Amish
Total population
198,000 (est. for U.S., ca. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the 2000)
Founder
Regions with significant populations
United States (notably Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Delaware, New York) Canada (notably Ontario)
Religions
Anabaptist
Scriptures
The Bible
Languages
Deitsch ("Pennsylvania Dutch"), Alemannic German, English

The Amish (Amisch or Amische, pronounced /ˈɑːmɪʃ/) are an Anabaptist Christian denomination, formed in 1693 by Swiss Mennonites led by Jacob Amman. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( often colloquially referred to as PA (its abbreviation by natives and Northeasterners is a state located in the Northeastern The State of Indiana ( was the 19th US state admitted into the union Delaware ( is a state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Ontario (ɒnˈtɛrioʊ is a province located in the central part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest after Quebec Anabaptists ( Greek ανα (again twice + βαπτιζω (baptize thus "re-baptizers" are Christians of the Radical Reformation Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin Pennsylvania German (also Pennsylvania Dutch, Deitsch, Pennsylvania Deutsch, Pennsilfaanisch-Deitsch, Pennsilfaani-Deitsch, Pennsilveni-Deitsch Alemannic German ( Alemannisch) is a group of Dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language family. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Anabaptists ( Greek ανα (again twice + βαπτιζω (baptize thus "re-baptizers" are Christians of the Radical Reformation A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after Menno Simons (1496&ndash1561 though his teachings were a relatively Jakob Ammann (also Jacob Amman) (1644? - before 1730 was an Anabaptist leader and namesake of the Amish Religious movement. They live in the United States and Canada and are divided into several major groups. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The Old Order Amish use horses for farming and transportation, dress in a traditional manner, and forbid electricity or telephones in the home. Plain people are Christian groups characterized by separation from the world and Simple living, including Plain dress. Church members do not join the military, apply for Social Security benefits, take out insurance or accept any form of financial assistance from the government. A military is an Organization authorized by its Nation to use force usually including use of Weapons in defending its Country (or by attacking Social Security, in the United States currently refers to the federal Old-Age Survivors and Disability Insurance ( OASDI) program Insurance, in Law and Economics, is a form of Risk management primarily used to hedge against the Risk of a contingent loss Beachy Amish and New Order Amish groups have fewer limitations; some permit cars and electricity, and members may be difficult to distinguish from the general North American population, whom they refer to as "English". The New Order Amish are an Amish group that split from the Old Order Amish Church in 1966 in favor of a more liberal church

At home, most Amish speak a dialect known as Pennsylvania Dutch, Pennsylvania German, or Deitsch. Pennsylvania German (also Pennsylvania Dutch, Deitsch, Pennsylvania Deutsch, Pennsilfaanisch-Deitsch, Pennsilfaani-Deitsch, Pennsilveni-Deitsch Children learn English in school. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The Amish are divided into separate fellowships consisting of geographical districts or congregations. Full communion is a term used in Christian Ecclesiology to describe the relationship of communion, with mutually recognized sharing of the same essential Each district is fully independent and has its own Ordnung, or set of unwritten rules. The Ordnung is a set of rules for Amish living The word Ordnung borrowed from the German language means order, arrangement organization or system Old Order churches may shun or expel members who violate these rules. Shunning is the act of deliberately avoiding association with and habitually keeping away from an individual or group

Contents 1 Population and distribution 2 Ethnicity 3 History 4 Religious practices 4.1 Hochmut and Demut 4.2 Separation from the outside world 4.3 Baptism, rumspringa, and shunning 5 Religious services 5.1 Communion 5.2 Baptism 5.3 Weddings 5.4 Funerals 6 Family 7 Lifestyle and culture 7.1 Modern technology 7.2 Language 7.3 Dress 8 Health issues 9 Education 10 Relations with the outside world 11 Portrayal in popular entertainment 11.1 Film 11.2 Literature 11.2.1 Modern novels 11.2.2 Older novels 11.2.3 Children's literature 11.3 Theatre 11.4 Television 11.5 Music 12 Similar groups 13 Abuse controversy 14 See also 15 References 16 Further reading 17 External links

