz Community is a different case, it is not seen as Amish anymore because the community has shifted away from many core Amish principles.[citation needed]

Population and distribution edit

 
Amish settlements in the United States and Canada, 2022
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1920 5,000—    
1928 7,000+4.30%
1936 9,000+3.19%
1944 13,000+4.70%
1952 19,000+4.86%
1960 28,000+4.97%
1968 39,000+4.23%
1976 57,000+4.86%
1984 84,000+4.97%
1992 128,150+5.42%
2000 166,000+3.29%
2010 249,500+4.16%
2020 350,665+3.46%
2023 383,565+3.03%
Source: 1992,[73] 2000,[74] 2010,[75] 2020,[76] 2021,[77] 2023[1]

Because the Amish are usually baptized no earlier than 18 and children are not counted in local congregation numbers, estimating their numbers is difficult. Rough estimates from various studies placed their numbers at 125,000 in 1992, 166,000 in 2000, and 221,000 in 2008.[74] Thus, from 1992 to 2008, population growth among the Amish in North America was 84 percent (3.6 percent per year). During that time, they established 184 new settlements and moved into six new states.[78] In 2000, about 165,620 Old Order Amish resided in the United States, of whom 73,609 were church members.[79][page needed] The Amish are among the fastest-growing populations in the world, with an average of seven children per family in the 1970s[80] and a total fertility rate of 5.3 in the 2010s.[81]

In 2010, a few religious bodies, including the Amish, changed the way their adherents were reported to better match the standards of the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. When looking at all Amish adherents and not solely Old Order Amish, about 241,000 Amish adherents were in 28 U.S. states in 2010.[82]

Distribution by country edit

United States edit

See also: List of U.S. states by Amish population, Amish in Ohio, and Amish in Maryland
Amish population by U.S. state and year
State 1992 2000 2010 2020 2023
Pennsylvania 32,710 44,620 59,350 81,500 88,850
Ohio 34,830 48,545 58,590 78,280 84,065
Indiana 23,400 32,840 43,710 59,305 63,645
Wisconsin 6,785 9,390 15,360 22,235 24,920
New York 4,050 4,505 12,015 21,230 23,285
Michigan 5,150 8,495 11,350 16,525 18,445
Missouri 3,745 5,480 9,475 14,520 16,690
Kentucky 2,625 4,850 7,750 13,595 15,450
Iowa 3,525 4,445 7,190 9,780 9,930

The United States is the home to the overwhelming majority (98 percent) of the Amish people. In 2023, Old Order communities were present in 32 U.S. states. The total Amish population in the United States as of June 2023 has stood at 377,300[1] up 9,975 or 2.7 percent, compared to the previous year. Pennsylvania has the largest population (89 thousand), followed by Ohio (84 thousand) and Indiana (63.6 thousand), as of June 2023.[83] The largest Amish settlements are in Lancaster County in southeastern Pennsylvania (43,400), Holmes County and adjacent counties in northeastern Ohio (39,525), and Elkhart and LaGrange counties in northeastern Indiana (28,275), as of June 2023.[1] The highest concentration of Amish in the world is in the Holmes County community; nearly 50 percent of the entire population of Holmes County is Amish as of 2010.[84]

 
Amish settlements in Pennsylvania, the state with the largest Amish population, 2022

The largest concentration of Amish west of the Mississippi River is in Missouri, with other settlements in eastern Iowa and southeast Minnesota.[85] The largest Amish settlements in Iowa are located near Kalona and Bloomfield.[86] The largest settlement in Wisconsin is near Cashton with 13 congregations, i.e. about 2,000 people in 2009.[87]

Because of the rapid population growth of the Amish communities, new settlements in the United States are being established each year, thus: 18 new settlements were established in 2016, 24 in 2017, 18 in 2018, 27 in 2019, 26 in 2020, 19 in 2021, 15 in 2022 and 10 by June 2023.[88][76][83][1] The main reason for the continuous expansion is to obtain enough affordable farmland, other reasons for new settlements include locating in isolated areas that support their lifestyle, moving to areas with cultures conducive to their way of life, maintaining proximity to family or other Amish groups, and sometimes to resolve church or leadership conflicts.[78]

The adjacent table shows the eight states with the largest Amish population in the years 1992, 2000, 2010, 2020 and 2023.[89][44][90][91][76][1]

Canada edit

Amish population by Canadian province and year
Canada 1992 2010 2020 2023
All of Canada 2,295 4,725 5,995 6,100
Ontario 2,295 4,725 5,605 5,645
Prince Edward Isl. 0 0 250 280
New Brunswick 0 0 70 95
Manitoba 0 0 70 80

Amish settlements are in four Canadian provinces: Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, and New Brunswick. The majority of Old Order settlements is located in the province of Ontario, namely Oxford (Norwich Township) and Norfolk Counties. A small community is also established in Bruce County (Huron-Kinloss Township) near Lucknow.[citation needed]

In 2016, several dozen Old Order Amish families founded two new settlements in Kings County in the province of Prince Edward Island. Increasing land prices in Ontario had reportedly limited the ability of members in those communities to purchase new farms.[92] At about the same time a new settlement was founded near Perth-Andover in New Brunswick, only about 12 km (7.5 mi) from Amish settlements in Maine. In 2017, an Amish settlement was founded in Manitoba near Stuartburn.[93]

Latin America edit

Amish population by South American country and year
Country 2010 2020 2023
Bolivia 0 160 190
Argentina 0 50 0

There are currently two Amish settlements in South American nations: Argentina and Bolivia. The majority of Old Order settlements are located in Bolivia. The first attempt by Old Order Amish to settle in Latin America was in Paradise Valley, near Galeana, Nuevo León, Mexico, but the settlement lasted from only 1923 to 1929.[21] An Amish settlement was tried in Honduras from about 1968 to 1978, but this settlement failed too.[94] In 2015, new settlements of New Order Amish were founded east of Catamarca, Argentina, and Colonia Naranjita, Bolivia, about 75 miles (121 km) southwest of Santa Cruz.[95] Most of the members of these new communities come from Old Colony Mennonite background and have been living in the area for several decades.[96]

Europe edit

In Europe, no split occurred between Old Order Amish and Amish Mennonites; like the Amish Mennonites in North America, the European Amish assimilated into the Mennonite mainstream during the second half of the 19th century through the first decades of the 20th century. Eventually, they dropped the word "Amish" from the names of their congregations and lost their Amish identity and culture. The last European Amish congregation joined the Mennonites in 1937 in Ixheim, today part of Zweibrücken in the Palatinate region.[97]

Seekers and joiners edit

Main article: Seeker (Anabaptism)

Only a few hundred outsiders, so-called seekers, have ever joined the Old Order Amish.[98] Since 1950, only some 75 non-Anabaptist people have joined and remained lifelong members of the Amish.[99] Since 1990, some twenty people of Russian Mennonite background have joined the Amish in Aylmer, Ontario.[100]

Two whole Christian communities have joined the Amish: The church at Smyrna, Maine, one of the five Christian Communities of Elmo Stoll after Stoll's death[101][102] and the church at Manton, Michigan, which belonged to a community that was founded by Harry Wanner (1935–2012), a minister of Stauffer Old Order Mennonite background.[103] The "Michigan Amish Churches", with which Smyrna and Manton affiliated, are said to be more open to seekers and converts than other Amish churches. Most of the members of these two para-Amish communities originally came from Plain churches, i.e. Old Order Amish, Old Order Mennonite, or Old German Baptist Brethren.[citation needed]

More people have tested Old Order Amish life for weeks, months, or even years, but in the end decided not to join. Others remain close to the Amish, but never think of joining.[99]

On the other hand, the Beachy Amish, many of whom conduct their services in English and allow for a limited range of modern conveniences, regularly receive seekers into their churches as visitors, and eventually, as members.[104][105]

Stephen Scott, himself a convert to the Old Order River Brethren, distinguishes four types of seekers:

  • Checklist seekers are looking for a few certain specifications.
  • Cultural seekers are more enchanted with the lifestyle of the Amish than with their religion.
  • Spiritual utopian seekers are looking for true New Testament Christianity.
  • Stability seekers come with emotional issues, often from dysfunctional families.[100]

Health edit

Main article: Health among the Amish
 
Amish farm near Morristown, New York
 
A 2016 study on Amish community funding for health care

Amish populations have higher incidences of particular conditions, including dwarfism,[106] Angelman syndrome,[107] and various metabolic disorders,[108] as well as an unusual distribution of blood types.[109][further explanation needed] The Amish represent a collection of different demes or genetically closed communities.[110] Although the Amish do not have higher incidence of genetic disorders than the general population,[4] since almost all Amish descend from a few hundred 18th-century founders, some recessive conditions are more prevalent (an example of the founder effect).[111][112][113] Some of these disorders are rare or unique, and are serious enough to increase the mortality rate among Amish children. The Amish are aware of the advantages of exogamy, but for religious reasons, marry only within their communities.[114] The majority of Amish accept these as Gottes Wille (God's will); they reject the use of preventive genetic tests prior to marriage and genetic testing of unborn children to discover genetic disorders. When children are born with a disorder, they are accepted into the community and tasked with chores within their ability.[115] However, Amish are willing to participate in studies of genetic diseases.[113] Their extensive family histories are useful to researchers investigating diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and macular degeneration.[citation needed]

While the Amish are at an increased risk for some genetic disorders, researchers have found their tendency for clean living can lead to better health. Overall cancer rates in the Amish are reduced and tobacco-related cancers in Amish adults are 37 percent and non-tobacco-related cancers are 72 percent of the rate for Ohio adults. Skin cancer rates are lower for Amish, even though many Amish make their living working outdoors where they are exposed to sunlight. They are typically covered and dressed by wearing wide-brimmed hats and long sleeves which protect their skin.[116]

Treating genetic problems is the mission of Clinic for Special Children in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, which has developed effective treatments for such problems as maple syrup urine disease, a previously fatal disease. The clinic is embraced by most Amish, ending the need for parents to leave the community to receive proper care for their children, an action that might result in shunning. Another clinic is DDC Clinic for Special Needs Children, located in Middlefield, Ohio, for special-needs children with inherited or metabolic disorders.[117] The DDC Clinic provides treatment, research, and educational services to Amish and non-Amish children and their families.[citation needed]

People's Helpers is an Amish-organized network of mental health caregivers who help families dealing with mental illness and recommend professional counselors.[118] Suicide rates for the Amish are about half that of the general population.[b]

The Old Order Amish do not typically carry private commercial health insurance.[120][121] A handful of American hospitals, starting in the mid-1990s, created special outreach programs to assist the Amish. In some Amish communities, the church will collect money from its members to help pay for medical bills of other members.[115] Although the Amish are often perceived by outsiders as rejecting all modern technologies, this is not the case and modern medicine is employed by Amish communities, including hospital births and other advanced treatments. As they go without health insurance and pay up front for services, Amish individuals will often travel to Mexico for non-urgent care and surgery to reduce costs.[122][123]

Most Amish clearly seem to use some form birth control, a fact that generally is not discussed among the Amish, but indicated by the fact that the number of children systematically increases in correlation with the conservatism of a congregation, the more conservative, the more children. The large number of children is due to the fact that many children are appreciated by the community and not because there is no birth control.[124] Some communities openly allow access to birth control to women whose health would be compromised by childbirth.[115] The Amish are against abortion and also find "artificial insemination, genetics, eugenics, and stem cell research" to be "inconsistent with Amish values and beliefs".[125]

Life in the modern world edit

Main article: Amish life in the modern world
 
Traditional, Lancaster style Amish buggy
 
Amish school near Rebersburg, Pennsylvania

As time has passed, the Amish have felt pressures from the modern world. Issues such as taxation, education, law and its enforcement, and occasional discrimination and hostility are areas of difficulty.[citation needed]

The modern way of life in general has increasingly diverged from that of Amish society. On occasion, this has resulted in sporadic discrimination and hostility from their neighbors, such as throwing of stones or other objects at Amish horse-drawn carriages on the roads.[126][127][128]

The Amish do not usually educate their children past the eighth grade, believing that the basic knowledge offered up to that point is sufficient to prepare one for the Amish lifestyle. Almost no Amish go to high school and college. In many communities, the Amish operate their own schools, which are typically one-room schoolhouses with teachers (usually young, unmarried women) from the Amish community. On May 19, 1972, Jonas Yoder and Wallace Miller of the Old Order Amish, and Adin Yutzy of the Conservative Amish Mennonite Church were each fined $5 for refusing to send their children, aged 14 and 15, to high school. In Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972), the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned the conviction,[129] and the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed this, finding the benefits of universal education were not sufficient justification to overcome scrutiny under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.[130]

The Amish are subject to sales and property taxes. As they seldom own motor vehicles, they rarely have occasion to pay motor vehicle registration fees or spend money on the purchase of fuel for vehicles.[131] Under their beliefs and traditions, generally the Amish do not agree with the idea of Social Security benefits and have a religious objection to insurance.[132][133] On this basis, the United States Internal Revenue Service agreed in 1961 that they did not need to pay Social Security-related taxes. In 1965, this policy was codified into law.[134] Self-employed individuals in certain sects do not pay into or receive benefits from the United States Social Security system. This exemption applies to a religious group that is conscientiously opposed to accepting benefits of any private or public insurance, provides a reasonable level of living for its dependent members, and has existed continuously since December 31, 1950.[135] The U.S. Supreme Court clarified in 1982 that Amish employers are not exempt, but only those Amish individuals who are self-employed.[136]

Publishing edit

In 1964, Pathway Publishers was founded by two Amish farmers to print more material about the Amish and Anabaptists in general. It is located in Lagrange, Indiana, and Aylmer, Ontario. Pathway has become the major publisher of Amish school textbooks, general-reading books, and periodicals. Also, a number of private enterprises publish everything from general reading to reprints of older literature that has been considered of great value to Amish families.[137] Some Amish read the Pennsylvania German newspaper Hiwwe wie Driwwe, and some of them even contribute dialect texts.[citation needed]

Dog breeding edit

Amish and Mennonite communities across many states have turned to dog breeding as a lucrative source of income. According to the USDA list of licensees, over 98% of Ohio's puppy mills are run by the Amish, as are 97% of Indiana's, and 63% of Pennsylvania's.[138] In Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, there are roughly 300 licensed breeders, and an estimated further 600 unlicensed breeding facilities.[139]

Reports of poor standards of care and treatment of dogs as a cash crop by members of the Amish community has led to calls for puppy mills and auctions to be closed, with one breeder being issued with a restraining order from the practice for numerous violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act. At the time the restraining order was issued, the breeder had at least 1000 dogs in their care.[140]

Similar groups edit

Anabaptist groups that sprang from the same late 19th century Old Order Movement as the Amish share their Pennsylvania German heritage and often still retain similar features in dress. These Old Order groups include different subgroups of Old Order Mennonites, traditional Schwarzenau Brethren and Old Order River Brethren. The Noah Hoover Old Order Mennonites are so similar in outward aspects to the Old Order Amish, including dress, beards, horse and buggy, extreme restrictions on modern technology, Pennsylvania German language, that they are often perceived as Amish and even called Amish.[141][142]

Conservative "Russian" Mennonites and Hutterites who also dress plain and speak German dialects emigrated from other European regions at different times with different German dialects, separate cultures, and related but different religious traditions.[143] Particularly, the Hutterites live communally[144] and are generally accepting of modern technology.[145]

In Ukraine there is a nameless movement of Baptists that has been compared to the Amish, due to their similar beliefs of plain living and pacifism.[146][147]

The few remaining Plain Quakers are similar in manner and lifestyle, including their attitudes toward war, but are unrelated to the Amish.[148] Early Quakers were influenced, to some degree, by the Anabaptists, and in turn influenced the Amish in colonial Pennsylvania. Almost all modern Quakers have since abandoned their traditional dress.[149]

Relations with Native Americans edit

The Northkill Amish Settlement, established in 1740 in Berks County, Pennsylvania, was the first identifiable Amish community in the New World. During the French and Indian War, the Hochstetler Massacre occurred: Local tribes attacked the Jacob Hochstetler homestead in the Northkill settlement on September 19, 1757. The sons of the family took their weapons but father Jacob did not allow them to shoot due to the Anabaptist doctrine of nonresistance.[10] Jacob Sr.'s wife, Anna (Lorentz) Hochstetler, a daughter (name unknown) and Jacob Jr. were killed by the Native Americans. Jacob Sr. and sons Joseph and Christian were taken captive. Jacob escaped after about eight months, but the boys were held for several years.[150] When freed, both of these sons joined the church and one of them became a minister.[10]

As early as 1809 Amish were farming side by side with Native American farmers in Pennsylvania.[151] According to Cones Kupwah Snowflower, a Shawnee genealogist, the Amish and Quakers were known to incorporate Native Americans into their families to protect them from ill-treatment, especially after the Removal Act of 1832.[clarification needed][152][better source needed]

The Amish, as pacifists, did not engage in warfare with Native Americans, nor displace them directly, but were among the European immigrants whose arrival resulted in their displacement.[153]

In 2012, the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society collaborated with the Native American community to construct a replica Iroquois Longhouse.[154]

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Hochdeitsch is the Pennsylvania Dutch equivalent of the Standard German word Hochdeutsch; both words literally mean "High German".
  2. ^ The overall suicide rate in 1980 in the US was 12.5 per 100,000.[119]

References edit

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  3. ^ "Anabaptists". Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College. Retrieved May 11, 2022. The Amish are one of many Anabaptist groups that trace their roots to the Anabaptist movement in sixteenth-century Europe at the time of the Protestant Reformation. Other groups include Mennonites, Hutterites, the Brethren in Christ, and Brethren groups that began in Schwarzenau, Germany, in 1708.
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Bibliography edit

  • Hamm, Thomas D. (2003). The Quakers in America. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-50893-3. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  • Hostetler, John (1993), Amish Society (4th ed.), Baltimore, Maryland; London: Johns Hopkins University Press, ISBN 978-0-8018-4442-3.
  • Kraybill, Donald B (1994), Olshan, Marc A (ed.), The Amish Struggle with Modernity, Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, p. 304.
  • Kraybill, Donald B, The Anabaptist Escalator.
  • ——— (2001) [2000], Anabaptist World USA, Herald Press, ISBN 978-0-8361-9163-9.
  • ——— (2001), The Riddle of Amish Culture (revised ed.), JHU Press, ISBN 978-0-8018-6772-9.
  • Nolt, Steven M. (1992), A History of the Amish, Intercourse: Good Books.
  • "Swiss Amish", Amish America, Type pad, from the original on March 2, 2009, retrieved March 26, 2009.

Further reading edit

Main article: Literature on the Amish
  • Die Botschaft – Lancaster, PA – Newspaper for Old Order Amish and Old Order Mennonites; only Amish may place advertisements.
  • The Diary – Gordonville, PA – Monthly newsmagazine by and for Old Order Amish.
  • Beachy, Leroy (2011). Unser Leit ... The Story of the Amish. Millersburg, OH: Goodly Heritage Books. ISBN 0-9832397-0-3
  • DeWalt, Mark W. (2006). Amish Education in the United States and Canada. Rowman and Littlefield Education.
  • Garret, Ottie A and Ruth Irene Garret (1998). True Stories of the X-Amish: Banned, Excommunicated and Shunned, Horse Cave, KY: Neu Leben.
  • Garret, Ruth Irene (1998). Crossing Over: One Woman's Escape from Amish Life, Thomas More.[ISBN missing]
  • Gehman Richard. "Plainest of Pennsylvania's Plain People Amish Folk". National Geographic, August 1965, pp. 226–53.
  • Good, Merle and Phyllis (1979). 20 Most Asked Questions about the Amish and Mennonites. Intercourse, PA: Good Books.
  • Hostetler, John A. ed. (1989). Amish Roots: A Treasury of History, Wisdom, and Lore. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.[ISBN missing]
  • Igou, Brad (1999). The Amish in Their Own Words: Amish Writings from 25 Years of Family Life, Scottdale, PA: Herald Press.[ISBN missing]
  • Johnson-Weiner, Karen M. (2006). Train Up a Child: Old Order Amish and Mennonite Schools. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.[ISBN missing]
  • Johnson-Weiner, Karen M. (2017) New York Amish : Life in the Plain Communities of the Empire State (Cornell UP, 2017).
  • Keim, Albert (1976). Compulsory Education and the Amish: The Right Not to be Modern. Beacon Press.
  • Kraybill, Donald B., Karen M. Johnson-Weiner, and Steven M. Nolt, The Amish (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013), 500 pp.
  • Kraybill, Donald B. "Amish." in Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 1, Gale, 2014), pp. 97–112. online April 28, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
  • Kraybill, Donald B. (2008). The Amish of Lancaster County. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books.* Kraybill, Donald B. ed. (2003). The Amish and the State. Foreword by Martin E. Marty. 2nd ed.: Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.[ISBN missing]
  • Kraybill, Donald B. (2014). Renegade Amish: Beard Cutting, Hate Crimes, and the Trial of the Bergholz Barbers. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.[ISBN missing]
  • Kraybill, Donald B. & Carl D. Bowman (2002). On the Backroad to Heaven: Old Order Hutterites, Mennonites, Amish, and Brethren. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.[ISBN missing]
  • Kraybill, Donald B. & Steven M. Nolt (2004). Amish Enterprise: From Plows to Profits. 2nd ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.[ISBN missing]
  • Kraybill, Donald B., Steven M. Nolt & David L. Weaver-Zercher (2006). Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy. New York: Jossey-Bass.[ISBN missing]
  • Kraybill, Donald B., Steven M. Nolt & David L. Weaver-Zercher (2010). The Amish Way: Patient Faith in a Perilous World. New York: Jossey-Bass.[ISBN missing]
  • Luthy, David (1991). Amish Settlements That Failed, 1840–1960. LaGrange, IN: Pathway Publishers.[ISBN missing]
  • Mackall, Joe: Plain Secrets: An Outsider among the Amish, Boston, Mass. 2007.
  • Nolt, Steven M. and Thomas J. Myers (2007). Plain Diversity: Amish Cultures and Identities. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.[ISBN missing]
  • Schachtman, Tom (2006). Rumspringa: To be or not to be Amish. New York: North Point Press.[ISBN missing]
  • Schlabach, Theron F. (1988). Peace, Faith, Nation: Mennonites and Amish in Nineteenth-Century America. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press.[ISBN missing]
  • Schmidt, Kimberly D., Diane Zimmerman Umble, & Steven D. Reschly, eds. (2002) Strangers at Home: Amish and Mennonite Women in History. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.[ISBN missing]
  • Scott, Stephen (1988). The Amish Wedding and Other Special Occasions of the Old Order Communities. Intercourse, PA: Good Books.[ISBN missing]
  • Smith, C Henry; Krahn, Cornelius (1981), Smith's Story of the Mennonites (revised & expanded ed.), Newton, Kansas: Faith and Life Press, pp. 249–356, ISBN 978-0-87303-069-4.
  • Smith, Jeff (2016). Becoming Amish. Cedar, MI: Dance Hall Press[ISBN missing]
  • Stevick, Richard A. (2007). Growing Up Amish: the Teenage Years. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.[ISBN missing]
  • Umble, Diane Zimmerman (2000). Holding the Line: the Telephone in Old Order Mennonite and Amish Life. Johns Hopkins University Press.
  • Umble, Diane Zimmerman & David L. Weaver-Zercher, eds. (2008). The Amish and the Media. Johns Hopkins University Press
  • Weaver-Zercher, David L. (2001). The Amish in the American Imagination. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
  • Yoder, Harvey (2007). The Happening: Nickel Mines School Tragedy. Berlin, OH: TGS International.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amish.
  • The Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies
  • "Amish" in the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
  • "Amish America", a website dedicated to news and information about the Amish
  • "Amish Studies" at Young Center for Anabaptist & Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College
  • Mennonite Historical Library at Goshen College
  • "FAQs About the Amish", by resident experts at the Mennonite Information Center.
  • "The Amish in Missouri" November 14, 2020, at the Wayback Machine from the Missouri Folklore Society