Population and distribution

The geographic and social isolation of Amish communities makes it difficult to determine their total population. In 2000, there were approximately 198,000 Old Order Amish in the United States, according to calculations based on the number of church districts and average district size in Raber's Almanac. Raber's New American Almanac is an Almanac used by many Old Order Amish, published by an Amish bookstore in Baltic Ohio. ^[1] This number includes young people who have yet to be baptized, so the number of people who are actual baptized members would be significantly smaller. The Amish are among the fastest-growing populations in the world, with an average of 6. 8 children per family. ^[2] Old Order Amish groups include the Byler group, Nebraska Amish in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, the Reno group, and the Swartzentruber Amish in Holmes County, Ohio. The Nebraska Amish are perhaps the most conservative group of Old Order Amish, descendants of the Anabaptists and Mennonites The present Nebraska Mifflin County is a County located in the US state of Pennsylvania. The Swartzentruber Amish are an Old Order Amish sect that formed as the result of a division that occurred among the Holmes County Ohio, Amish in 1917 Holmes County is a County located in the state of Ohio, United States.

There are Old Order communities in 21 states; Ohio has the largest population (55,000), followed by Pennsylvania (39,000) and Indiana (37,000). Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( often colloquially referred to as PA (its abbreviation by natives and Northeasterners is a state located in the Northeastern The State of Indiana ( was the 19th US state admitted into the union The largest Amish settlements are in Holmes County, Ohio, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and LaGrange, Indiana. Holmes County is a County located in the state of Ohio, United States. Lancaster County Pennsylvania, known as the Garden Spot of America since the 18th century is located in the southeastern part of the state of Pennsylvania LaGrange is a town in LaGrange County, Indiana, United States. With an average of seven children per family, the Amish population is growing rapidly, and new settlements are constantly being formed to obtain sufficient farmland. Notable Amish communities are located in Kent County, Delaware and Montgomery County, New York. Kent County is a county located in the central part of the US Montgomery County is a County located in the US state of New York. A sizable Old Order community has been increasing in number in St. Lawrence County and Franklin County, New York. St Lawrence County is a County located in the US state of New York. Franklin County is a County located in the US state of New York. Some Beachy Amish have relocated to Central America, including a large community near San Ignacio, Belize. San Ignacio is a Town in western Belize that serves as the capital of Cayo District. Belize (bəˈliːz formerly British Honduras, is a country in Central America.

Most Old Order and conservative Amish groups do not proselytize, and conversion to the Amish faith is rare but not unheard of. Proselytism is the practice of attempting to convert people to another opinion and particularly another religion The Beachy Amish, on the other hand, do pursue missionary work. A missionary is a member of a Religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith someone who proselytizes.

Ethnicity

The Amish are united by a common Swiss-German ancestry, language, and culture, and they marry within the Amish community. This article is about the German diaspora See Germans for the German ethnicity in general The Amish therefore meet the criteria of an ethnic group. However, the Amish themselves generally use the term only to refer to accepted members of their church community, and not as an ethnic designation. Those who do not choose to live an Amish lifestyle and join the church are no longer considered Amish, just as those who live the plain lifestyle but are not baptized into the Amish Church are not Amish. Plain people are Christian groups characterized by separation from the world and Simple living, including Plain dress. Certain Mennonite churches were formerly Amish congregations. The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after Menno Simons (1496&ndash1561 though his teachings were a relatively In fact, although more Amish immigrated to America in the 19th century than during the 18th century, most Amish today descend primarily from 18th century immigrants, since the Amish immigrants of the 19th century were more liberal and most of their communities eventually lost their Amish identity. ^[3]

In some circumstances, Mennonites of Amish descent may still consider themselves Amish, especially in Canada. The former Western Ontario Mennonite Conference (WOMC) was made up almost entirely of former Amish who reunited with the Mennonite Church in Canada. The author Orland Gingerich, for instance, wrote a book entitled The Amish of Canada which devoted the vast majority of its pages not to the Beachy or Old Order Amish (although it dealt with them too), but to congregations in the former WOMC.