January 19, 2024
amish, this, article, about, group, traditionalist, christian, church, fellowships, other, uses, disambiguation, confused, with, amis, people, ɑː, pennsylvania, german, amisch, german, amische, formally, order, ethnoreligious, group, with, swiss, german, alsat. This article is about a group of traditionalist Christian church fellowships For other uses see Amish disambiguation Not to be confused with Amis people The Amish ˈ ɑː m ɪ ʃ Pennsylvania German Amisch German Amische formally the Old Order Amish are an ethnoreligious group with Swiss German and Alsatian origins 2 Consisting of several Anabaptist Christian church fellowships they are closely related to Mennonites a separate Anabaptist denomination 3 The Amish are known for simple living plain dress Christian pacifism and slowness to adopt many conveniences of modern technology with a view neither to interrupt family time nor replace face to face conversations whenever possible and a view to maintain self sufficiency The Amish value rural life manual labor humility and Gelassenheit submission to God s will As they rarely accept converts maintain a separate language and culture from surrounding populations and hold their faith in common they have been described by scholars as an ethnoreligious group combining features of an ethnicity and a denomination 4 5 AmishAn Amish family riding in a traditional Amish buggy in Lancaster County PennsylvaniaTotal population383 565 2023 Old Order Amish 1 FounderJakob AmmannRegions with significant populationsUnited States large populations in Indiana Ohio Pennsylvania notable populations in Kentucky Missouri Michigan New York and Wisconsin small populations in various other states Canada mainly in Ontario ReligionsAnabaptistScripturesThe BibleLanguagesEnglishPennsylvania DutchSwiss German The Amish come from SwitzerlandThe Amish church began with a schism in Switzerland within a group of Swiss and Alsatian Mennonite Anabaptists in 1693 led by Jakob Ammann 6 Those who followed Ammann became known as Amish 7 In the second half of the 19th century the Amish divided into Old Order Amish and Amish Mennonites the latter do not abstain from using motor cars whereas the Old Order Amish retained much of their traditional culture When people refer to the Amish today they normally refer to the Old Order Amish though there are other subgroups of Amish In the early 18th century many Amish and Mennonites immigrated to Pennsylvania for a variety of reasons Most Amish speak Pennsylvania Dutch but Indiana s Swiss Amish also speak Alemannic dialects 8 As of 2023 update over 377 000 Old Order Amish lived in the United States and about 6 000 lived in Canada a population that is rapidly growing 9 Amish church groups seek to maintain a degree of separation from the non Amish world Non Amish people are generally referred to as English by the Amish and outside influences are often described as worldly Amish church membership begins with adult baptism usually between the ages of 16 and 23 Church districts have between 20 and 40 families and worship services are held every other Sunday in a member s home or barn The rules of the church the Ordnung which differs to some extent between different districts are reviewed twice a year by all members of the church The Ordnung must be observed by every member and covers many aspects of day to day living including prohibitions or limitations on the use of power line electricity telephones and automobiles as well as regulations on clothing Generally a heavy emphasis is placed on church and family relationships The Amish typically operate their own one room schools and discontinue formal education after grade eight age 13 14 Most Amish do not buy commercial insurance or participate in Social Security As present day Anabaptists Amish church members practice nonresistance and will not perform any type of military service 10 Contents 1 History 1 1 Beginnings of Anabaptist Christianity 1 2 Emergence of the Amish 1 3 Migration to North America 1 4 1850 1878 Division into Old Orders and Amish Mennonites 1 5 20th century 2 Religious practices 3 Way of life 3 1 Transportation 3 2 Clothing 3 3 Cuisine 4 Subgroups 4 1 Affiliations 4 2 Use of technology by different affiliations 4 3 Language 4 4 Ethnicity 4 5 Para Amish groups 5 Population and distribution 5 1 Distribution by country 5 1 1 United States 5 1 2 Canada 5 1 3 Latin America 5 1 4 Europe 6 Seekers and joiners 7 Health 8 Life in the modern world 9 Publishing 10 Dog breeding 11 Similar groups 12 Relations with Native Americans 13 See also 14 Notes 15 References 16 Bibliography 17 Further reading 18 External linksHistory editBeginnings of Anabaptist Christianity edit nbsp Cover of The Amish and the Mennonites 1938 nbsp An old Amish cemetery in Lancaster County Pennsylvania 1941Main article Anabaptism The Anabaptist movement from which the Amish later emerged started in circles around Huldrych Zwingli 1484 1531 who led the early Reformation in Switzerland In Zurich on January 21 1525 Conrad Grebel and George Blaurock practiced believer s baptism to each other and then to others 11 This Swiss movement part of the Radical Reformation later became known as Swiss Brethren 12 Emergence of the Amish edit The term Amish was first used as a Schandename a term of disgrace in 1710 by opponents of Jakob Amman an Anabaptist leader The first informal division between Swiss Brethren was recorded in the 17th century between Oberlander s those living in the hills and Emmentalers those living in the Emmental The Oberlander s were a more extreme congregation their zeal pushed them into more remote areas citation needed Swiss Anabaptism developed from this point in two parallel streams most clearly marked by disagreement over the preferred treatment of fallen believers The Emmentalers sometimes referred to as Reistians after bishop Hans Reist a leader among the Emmentalers argued that fallen believers should only be withheld from communion and not regular meals The Amish argued that those who had been banned should be avoided even in common meals The Reistian side eventually formed the basis of the Swiss Mennonite Conference Because of this common heritage Amish and conservative Mennonites from southern Germany and Switzerland retain many similarities Those who leave the Amish fold tend to join various congregations of Conservative Mennonites 13 14 Migration to North America edit Amish began migrating to Pennsylvania then regarded favorably due to the lack of religious persecution and attractive land offers in the early 18th century as part of a larger migration from the Palatinate and neighboring areas Between 1717 and 1750 approximately 500 Amish migrated to North America mainly to the region that became Berks County Pennsylvania but later moved motivated by land issues and by security concerns tied to the French and Indian War Many eventually settled in Lancaster County A second wave of around 1 500 arrived around the mid 19th century and settled mostly in Ohio Illinois Iowa and southern Ontario Most of these late immigrants eventually did not join the Old Order Amish but more liberal groups 15 1850 1878 Division into Old Orders and Amish Mennonites edit Main article Old Order Movement Most Amish communities that were established in North America did not ultimately retain their Amish identity The major division that resulted in the loss of identity of many Amish congregations occurred in the third quarter of the 19th century The forming of factions worked its way out at different times at different places The process was rather a sorting out than a split Amish people are free to join another Amish congregation at another place that fits them best citation needed In the years after 1850 tensions rose within individual Amish congregations and between different Amish congregations Between 1862 and 1878 yearly Dienerversammlungen ministerial conferences were held at different places concerning how the Amish should deal with the tensions caused by the pressures of modern society 16 The meetings themselves were a progressive idea for bishops to assemble to discuss uniformity was an unprecedented notion in the Amish church citation needed By the first several meetings the more traditionally minded bishops agreed to boycott the conferences citation needed The more progressive members comprising roughly two thirds of the group became known by the name Amish Mennonite and eventually united with the Mennonite Church and other Mennonite denominations mostly in the early 20th century The more traditionally minded groups became known as the Old Order Amish 17 The Egli Amish had already started to withdraw from the Amish church in 1858 They soon drifted away from the old ways and changed their name to Defenseless Mennonite in 1908 18 Congregations who took no side in the division after 1862 formed the Conservative Amish Mennonite Conference in 1910 but dropped the word Amish from their name in 1957 in the year 2000 many congregations left to organize the Biblical Mennonite Alliance in order to continue the practice of traditional Anabaptist ordinances such as headcovering 19 20 Because no division occurred in Europe the Amish congregations remaining there took the same way as the change minded Amish Mennonites in North America and slowly merged with the Mennonites The last Amish congregation in Germany to merge was the Ixheim Amish congregation which merged with the neighboring Mennonite Church in 1937 Some Mennonite congregations including most in Alsace are descended directly from former Amish congregations 21 22 20th century edit Although splits happened among the Old Order in the 19th century in Mifflin County Pennsylvania a major split among the Old Orders took until World War I At that time two very conservative affiliations emerged the Swartzentruber Amish in Holmes County Ohio and the Buchanan Amish in Iowa The Buchanan Amish soon were joined by like minded congregations all over the country 23 With Germany s aggression toward the US in World War I came the suppression of the German language in the US that eventually led to language shift of most Pennsylvania German speakers leaving the Amish and other Old Orders as almost the only speakers by the end of the 20th century This created a language barrier around the Amish that did not exist before in that form 24 In the late 1920s the more change minded faction of the Old Order Amish that wanted to adopt the car broke away from the mainstream and organized under the name Beachy Amish 25 During the Second World War the old question of military service for the Amish came up again Because Amish young men in general refused military service they ended up in the Civilian Public Service CPS where they worked mainly in forestry and hospitals The fact that many young men worked in hospitals where they had a lot of contact with more progressive Mennonites and the outside world had the result that many of these men never joined the Amish church 26 In the 1950s the Beachy Amish as with the New Order Amish laid heavy emphasis on the New Birth personal holiness and Sunday School education 27 28 The ones who wanted to preserve the old way of the Beachy became the Old Beachy Amish 25 Until about 1950 almost all Amish children attended small rural non Amish schools but then school consolidation and mandatory schooling beyond eighth grade caused Amish opposition Amish communities opened their own Amish schools In 1972 the United States Supreme Court exempted Amish pupils from compulsory education past eighth grade By the end of the 20th century almost all Amish children attended Amish schools 29 In the last quarter of the 20th century a growing number of Amish men left farm work and started small businesses because of increasing pressure on small scale farming Though a wide variety of small businesses exists among the Amish construction work and woodworking are quite widespread 30 In many Amish settlements especially the larger ones farmers are now a minority 31 Approximately 12 000 of the 40 000 dairy farms in the United States are Amish owned as of 2018 32 33 Until the early 20th century Old Order Amish identity was not linked to the limited use of technologies as the Old Order Amish and their rural neighbors used the same farm and household technologies Questions about the use of technologies also did not play a role in the Old Order division of the second half of the 19th century Telephones were the first important technology that was rejected soon followed by the rejection of cars tractors radios and many other technological inventions of the 20th century 34 Old Order Mennonites Old Colony Mennonites and the Amish are often grouped together in North America s popular press This is incorrect according to a 2017 report by Canadian Mennonite magazine 35 The customs of Old Order Mennonites the Amish communities and Old Colony Mennonites have a number of similarities but the cultural differences are significant enough so that members of one group would not feel comfortable moving to another group The Old Order Mennonites and Amish have the same European roots and the language spoken in their homes is the same German dialect Old Colony Mennonites use Low German a different German dialect Religious practices editMain articles Anabaptist doctrine and Amish religious practices nbsp A scan of the historical document Diss Lied haben die sieben Bruder im Gefangnuss zu Gmund gemachtTwo key concepts for understanding Amish practices are their rejection of Hochmut pride arrogance haughtiness and the high value they place on Demut humility and Gelassenheit calmness composure placidity often translated as submission or letting be Gelassenheit is perhaps better understood as a reluctance to be forward to be self promoting or to assert oneself The Amish s willingness to submit to the Will of Jesus expressed through group norms is at odds with the individualism so central to the wider American culture The Amish anti individualist orientation is the motive for rejecting labor saving technologies that might make one less dependent on the community Modern innovations such as electricity might spark a competition for status goods or photographs might cultivate personal vanity Electric power lines would be going against the Bible which says that you shall not be conformed to the world Romans 12 2 citation needed Amish church membership begins with baptism usually between the ages of 16 and 23 It is a requirement for marriage within the Amish church Once a person is baptized within the church he or she may marry only within the faith Church districts have between 20 and 40 families and worship services are held every other Sunday in a member s home or barn The district is led by a bishop and several ministers and deacons who are chosen by a combination of election and cleromancy lot 36 The rules of the church the so called Ordnung which differs to some extent between different districts is reviewed twice a year by all members of the church Only if all members give their consent to it Lord s supper is held The Ordnung must be observed by every member and covers many aspects of day to day living including prohibitions or limitations on the use of power line electricity telephones and automobiles as well as regulations on clothing As present day Anabaptists Amish church members practice nonresistance and will not perform any type of military service The Amish value rural life manual labor humility and Gelassenheit all under the auspices of living what they interpret to be God s word citation needed Members who do not conform to these community expectations and who cannot be convinced to repent face excommunication and shunning The modes of shunning vary between different communities 37 On average about 85 percent of Amish youth choose to be baptized and join the church 38 During an adolescent period of rumspringa dialectal Pennsylvania German for around running in some communities nonconforming behavior that would result in the shunning of an adult who had made the permanent commitment of baptism may be met with a degree of forbearance 39 failed verification Way of life editMain article Amish way of life nbsp Amish couple in horse driven buggy in rural Holmes County Ohio September 2004Amish lifestyle is regulated by the Ordnung rules 40 which differs slightly from community to community and from district to district within a community There is no central Amish governing authority Each Amish community makes its own decisions and what is acceptable in one community may be unacceptable in another 41 The Ordnung is agreed upon or changed within the whole community of baptized members prior to Communion which takes place two times a year The meeting where the Ordnung is discussed is called Ordnungsgemeine in Standard German and Ordningsgmee in Pennsylvania Dutch The Ordnung include matters such as dress permissible uses of technology religious duties and rules regarding interaction with outsiders In these meetings women also vote in questions concerning the Ordnung 42 Bearing children raising them and socializing with neighbors and relatives are the greatest functions of the Amish family Amish typically believe that large families are a blessing from God Farm families tend to have larger families because sons are needed to perform farm labor 43 Community is central to the Amish way of life Working hard is considered godly and some technological advancements have been considered undesirable because they reduce the need for hard work Machines such as automatic floor cleaners in barns have historically been rejected as this provides young farmhands with too much free time 44 Transportation edit Amish communities are known for traveling by horse and buggy because they feel horse drawn carriages promote a slow pace of life But most Amish communities do also allow riding in motor vehicles such as buses and cars 45 In recent years many Amish people have taken to using electric bicycles because they are faster than either walking or harnessing up a horse and buggy 41 Clothing edit Main article Plain dress The Amish are known for their plain attire Men wear solid colored shirts broad brimmed hats and suits that signify similarity amongst one another Amish men grow beards to symbolize manhood and marital status as well as to promote humility They are forbidden to grow mustaches because mustaches are seen by the Amish as being affiliated with the military which they are strongly opposed to due to their pacifist beliefs Women have similar guidelines on how to dress which are also expressed in the Ordnung the Amish version of legislation They are to wear calf length dresses muted colors along with bonnets and aprons Prayer kapps and bonnets are worn by the women because they are a visual representation of their religious beliefs and promote unity through the tradition of every woman wearing one The color of the bonnet signifies whether a woman is single or married Single women wear black bonnets and married women wear white The color coding of bonnets is important because women are not allowed to wear jewelry such as wedding rings as it is seen as drawing attention to the body which can induce pride in the individual 46 page needed All clothing is sewn by hand but the way to fasten the garment widely depends on whether the Amish person is a part of the New Order or Old Order Amish 47 page needed The Old Order Amish seldom if ever use buttons because they are seen as too flashy instead they use the hook and eye approach to fashion clothing or metal snaps The New Order Amish are slightly more progressive and allow the usage of buttons to help attire clothing citation needed Cuisine edit Amish cuisine is noted for its simplicity and traditional qualities Food plays an important part in Amish social life and is served at potlucks weddings fundraisers farewells and other events 48 49 50 51 Many Amish foods are sold at markets including pies preserves bread mixes pickled produce desserts and canned goods Many Amish communities have also established restaurants for visitors Amish meat consumption is similar to the American average though they tend to eat more preserved meat 52 Amish cuisine is often mistaken for the similar cuisine of the Pennsylvania Dutch with some ethnographic and regional variances 53 as well as differences in what cookbook writers and food historians emphasize about the traditional foodways and intertwined religious culture and celebrations of Amish communities While mythologies about the diffusion of shoofly pie are common subject matter for studies of American cuisine food anthropologists point out that the culinary practices of Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish are innovative and dynamic evolving across time and geographical spaces and that not all the Pennsylvania Dutch are Amish and not all Amish live in Pennsylvania Distinguishing local mythologies from culinary fact is accomplished by dedicated anthropological field studies in combination with studies of literary sources usually newspaper archives diaries and household records 54 Subgroups editMain article Subgroups of Amish Over the years the Amish churches have divided many times mostly over questions concerning the Ordnung but also over doctrinal disputes mainly about shunning The largest group the Old Order Amish a conservative faction that separated from other Amish in the 1860s are those who have most emphasized traditional practices and beliefs The New Order Amish are a group of Amish whom some scholars see best described as a subgroup of Old Order Amish despite the name citation needed Affiliations edit As of 2011 about 40 different Old Order Amish affiliations were known to exist The eight major affiliations are listed below with Lancaster as the largest one in number of districts and population 55 Affiliation Date established Origin States Settlements Church districtsLancaster 1760 Pennsylvania 8 37 291Elkhart LaGrange 1841 Indiana 3 9 176Holmes Old Order 1808 Ohio 1 2 147Buchanan Medford 1914 Indiana 19 67 140Geauga I 1886 Ohio 6 11 113Swartzentruber 1913 Ohio 15 43 119Geauga II 1962 Ohio 4 27 99Swiss Adams 1850 Indiana 5 15 86Use of technology by different affiliations edit The table below indicates the use of certain technologies by different Amish affiliations The use of cars is not allowed by any Old and New Order Amish nor are radio television or in most cases the use of the Internet Three affiliations Lancaster Holmes Old Order and Elkhart LaGrange are not only the three largest affiliations but also represent the mainstream among the Old Order Amish The most conservative affiliations are at the top the most modern ones at the bottom Technologies used by very few are on the left the ones used by most are on the right The percentage of all Amish who use a technology is also indicated approximately timeframe The Old Order Amish culture involves lower greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors and activities with the exception of diet and their per person emissions has been estimated to be less than one quarter that of the wider society 56 Affiliation 57 Tractor for fieldwork Roto tiller Power lawn mower Propane gas Bulk milk tank Mechanical milker Mechanical refrigerator Pickup balers Inside flush toilet Running water bath tub Tractor for belt power Pneumatic tools Chain saw Pressurized lamps Motorized washing machinesSwartzentruber No No No No No No No No No No No Some No No YesNebraska No No No No No No No Some No No No No Some No YesSwiss Adams No No Some No No No No No Some No No Some Some Some SomeBuchanan Medford No No No No No No No No No No No Some No Yes YesDanner No No No Some No No Some No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes NoGeauga I No No No No No No No Some Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes YesHolmes Old Order No Some Some No No No Some Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes YesElkhart LaGrange No Some Some Some Some Some Some Some Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes YesLancaster No No Some Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes YesNappanee No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes YesKalona Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes YesPercentage of use by all Amish 6 20 25 30 35 35 40 50 70 70 70 70 75 90 97Language edit Main article Pennsylvania Dutch language Most Old Order Amish speak Pennsylvania Dutch and refer to non Amish people as English regardless of ethnicity 58 Two Amish subgroups called Swiss Amish whose ancestors migrated to the United States in the 1850s speak a form of Bernese German Adams County IN and daughter settlements or a Low Alemannic Alsatian dialect Allen County IN and daughter settlements 59 Contrary to popular belief the word Dutch in Pennsylvania Dutch is not a mistranslation but rather a corruption of the Pennsylvania German endonym Deitsch which means Pennsylvania Dutch German or German 60 61 62 63 Ultimately the terms Deitsch Dutch Diets and Deutsch are all cognates and descend from the Proto Germanic word thiudiskaz meaning popular or of the people 64 The continued use of Pennsylvania Dutch was strengthened by the Pennsylvania Dutch in the 19th century as a way of distinguishing themselves from later post 1830 waves of German immigrants to the United States with the Pennsylvania Dutch referring to themselves as Deitsche and to Germans as Deitschlenner literally Germany ers compare Deutschland er whom they saw as a related but distinct group 65 According to one scholar today almost all Amish are functionally bilingual in Pennsylvania Dutch and English however domains of usage are sharply separated Pennsylvania Dutch dominates in most in group settings such as the dinner table and preaching in church services In contrast English is used for most reading and writing English is also the medium of instruction in schools and is used in business transactions and often out of politeness in situations involving interactions with non Amish Finally the Amish read prayers and sing in Standard German which in Pennsylvania Dutch is called Hochdeitsch a at church services The distinctive use of three different languages serves as a powerful conveyor of Amish identity 66 Although the English language is being used in more and more situations Pennsylvania Dutch is one of a handful of minority languages in the United States that is neither endangered nor supported by continual arrivals of immigrants 67 Ethnicity edit The Amish largely share a German or Swiss German ancestry 68 They generally use the term Amish only for members of their faith community and not as an ethnic designation However some Amish descendants recognize their cultural background knowing that their genetic and cultural traits are uniquely different from other ethnicities 69 70 Those who choose to affiliate with the church or young children raised in Amish homes but too young to yet be church members are considered to be Amish Certain Mennonite churches have a high number of people who were formerly from Amish congregations Although more Amish immigrated to North America in the 19th century than during the 18th century most of today s Amish descend from 18th century immigrants The latter tended to emphasize tradition to a greater extent and were perhaps more likely to maintain a separate Amish identity 71 There are a number of Amish Mennonite church groups that had never in their history been associated with the Old Order Amish because they split from the Amish mainstream in the time when the Old Orders formed in the 1860s and 1870s The former Western Ontario Mennonite Conference WOMC was made up almost entirely of former Amish Mennonites who reunited with the Mennonite Church in Canada 72 Orland Gingerich s book The Amish of Canada devotes the vast majority of its pages not to the Beachy or Old Order Amish but to congregations in the former WOMC citation needed Para Amish groups edit Several other groups called para Amish by G C Waldrep and others share many characteristics with the Amish such as horse and buggy transportation plain dress and the preservation of the German language The members of these groups are largely of Amish origin but they are not in fellowship with other Amish groups because they adhere to theological doctrines e g assurance of salvation or practices community of goods that are normally not accepted among mainstream Amish The Bergholz Community is a different case it is not seen as Amish anymore because the community has shifted away from many core Amish principles citation needed Population and distribution edit nbsp Amish settlements in the United States and Canada 2022Historical populationYearPop p a 19205 000 19287 000 4 30 19369 000 3 19 194413 000 4 70 195219 000 4 86 196028 000 4 97 196839 000 4 23 197657 000 4 86 198484 000 4 97 1992128 150 5 42 2000166 000 3 29 2010249 500 4 16 2020350 665 3 46 2023383 565 3 03 Source 1992 73 2000 74 2010 75 2020 76 2021 77 2023 1 Because the Amish are usually baptized no earlier than 18 and children are not counted in local congregation numbers estimating their numbers is difficult Rough estimates from various studies placed their numbers at 125 000 in 1992 166 000 in 2000 and 221 000 in 2008 74 Thus from 1992 to 2008 population growth among the Amish in North America was 84 percent 3 6 percent per year During that time they established 184 new settlements and moved into six new states 78 In 2000 about 165 620 Old Order Amish resided in the United States of whom 73 609 were church members 79 page needed The Amish are among the fastest growing populations in the world with an average of seven children per family in the 1970s 80 and a total fertility rate of 5 3 in the 2010s 81 In 2010 a few religious bodies including the Amish changed the way their adherents were reported to better match the standards of the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies When looking at all Amish adherents and not solely Old Order Amish about 241 000 Amish adherents were in 28 U S states in 2010 82 Distribution by country edit United States edit See also List of U S states by Amish population Amish in Ohio and Amish in Maryland Amish population by U S state and year State 1992 2000 2010 2020 2023Pennsylvania 32 710 44 620 59 350 81 500 88 850Ohio 34 830 48 545 58 590 78 280 84 065Indiana 23 400 32 840 43 710 59 305 63 645Wisconsin 6 785 9 390 15 360 22 235 24 920New York 4 050 4 505 12 015 21 230 23 285Michigan 5 150 8 495 11 350 16 525 18 445Missouri 3 745 5 480 9 475 14 520 16 690Kentucky 2 625 4 850 7 750 13 595 15 450Iowa 3 525 4 445 7 190 9 780 9 930The United States is the home to the overwhelming majority 98 percent of the Amish people In 2023 Old Order communities were present in 32 U S states The total Amish population in the United States as of June 2023 update has stood at 377 300 1 up 9 975 or 2 7 percent compared to the previous year Pennsylvania has the largest population 89 thousand followed by Ohio 84 thousand and Indiana 63 6 thousand as of June 2023 update 83 The largest Amish settlements are in Lancaster County in southeastern Pennsylvania 43 400 Holmes County and adjacent counties in northeastern Ohio 39 525 and Elkhart and LaGrange counties in northeastern Indiana 28 275 as of June 2023 update 1 The highest concentration of Amish in the world is in the Holmes County community nearly 50 percent of the entire population of Holmes County is Amish as of 2010 84 nbsp Amish settlements in Pennsylvania the state with the largest Amish population 2022The largest concentration of Amish west of the Mississippi River is in Missouri with other settlements in eastern Iowa and southeast Minnesota 85 The largest Amish settlements in Iowa are located near Kalona and Bloomfield 86 The largest settlement in Wisconsin is near Cashton with 13 congregations i e about 2 000 people in 2009 87 Because of the rapid population growth of the Amish communities new settlements in the United States are being established each year thus 18 new settlements were established in 2016 24 in 2017 18 in 2018 27 in 2019 26 in 2020 19 in 2021 15 in 2022 and 10 by June 2023 88 76 83 1 The main reason for the continuous expansion is to obtain enough affordable farmland other reasons for new settlements include locating in isolated areas that support their lifestyle moving to areas with cultures conducive to their way of life maintaining proximity to family or other Amish groups and sometimes to resolve church or leadership conflicts 78 The adjacent table shows the eight states with the largest Amish population in the years 1992 2000 2010 2020 and 2023 89 44 90 91 76 1 Canada edit Amish population by Canadian province and year Canada 1992 2010 2020 2023All of Canada 2 295 4 725 5 995 6 100Ontario 2 295 4 725 5 605 5 645Prince Edward Isl 0 0 250 280New Brunswick 0 0 70 95Manitoba 0 0 70 80Amish settlements are in four Canadian provinces Ontario Prince Edward Island Manitoba and New Brunswick The majority of Old Order settlements is located in the province of Ontario namely Oxford Norwich Township and Norfolk Counties A small community is also established in Bruce County Huron Kinloss Township near Lucknow citation needed In 2016 several dozen Old Order Amish families founded two new settlements in Kings County in the province of Prince Edward Island Increasing land prices in Ontario had reportedly limited the ability of members in those communities to purchase new farms 92 At about the same time a new settlement was founded near Perth Andover in New Brunswick only about 12 km 7 5 mi from Amish settlements in Maine In 2017 an Amish settlement was founded in Manitoba near Stuartburn 93 Latin America edit Amish population by South American country and year Country 2010 2020 2023Bolivia 0 160 190Argentina 0 50 0There are currently two Amish settlements in South American nations Argentina and Bolivia The majority of Old Order settlements are located in Bolivia The first attempt by Old Order Amish to settle in Latin America was in Paradise Valley near Galeana Nuevo Leon Mexico but the settlement lasted from only 1923 to 1929 21 An Amish settlement was tried in Honduras from about 1968 to 1978 but this settlement failed too 94 In 2015 new settlements of New Order Amish were founded east of Catamarca Argentina and Colonia Naranjita Bolivia about 75 miles 121 km southwest of Santa Cruz 95 Most of the members of these new communities come from Old Colony Mennonite background and have been living in the area for several decades 96 Europe edit In Europe no split occurred between Old Order Amish and Amish Mennonites like the Amish Mennonites in North America the European Amish assimilated into the Mennonite mainstream during the second half of the 19th century through the first decades of the 20th century Eventually they dropped the word Amish from the names of their congregations and lost their Amish identity and culture The last European Amish congregation joined the Mennonites in 1937 in Ixheim today part of Zweibrucken in the Palatinate region 97 Seekers and joiners editMain article Seeker Anabaptism Only a few hundred outsiders so called seekers have ever joined the Old Order Amish 98 Since 1950 only some 75 non Anabaptist people have joined and remained lifelong members of the Amish 99 Since 1990 some twenty people of Russian Mennonite background have joined the Amish in Aylmer Ontario 100 Two whole Christian communities have joined the Amish The church at Smyrna Maine one of the five Christian Communities of Elmo Stoll after Stoll s death 101 102 and the church at Manton Michigan which belonged to a community that was founded by Harry Wanner 1935 2012 a minister of Stauffer Old Order Mennonite background 103 The Michigan Amish Churches with which Smyrna and Manton affiliated are said to be more open to seekers and converts than other Amish churches Most of the members of these two para Amish communities originally came from Plain churches i e Old Order Amish Old Order Mennonite or Old German Baptist Brethren citation needed More people have tested Old Order Amish life for weeks months or even years but in the end decided not to join Others remain close to the Amish but never think of joining 99 On the other hand the Beachy Amish many of whom conduct their services in English and allow for a limited range of modern conveniences regularly receive seekers into their churches as visitors and eventually as members 104 105 Stephen Scott himself a convert to the Old Order River Brethren distinguishes four types of seekers Checklist seekers are looking for a few certain specifications Cultural seekers are more enchanted with the lifestyle of the Amish than with their religion Spiritual utopian seekers are looking for true New Testament Christianity Stability seekers come with emotional issues often from dysfunctional families 100 Health editMain article Health among the Amish nbsp Amish farm near Morristown New York nbsp A 2016 study on Amish community funding for health careAmish populations have higher incidences of particular conditions including dwarfism 106 Angelman syndrome 107 and various metabolic disorders 108 as well as an unusual distribution of blood types 109 further explanation needed The Amish represent a collection of different demes or genetically closed communities 110 Although the Amish do not have higher incidence of genetic disorders than the general population 4 since almost all Amish descend from a few hundred 18th century founders some recessive conditions are more prevalent an example of the founder effect 111 112 113 Some of these disorders are rare or unique and are serious enough to increase the mortality rate among Amish children The Amish are aware of the advantages of exogamy but for religious reasons marry only within their communities 114 The majority of Amish accept these as Gottes Wille God s will they reject the use of preventive genetic tests prior to marriage and genetic testing of unborn children to discover genetic disorders When children are born with a disorder they are accepted into the community and tasked with chores within their ability 115 However Amish are willing to participate in studies of genetic diseases 113 Their extensive family histories are useful to researchers investigating diseases such as Alzheimer s Parkinson s and macular degeneration citation needed While the Amish are at an increased risk for some genetic disorders researchers have found their tendency for clean living can lead to better health Overall cancer rates in the Amish are reduced and tobacco related cancers in Amish adults are 37 percent and non tobacco related cancers are 72 percent of the rate for Ohio adults Skin cancer rates are lower for Amish even though many Amish make their living working outdoors where they are exposed to sunlight They are typically covered and dressed by wearing wide brimmed hats and long sleeves which protect their skin 116 Treating genetic problems is the mission of Clinic for Special Children in Strasburg Pennsylvania which has developed effective treatments for such problems as maple syrup urine disease a previously fatal disease The clinic is embraced by most Amish ending the need for parents to leave the community to receive proper care for their children an action that might result in shunning Another clinic is DDC Clinic for Special Needs Children located in Middlefield Ohio for special needs children with inherited or metabolic disorders 117 The DDC Clinic provides treatment research and educational services to Amish and non Amish children and their families citation needed People s Helpers is an Amish organized network of mental health caregivers who help families dealing with mental illness and recommend professional counselors 118 Suicide rates for the Amish are about half that of the general population b The Old Order Amish do not typically carry private commercial health insurance 120 121 A handful of American hospitals starting in the mid 1990s created special outreach programs to assist the Amish In some Amish communities the church will collect money from its members to help pay for medical bills of other members 115 Although the Amish are often perceived by outsiders as rejecting all modern technologies this is not the case and modern medicine is employed by Amish communities including hospital births and other advanced treatments As they go without health insurance and pay up front for services Amish individuals will often travel to Mexico for non urgent care and surgery to reduce costs 122 123 Most Amish clearly seem to use some form birth control a fact that generally is not discussed among the Amish but indicated by the fact that the number of children systematically increases in correlation with the conservatism of a congregation the more conservative the more children The large number of children is due to the fact that many children are appreciated by the community and not because there is no birth control 124 Some communities openly allow access to birth control to women whose health would be compromised by childbirth 115 The Amish are against abortion and also find artificial insemination genetics eugenics and stem cell research to be inconsistent with Amish values and beliefs 125 Life in the modern world editMain article Amish life in the modern world nbsp Traditional Lancaster style Amish buggy nbsp Amish school near Rebersburg PennsylvaniaAs time has passed the Amish have felt pressures from the modern world Issues such as taxation education law and its enforcement and occasional discrimination and hostility are areas of difficulty citation needed The modern way of life in general has increasingly diverged from that of Amish society On occasion this has resulted in sporadic discrimination and hostility from their neighbors such as throwing of stones or other objects at Amish horse drawn carriages on the roads 126 127 128 The Amish do not usually educate their children past the eighth grade believing that the basic knowledge offered up to that point is sufficient to prepare one for the Amish lifestyle Almost no Amish go to high school and college In many communities the Amish operate their own schools which are typically one room schoolhouses with teachers usually young unmarried women from the Amish community On May 19 1972 Jonas Yoder and Wallace Miller of the Old Order Amish and Adin Yutzy of the Conservative Amish Mennonite Church were each fined 5 for refusing to send their children aged 14 and 15 to high school In Wisconsin v Yoder 1972 the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned the conviction 129 and the U S Supreme Court affirmed this finding the benefits of universal education were not sufficient justification to overcome scrutiny under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment 130 The Amish are subject to sales and property taxes As they seldom own motor vehicles they rarely have occasion to pay motor vehicle registration fees or spend money on the purchase of fuel for vehicles 131 Under their beliefs and traditions generally the Amish do not agree with the idea of Social Security benefits and have a religious objection to insurance 132 133 On this basis the United States Internal Revenue Service agreed in 1961 that they did not need to pay Social Security related taxes In 1965 this policy was codified into law 134 Self employed individuals in certain sects do not pay into or receive benefits from the United States Social Security system This exemption applies to a religious group that is conscientiously opposed to accepting benefits of any private or public insurance provides a reasonable level of living for its dependent members and has existed continuously since December 31 1950 135 The U S Supreme Court clarified in 1982 that Amish employers are not exempt but only those Amish individuals who are self employed 136 Publishing editIn 1964 Pathway Publishers was founded by two Amish farmers to print more material about the Amish and Anabaptists in general It is located in Lagrange Indiana and Aylmer Ontario Pathway has become the major publisher of Amish school textbooks general reading books and periodicals Also a number of private enterprises publish everything from general reading to reprints of older literature that has been considered of great value to Amish families 137 Some Amish read the Pennsylvania German newspaper Hiwwe wie Driwwe and some of them even contribute dialect texts citation needed Dog breeding editAmish and Mennonite communities across many states have turned to dog breeding as a lucrative source of income According to the USDA list of licensees over 98 of Ohio s puppy mills are run by the Amish as are 97 of Indiana s and 63 of Pennsylvania s 138 In Lancaster County Pennsylvania there are roughly 300 licensed breeders and an estimated further 600 unlicensed breeding facilities 139 Reports of poor standards of care and treatment of dogs as a cash crop by members of the Amish community has led to calls for puppy mills and auctions to be closed with one breeder being issued with a restraining order from the practice for numerous violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act At the time the restraining order was issued the breeder had at least 1000 dogs in their care 140 Similar groups editAnabaptist groups that sprang from the same late 19th century Old Order Movement as the Amish share their Pennsylvania German heritage and often still retain similar features in dress These Old Order groups include different subgroups of Old Order Mennonites traditional Schwarzenau Brethren and Old Order River Brethren The Noah Hoover Old Order Mennonites are so similar in outward aspects to the Old Order Amish including dress beards horse and buggy extreme restrictions on modern technology Pennsylvania German language that they are often perceived as Amish and even called Amish 141 142 Conservative Russian Mennonites and Hutterites who also dress plain and speak German dialects emigrated from other European regions at different times with different German dialects separate cultures and related but different religious traditions 143 Particularly the Hutterites live communally 144 and are generally accepting of modern technology 145 In Ukraine there is a nameless movement of Baptists that has been compared to the Amish due to their similar beliefs of plain living and pacifism 146 147 The few remaining Plain Quakers are similar in manner and lifestyle including their attitudes toward war but are unrelated to the Amish 148 Early Quakers were influenced to some degree by the Anabaptists and in turn influenced the Amish in colonial Pennsylvania Almost all modern Quakers have since abandoned their traditional dress 149 Relations with Native Americans editThe Northkill Amish Settlement established in 1740 in Berks County Pennsylvania was the first identifiable Amish community in the New World During the French and Indian War the Hochstetler Massacre occurred Local tribes attacked the Jacob Hochstetler homestead in the Northkill settlement on September 19 1757 The sons of the family took their weapons but father Jacob did not allow them to shoot due to the Anabaptist doctrine of nonresistance 10 Jacob Sr s wife Anna Lorentz Hochstetler a daughter name unknown and Jacob Jr were killed by the Native Americans Jacob Sr and sons Joseph and Christian were taken captive Jacob escaped after about eight months but the boys were held for several years 150 When freed both of these sons joined the church and one of them became a minister 10 As early as 1809 Amish were farming side by side with Native American farmers in Pennsylvania 151 According to Cones Kupwah Snowflower a Shawnee genealogist the Amish and Quakers were known to incorporate Native Americans into their families to protect them from ill treatment especially after the Removal Act of 1832 clarification needed 152 better source needed The Amish as pacifists did not engage in warfare with Native Americans nor displace them directly but were among the European immigrants whose arrival resulted in their displacement 153 In 2012 the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society collaborated with the Native American community to construct a replica Iroquois Longhouse 154 See also edit nbsp Christianity portalAmish amp Mennonite Heritage Center Amish furniture Amish music Barn raising Bank of Bird in Hand Christian views on poverty and wealth Fancy Dutch Hutterites List of Amish and their descendants Martyr s Mirror Mennonites Neo Luddism Shaker Pinecraft Plain people West Nickel Mines School shootingNotes edit Hochdeitsch is the Pennsylvania Dutch equivalent of the Standard German word Hochdeutsch both words literally mean High German The overall suicide rate in 1980 in the US was 12 5 per 100 000 119 References edit a b c d e f Amish Population Profile 2023 Elizabethtown College the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies September 2 2023 Retrieved September 2 2023 Harry Karen Herr Sarah A April 2 2018 Life beyond the Boundaries Constructing Identity in Edge Regions of the North American Southwest University Press of Colorado ISBN 978 1 60732 696 0 The Amish were one of many Anabaptist groups that grew from the Radical Reformation in sixteenth century Europe Hostetler 1993 Anabaptists Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College Retrieved May 11 2022 The Amish are one of many Anabaptist groups that trace their roots to the Anabaptist movement in sixteenth century Europe at the time of the Protestant Reformation Other groups include Mennonites Hutterites the Brethren in Christ and Brethren groups that began in Schwarzenau Germany in 1708 a b Nolt Steven M 2016 The Amish A Concise Introduction Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press p 1 21 106 ISBN 978 1421419565 Anderson Cory Kenda Loren December 22 2015 What Kinds of Places Attract and Sustain Amish Populations Rural Sociology 80 4 483 511 doi 10 1111 ruso 12083 ISSN 0036 0112 Kraybill 2001 pp 7 8 Kraybill 2001 p 8 Zook Noah Yoder Samuel L 1998 Berne Indiana Old Order Amish Settlement Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online Archived from the original on May 13 2013 Retrieved April 3 2009 Donald B Kraybill Karen M Johnson Weiner and Steven M Nolt 2013 The Amish Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press pp 157 158 a b c Long Steve The Doctrine of Nonresistance Pilgrim Mennonite Conference Archived from the original on May 18 2022 Retrieved May 20 2022 Anthony L Chute Nathan A Finn Michael A G Haykin The Baptist Story Nashville 2015 p 12 C Arnold Snyder Anabaptist History and Theology An Introduction Kitchener Ontario 1995 p 62 Smith amp Krahn 1981 pp 212 214 Kraybill 2000 pp 63 64 Crowley William K 1978 Old Order Amish Settlement Diffusion and Growth Annals of the Association of American Geographers 68 2 250 251 doi 10 1111 j 1467 8306 1978 tb01194 x ISSN 0004 5608 JSTOR 2562217 Nolt 1992 p 159 Nolt 1992 pp 157 178 Our History Fecministries org Archived from the original on April 28 2021 Retrieved December 28 2017 Stephen Scott An Introduction to Old Order and Conservative Mennonite Groups Intercourse Penn 1996 pp 122 123 Kraybill Donald B 2010 Concise Encyclopedia of Amish Brethren Hutterites and Mennonites JHU Press p 240 ISBN 978 0 8018 9911 9 a b Nolt 1992 Nolt 1992 p 227 Nolt 1992 pp 264 266 Donald B Kraybill Karen M Johnson Weiner Steven M Nolt The Amish Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press 2013 p 122 a b Nolt 1992 pp 278 281 Nolt 1992 pp 287 290 Gerlach Horst 2013 My Kingdom Is Not of This World 300 Years of the Amish 1683 1983 Masthof Press amp Bookstore p 376 ISBN 978 1 60126 387 2 Camden Laura L 2006 Mennonites in Texas The Quiet in the Land Texas A amp M University Press p 68 ISBN 978 1 60344 538 2 Donald B Kraybill Karen M Johnson Weiner and Steven M Nolt 2013 The Amish Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press pp 250 255 Donald B Kraybill Karen M Johnson Weiner Steven M Nolt The Amish Baltimore 2013 p 294 Donald B Kraybill Karen M Johnson Weiner and Steven M Nolt The Amish Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press 2013 pp 281 282 Licensed Dairy Farm Numbers Drop to Just Over 40 000 Milk Business February 21 2018 Amish dairy farmers at risk of losing their living and way of life as their buyer drops their milk Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Archived from the original on April 28 2021 Retrieved December 21 2018 Kraybill Donald B Johnson Weiner Karen M Nolt Steven M 2013 The Amish JHU Press p 313 ISBN 978 1 4214 0914 6 10 things to know about Mennonites in Canada Canadian Mennonite January 12 2017 Archived from the original on April 28 2021 Retrieved December 6 2020 it is in many ways an option of last resort and it s something we only do when we think we have a critical threat to the community s safety and we need immediate action Kraybill 1994 p 3 Church Discipline Amish Studies Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies Elizabethtown College Frequently Asked Questions Amish Studies Amisch Teenagers Experience the World National Geographic Television Archived from the original on November 10 2008 Pennsylvania Amish Lifestyle Discover Lancaster Retrieved May 24 2023 a b Jeremiah Budin April 23 2023 Amish communities are using a surprising new kind of vehicle to travel long distances It s a lot quicker The Cool Down Johnson Weiner Karen 2001 The role of women in old order Amish beachy Amish and fellowship churches Mennonite Quarterly Review 75 231 257 Ericksen Julia Klein Gary 1981 Women s Roles and Family Production among the Old Order Amish Rural Sociology 46 282 296 a b Kraybill 2001 The Amish Buggy Amish America September 2 2011 Retrieved April 23 2023 Nolt Steven M Meyers Thomas J 2007 Plain Diversity Amish Cultures and Identities Young Center Books in Anabaptist and Pietist Studies Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN 978 0801886058 Klein H M J 1946 History and customs of the Amish people York Pennsylvania Maple Press Company ASIN B004UOJ17K Sherry Gore Zondervan Simply Delicious Amish Cooking Zondervan 2013 Eicher Lovina Williams Kevin 2010 The Amish Cook s Anniversary Book 20 Years of Food Family and Faith Andrews McMeel ISBN 978 0740797651 Lovina Eicher The Amish Cook at Home Simple Pleasures of Food Family and Faith 2008 Vincent Bill 2012 Traditional Amish Recipes Bloomington Indiana a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Gebra Cuyun Carter Food Intake Dietary Practices Among the Amish 1 2008 Chrzan Janet Brett John eds 2017 Food Culture Anthropology Linguistics and Food Studies Berghahn Books p 224 Chrzan Janet Brett John eds 2017 Research Methods for Anthropological Studies of Food and Nutrition Volumes I III Volumes 1 3 Berghahn Books p 221 Kraybill Donald B Karen M Johnson Weiner and Steven M Nolt eds The Amish Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press 2013 p 139 Subak Susan 2018 The Five Ton Life University of Nebraska Press p 59 ISBN 978 0803296886 Amish Technology Use in Different Groups The Amish Community LLCER Anglais Site d aide a la phonologie anglaise grammaire linguistique et civilisations anglophones in Canadian French Retrieved December 6 2022 Chad Thompson The Languages of the Amish of Allen County Indiana Multilingualism and Convergence in Anthropological Linguistics Vol 36 No 1 Spring 1994 pp 69 91 Hughes Oliphant Old The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church Volume 6 The Modern Age Eerdmans Publishing 2007 p 606 Mark L Louden Pennsylvania Dutch The Story of an American Language JHU Press 2006 p 2 Hostetler John A 1993 Amish Society The Johns Hopkins University Press Baltimore p 241 Irwin Richman The Pennsylvania Dutch Country Arcadia Publishing 2004 p 16 W Haubrichs Theodiscus Deutsch und Germanisch drei Ethnonyme drei Forschungsbegriffe Zur Frage der Instrumentalisierung und Wertbesetzung deutscher Sprach und Volksbezeichnungen In H Beck et al Zur Geschichte der Gleichung germanisch deutsch 2004 199 228 Mark L Louden Pennsylvania Dutch The Story of an American Language JHU Press 2006 pp 3 4 ISBN 1421418282 Hurst Charles E McConnell David L 2010 An Amish Paradox Diversity and Change in the World s Largest Amish Community The Johns Hopkins University Press pp 15 16 ISBN 978 0801893988 Hurst Charles E McConnell David L 2010 An Amish Paradox Diversity and Change in the World s Largest Amish Community The Johns Hopkins University Press p 15 ISBN 978 0801893988 Hugh F Gingerich and Rachel W Kreider Revised Amish and Amish Mennonite Genealogies Morgantown Penn 2007 This comprehensive volume gives names dates and places of births and deaths and relationships of most of the known people of this unique sect from the early 1700s until about 1860 or so The authors also include a five page History of the First Amish Communities in America Genetic Disorders Hit Amish Hard CBS News June 8 2005 Archived from the original on February 22 2017 Retrieved January 31 2017 Hammond Phillip E 2000 The Dynamics of Religious Organizations The Extravasation of the Sacred and Other Essays Oxford University Press p 59 ISBN 978 0198297628 1 Religion is the major foundation of ethnicity examples include the Amish Hutterites Jews and Mormons Ethnicity in this pattern so to speak equals religion and if the religious identity is denied so is the ethnic identity Footnote In actuality of course there can be exceptions as the labels jack Mormon banned Amish or cultural Jew suggest Let us call this pattern ethnic fusion 2 Religion may be one of several foundations of ethnicity the others commonly being language and territorial origin examples are the Greek or Russian Orthodox and the Dutch Reformed Ethnicity in this pattern extends beyond religion in the sense that ethnic identification can be claimed without claiming the religious identification but the reverse is rare Let us call this pattern ethnic religion 3 An ethnic group may be linked to a religious tradition but other ethnic groups will be linked to it too Examples include Irish Italian and Polish Catholics Danish Norwegian and Swedish Lutherans Religion in this pattern extends beyond ethnicity reversing the previous pattern and religious identification can be claimed without claiming the ethnic identification Let us call this pattern religious ethnicity Nolt 1992 p 104 Gingerich Orland 1990 Western Ontario Mennonite Conference Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online Archived from the original on January 6 2012 Retrieved July 5 2008 Amish Population Trends 1992 2013 Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies Elizabethtown College Archived from the original on June 14 2013 Retrieved June 12 2013 a b Amish Population Change Summary 1992 2008 PDF Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies Elizabethtown College Archived PDF from the original on January 19 2012 Retrieved July 8 2009 Amish Population Change 2010 2015 Alphabetical Order PDF Groups etown edu Archived PDF from the original on August 15 2018 Retrieved December 28 2017 a b c Amish Population Profile 2020 Elizabethtown College the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies August 18 2019 Archived from the original on January 11 2021 Retrieved August 18 2020 The Amish Population in 2021 Elizabethtown College the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies August 12 2021 Archived from the original on August 12 2021 Retrieved August 22 2021 a b Population Trends 1992 2008 Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies Elizabethtown College Archived from the original on June 6 2009 Retrieved July 8 2009 Kraybill 2000 Ericksen Julia A Ericksen Eugene P Hostetler John A Huntington Gertrude E July 1979 Fertility Patterns and Trends among the Old Order Amish Population Studies 33 2 255 276 doi 10 2307 2173531 ISSN 0032 4728 JSTOR 2173531 OCLC 39648293 PMID 11630609 Eric Kaufmann on Immigration Identity and the Limits of Individualism Ep 70 July 3 2019 Retrieved November 26 2019 Manns Molly Indiana s Amish Population InContext Indiana Business Research Center Archived from the original on December 28 2012 Retrieved January 14 2013 a b Amish Population 2022 Amish Call New Mexico Home Elizabethtown College the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies July 29 2022 Retrieved August 2 2022 Hurst Charles E 2010 An Amish paradox diversity amp change in the world s largest Amish community McConnell David L Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN 978 0801893995 OCLC 647908343 Amish Population by State Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies Elizabethtown College 2009 Archived from the original on January 19 2012 Retrieved February 4 2012 Iowa Amish amishamerica com October 12 2010 Archived from the original on October 13 2010 Retrieved September 18 2015 Wisconsin Amish Cashton Archived April 28 2021 at the Wayback Machine at amishamerica com Amish Population in the United States and Canada by State and County September 18 2021 by Edsel Burdge Jr Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies Elizabethtown College Amish Population Change 1992 2013 Alphabetical Order PDF Population Trends 1992 2013 21 Year Highlights Archived from the original on March 6 2016 Retrieved September 5 2018 2010 U S Religion Census Archived August 22 2014 at the Wayback Machine official website Amish Population Change 2000 2021 PDF Elizabethtown College the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies August 12 2021 Retrieved March 19 2022 Amish scout new community in P E I Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Archived from the original on September 12 2016 Retrieved January 31 2017 Amish Moving To Fourth Canadian Province Archived October 6 2018 at the Wayback Machine at amishamerica com Anderson Cory Anderson Jennifer 2016 The Amish Settlement in Honduras 1968 1978 Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies 4 1 1 50 doi 10 18061 1811 78020 2016 Amish Population Two New Settlements In South America Amishamerica com June 27 2016 Retrieved December 28 2017 Amish Population Profile 2018 Archived February 5 2019 at the Wayback Machine at Amish Studies The Young Center Ixheim Rheinland Pfalz Germany Gameo org Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online Archived from the original on August 2 2017 Retrieved December 28 2017 Anderson Cory March 1 2016 Religious Seekers Attraction to the Plain Mennonites and Amish Review of Religious Research 58 1 125 147 doi 10 1007 s13644 015 0222 5 ISSN 2211 4866 S2CID 142046764 Archived from the original on April 28 2021 Retrieved February 17 2021 a b Donald B Kraybill Karen M Johnson Weiner Steven M Nolt The Amish Baltimore 2013 p 159 a b Donald B Kraybill Karen M Johnson Weiner Steven M Nolt The Amish Baltimore 2013 pp 160f Waldrep G C 2008 The New Order Amish And Para Amish Groups Spiritual Renewal Within Tradition Mennonite Quarterly Review 3 420 Hoover Peter Radical Anabaptists Today Part 4 Scrollpublishing com Archived from the original on December 28 2017 Retrieved December 28 2017 Waldrep G C 2008 The New Order Amish And Para Amish Groups Spiritual Renewal Within Tradition Mennonite Quarterly Review 3 416 Huber Tim September 30 2019 Far flung outposts translate Plain life Anabaptist World Retrieved May 22 2021 Frequently Asked Questions BeachyAM Retrieved May 22 2021 McKusick Victor A 2000 Ellis van Creveld syndrome and the Amish Nature Genetics 24 3 203 204 doi 10 1038 73389 PMID 10700162 S2CID 1418080 Harlalka GV 2013 Mutation of HERC2 causes developmental delay with Angelman like features Journal of Medical Genetics 50 2 65 73 doi 10 1136 jmedgenet 2012 101367 PMID 23243086 S2CID 206997462 Archived from the original on November 3 2014 Retrieved November 3 2014 Morton D Holmes Morton Caroline S Strauss Kevin A Robinson Donna L Puffenberger Erik G Hendrickson Christine Kelley Richard I June 27 2003 Pediatric medicine and the genetic disorders of the Amish and Mennonite people of Pennsylvania American Journal of Medical Genetics 121C 1 5 17 doi 10 1002 ajmg c 20002 PMID 12888982 S2CID 25532297 Archived from the original on January 5 2013 Retrieved July 2 2008 Regional hospitals and midwives routinely send whole blood filter paper neonatal screens for tandem mass spectrometry and other modern analytical methods to detect 14 of the metabolic disorders found in these populations Hostetler 1993 p 330 Hostetler 1993 p 328 Crowley William K 1978 Old Order Amish Settlement Diffusion and Growth Annals of the Association of American Geographers 68 2 251 doi 10 1111 j 1467 8306 1978 tb01194 x ISSN 0004 5608 JSTOR 2562217 Landing James E July 1969 Geographic Models of Older Order Amish Settlements The Professional Geographer 21 4 238 doi 10 1111 j 0033 0124 1969 00238 x ISSN 0033 0124 a b Francomano Clair A McKusick Victor A Biesecker Leslie G August 15 2003 Medical genetic studies in the Amish Historical perspective American Journal of Medical Genetics 121C 1 1 4 doi 10 1002 ajmg c 20001 ISSN 0148 7299 PMID 12888981 S2CID 7688595 Ruder Katherine Kate July 23 2004 Genomics in Amish Country Genome News Network Archived from the original on January 10 2012 Retrieved July 2 2009 a b c Showalter Anita 2000 Birthing among the Amish International Journal of Childbirth Education 15 10 Amish Have Lower Rates of Cancer Ohio State Study Shows Columbus OH Ohio State University Medical Center January 1 2010 Archived from the original on June 16 2010 Retrieved January 6 2010 DDC Clinic for Special Needs Children October 7 2011 Retrieved November 25 2011 Kraybill 2001 p 105 Kraybill Autumn 1986 et al Suicide Patterns in a Religious Subculture The Old Order Amish International Journal of Moral and Social Studies vol 1 Rubinkam Michael October 5 2006 Amish Reluctantly Accept Donations The Washington Post Archived from the original on September 27 2018 Retrieved March 25 2008 Amish Studies Beliefs Young Center for Anabaptist amp Pietist Studies Elizabethtown College Archived from the original on February 12 2013 Retrieved February 2 2013 Millman Joel February 21 2006 How the Amish Drive Down Medical Costs The Wall Street Journal ISSN 0099 9660 Archived from the original on February 16 2021 Retrieved April 28 2021 Robinson Ryan February 7 2007 Amish facing passport dilemma LancasterOnline Archived from the original on July 30 2017 Retrieved April 28 2021 Donald B Kraybill Karen M Johnson Weiner and Steven M Nolt 2013 The Amish Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press pp 157 158 Andrews Margaret M Boyle Joyceen S 2002 Transcultural concepts in nursing care Vol 13 Lippincott pp 178 180 doi 10 1177 10459602013003002 ISBN 978 0781736800 PMID 12113145 S2CID 201377433 Archived from the original on April 28 2021 Retrieved January 19 2008 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a journal ignored help Iseman David May 18 1988 Trumbull probes attack on woman Amish buggy The Vindicator p 1 Archived from the original on March 8 2021 Retrieved July 12 2011 Stone Amish Painesville Telegraph September 12 1949 p 2 Archived from the original on November 7 2020 Retrieved July 12 2011 State Police Arrest 25 Boys in Rural Areas The Vindicator October 25 1958 Archived from the original on March 8 2021 Retrieved July 12 2011 Wisconsin v Yoder 182 N W 2d 539 Wis 1971 Wisconsin v Yoder 406 U S 205 32 L Ed 2d 15 92 S Ct 1526 1972 Rumble strips removed after the Amish say they re dangerous WWMT television news August 20 2009 Archived from the original on September 28 2011 Retrieved November 24 2011 Dobberteen is one of a growing number of people in St Joseph County who believes that the Amish shouldn t have a say in what happens with a state road Some people are saying Well jeeze you know the Amish people don t pay taxes for that why are we filling them in what do you think about that We pay our taxes said Dobberteen Roads are paid for largely with gas tax and vehicle registration fees which the Amish have no reason to pay Kraybill Donald Top Ten FAQ about the Amish PBS The American Experience Archived from the original on April 19 2013 Retrieved February 2 2013 Kelley Daniel October 6 2013 As U S struggles with health reform the Amish go their own way NBC News Archived from the original on February 14 2020 Retrieved February 14 2020 U S Code collection Cornell Law School Archived from the original on April 28 2021 Retrieved September 20 2012 Application for Exemption From Social Security and Medicare Taxes and Waiver of Benefits PDF Internal Revenue Service 2006 Archived PDF from the original on June 30 2012 Retrieved July 2 2008 U S v Lee 102 S Ct 1051 1982 August 20 2009 Retrieved November 24 2011 On appeal the Supreme Court noted that the exemption provided by 26 U S C 1402 g is available only to self employed individuals and does not apply to employers or employees As to the constitutional claim the court held that since accommodating the Amish beliefs under the circumstances would unduly interfere with the fulfillment of the overriding governmental interest in assuring mandatory and continuous participation in and contribution to the Social Security system the limitation on religious liberty involved here was justified Consequently in reversing the district court the Supreme Court held that unless Congress provides otherwise the tax imposed on employers to support the Social Security system must be uniformly applicable to all Pathway Publishers Gameo org Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online Archived from the original on November 12 2017 Retrieved December 28 2017 APHIS Public Search Tool aphis efile force com Retrieved March 17 2022 Puppies Viewed as Livestock in Amish Community Says Rescue Advocate ABC News Retrieved March 17 2022 Kauffman Clark October 1 2021 Citing shocking actions of Iowa dog breeder judge issues restraining order Iowa Capital Dispatch Retrieved March 17 2022 7 News Belize 7newsbelize com Archived from the original on October 15 2014 Retrieved December 13 2014 Stauffer Mennonite Church Gameo org Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online Archived from the original on May 13 2013 Retrieved December 28 2017 Elizabethtown College Etown Young Center Archived from the original on January 17 2012 Retrieved November 25 2011 Hutterites Encyclopaedia Britannica Archived from the original on December 11 2011 Retrieved November 9 2008 Laverdure Paul 2006 Hutterites Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan Canadian Plains Research Center Archived from the original on October 13 2008 Retrieved November 9 2008 Romanyshyn Yuliana November 1 2015 They live like Amish but they are not KyivPost Retrieved December 7 2021 Mash Dave December 7 2021 Living the Amish faith half way across the world The Bargain Hunter Retrieved December 7 2021 Hamm 2003 p 101 Hamm 2003 pp 103 105 Nolt Steven M May 2016 The Amish JHU Press p 84 ISBN 978 1 4214 1956 5 WGBH American Experience The Amish PBS Archived from the original on December 7 2016 Retrieved January 31 2017 Cones Kupwah Snowflower in NAAH No July 14 1996 Let s Get Physical Gathering at the Hearth Stories Mennonites Tell Archived from the original on December 19 2010 Retrieved November 22 2016 Attempting to Repair the Past An American Indian Longhouse Exhibit Coming to Amish Country Indiancountrymedianetwork com April 29 2012 Archived from the original on September 8 2017 Retrieved January 31 2017 Bibliography editHamm Thomas D 2003 The Quakers in America Columbia University Press ISBN 978 0 231 50893 3 Retrieved February 20 2021 Hostetler John 1993 Amish Society 4th ed Baltimore Maryland London Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN 978 0 8018 4442 3 Kraybill Donald B 1994 Olshan Marc A ed The Amish Struggle with Modernity Hanover NH University Press of New England p 304 Kraybill Donald B The Anabaptist Escalator 2001 2000 Anabaptist World USA Herald Press ISBN 978 0 8361 9163 9 2001 The Riddle of Amish Culture revised ed JHU Press ISBN 978 0 8018 6772 9 Nolt Steven M 1992 A History of the Amish Intercourse Good Books Swiss Amish Amish America Type pad archived from the original on March 2 2009 retrieved March 26 2009 Further reading editMain article Literature on the Amish Die Botschaft Lancaster PA Newspaper for Old Order Amish and Old Order Mennonites only Amish may place advertisements The Diary Gordonville PA Monthly newsmagazine by and for Old Order Amish Beachy Leroy 2011 Unser Leit The Story of the Amish Millersburg OH Goodly Heritage Books ISBN 0 9832397 0 3 DeWalt Mark W 2006 Amish Education in the United States and Canada Rowman and Littlefield Education Garret Ottie A and Ruth Irene Garret 1998 True Stories of the X Amish Banned Excommunicated and Shunned Horse Cave KY Neu Leben Garret Ruth Irene 1998 Crossing Over One Woman s Escape from Amish Life Thomas More ISBN missing Gehman Richard Plainest of Pennsylvania s Plain People Amish Folk National Geographic August 1965 pp 226 53 Good Merle and Phyllis 1979 20 Most Asked Questions about the Amish and Mennonites Intercourse PA Good Books Hostetler John A ed 1989 Amish Roots A Treasury of History Wisdom and Lore Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN missing Igou Brad 1999 The Amish in Their Own Words Amish Writings from 25 Years of Family Life Scottdale PA Herald Press ISBN missing Johnson Weiner Karen M 2006 Train Up a Child Old Order Amish and Mennonite Schools Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN missing Johnson Weiner Karen M 2017 New York Amish Life in the Plain Communities of the Empire State Cornell UP 2017 Keim Albert 1976 Compulsory Education and the Amish The Right Not to be Modern Beacon Press Kraybill Donald B Karen M Johnson Weiner and Steven M Nolt The Amish Johns Hopkins University Press 2013 500 pp Kraybill Donald B Amish in Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America edited by Thomas Riggs 3rd ed vol 1 Gale 2014 pp 97 112 online Archived April 28 2021 at the Wayback Machine Kraybill Donald B 2008 The Amish of Lancaster County Mechanicsburg PA Stackpole Books Kraybill Donald B ed 2003 The Amish and the State Foreword by Martin E Marty 2nd ed Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN missing Kraybill Donald B 2014 Renegade Amish Beard Cutting Hate Crimes and the Trial of the Bergholz Barbers Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN missing Kraybill Donald B amp Carl D Bowman 2002 On the Backroad to Heaven Old Order Hutterites Mennonites Amish and Brethren Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN missing Kraybill Donald B amp Steven M Nolt 2004 Amish Enterprise From Plows to Profits 2nd ed Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN missing Kraybill Donald B Steven M Nolt amp David L Weaver Zercher 2006 Amish Grace How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy New York Jossey Bass ISBN missing Kraybill Donald B Steven M Nolt amp David L Weaver Zercher 2010 The Amish Way Patient Faith in a Perilous World New York Jossey Bass ISBN missing Luthy David 1991 Amish Settlements That Failed 1840 1960 LaGrange IN Pathway Publishers ISBN missing Mackall Joe Plain Secrets An Outsider among the Amish Boston Mass 2007 Nolt Steven M and Thomas J Myers 2007 Plain Diversity Amish Cultures and Identities Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN missing Schachtman Tom 2006 Rumspringa To be or not to be Amish New York North Point Press ISBN missing Schlabach Theron F 1988 Peace Faith Nation Mennonites and Amish in Nineteenth Century America Scottdale PA Herald Press ISBN missing Schmidt Kimberly D Diane Zimmerman Umble amp Steven D Reschly eds 2002 Strangers at Home Amish and Mennonite Women in History Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN missing Scott Stephen 1988 The Amish Wedding and Other Special Occasions of the Old Order Communities Intercourse PA Good Books ISBN missing Smith C Henry Krahn Cornelius 1981 Smith s Story of the Mennonites revised amp expanded ed Newton Kansas Faith and Life Press pp 249 356 ISBN 978 0 87303 069 4 Smith Jeff 2016 Becoming Amish Cedar MI Dance Hall Press ISBN missing Stevick Richard A 2007 Growing Up Amish the Teenage Years Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN missing Umble Diane Zimmerman 2000 Holding the Line the Telephone in Old Order Mennonite and Amish Life Johns Hopkins University Press Umble Diane Zimmerman amp David L Weaver Zercher eds 2008 The Amish and the Media Johns Hopkins University Press Weaver Zercher David L 2001 The Amish in the American Imagination Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Yoder Harvey 2007 The Happening Nickel Mines School Tragedy Berlin OH TGS International External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amish The Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies Amish in the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online Amish America a website dedicated to news and information about the Amish Amish Studies at Young Center for Anabaptist amp Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College Mennonite Historical Library at Goshen College FAQs About the Amish by resident experts at the Mennonite Information Center The Amish in Missouri Archived November 14 2020 at the Wayback Machine from the Missouri Folklore Society Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Amish amp oldid 1196953086, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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