History

Like some Mennonites, the Amish are descendants of Swiss Anabaptist groups formed in the early 16th century during the Radical Reformation. The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after Menno Simons (1496&ndash1561 though his teachings were a relatively The Radical Reformation was a 16th century response to what was believed to be both the corruption in the Roman Catholic Church and the expanding Magisterial The Swiss Anabaptists or "Swiss Brethren" had their origins with Felix Manz (ca. Swiss Brethren were Anabaptists a group of radical evangelical reformers who initially followed Ulrich Zwingli of Zürich. Felix Manz (c 1498 &ndash January 5 1527) was a co-founder of the original Swiss Brethren Anabaptist congregation in Zürich 1498–1527) and Conrad Grebel (ca. Conrad Grebel (c 1498 – 1526 son of a prominent Swiss merchant and councilman was a co-founder of the Swiss Brethren movement and is often called the "Father 1498-1526). The name "Anabaptism" means "baptised twice"; once as a young child, and again as an adult. The name "Mennonite" was applied later and came from Menno Simons (1496–1561). Menno Simons (1496 – January 25[[ 561]] was an Anabaptist religious leader from Friesland (today a province of The Netherlands) Simons was a Dutch Roman Catholic priest who converted to Anabaptism in 1536 and was baptized by Obbe Philips after renouncing his Catholic faith and office. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites in particular rites of sacrifice to and propitiation of a deity or deities Obbe Philips (ca 1500-1568 (also spelled Philipsz and Filips) was one of the early founders of Dutch Anabaptism. He was a leader in the Lowland Anabaptist communities, but his influence reached Switzerland. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation

The Amish movement takes its name from that of Jacob Amman (c. Jakob Ammann (also Jacob Amman) (1644? - before 1730 was an Anabaptist leader and namesake of the Amish Religious movement. 1656 – c. 1730), a Swiss-German Mennonite leader. Amman believed the Mennonites were drifting away from the teachings of Simons and the 1632 Mennonite Dordrecht Confession of Faith, particularly the practice of shunning excluded members (known as the ban or Meidung). The Dordrecht Confession of Faith is a statement of religious beliefs adopted by Dutch Mennonite leaders at a meeting in Dordrecht, Netherland Shunning is the act of deliberately avoiding association with and habitually keeping away from an individual or group However, the Swiss Mennonites (who, because of unwelcoming conditions in Switzerland, were by then scattered throughout Alsace and the Palatinate) never practiced strict shunning as the Lowland Anabaptists did. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Alsace (Alsace alzas Alsatian and Elsass pre-1996 German: Elsaß; Alsatia is one of the 26 Regions of France, located on the eastern The Palatinate of the Rhine (Pfalzgrafschaft bei Rhein later the Electoral Palatinate (Kurpfalz was a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire Amman insisted upon this practice, even to the point of expecting a spouse to refuse to sleep or eat with the banned member until he/she repented of his/her behaviour. This strict literalism brought about a division in the Swiss Mennonite movement in 1693 and led to the establishment of the Amish. Because the Amish are the result of a division with the Mennonites, some consider the Amish a conservative Mennonite group.

The first Amish began migrating to the colony of Pennsylvania in the 18th century, and were part of a larger migration from the Palatinate and neighbouring areas. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( often colloquially referred to as PA (its abbreviation by natives and Northeasterners is a state located in the Northeastern The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system They came, along with their non-Anabaptist neighbours, largely to avoid religious wars and poverty, but also to avoid religious persecution. Religious persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group of individuals as a response to their religious beliefs of affiliations. The first immigrants went to Berks County, Pennsylvania, but later moved, motivated both by land issues and by security concerns tied to the French and Indian War. Berks County is a County located in the US state of Pennsylvania. The French and Indian War (1754&ndash1763 was the North American chapter of the Seven Years' War. Many eventually settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Lancaster County Pennsylvania, known as the Garden Spot of America since the 18th century is located in the southeastern part of the state of Pennsylvania Other groups later settled in or spread to Alabama, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Maryland, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Maine, and Canada. Alabama (formally the State of Alabama;) is a State located in the southern region of the United States of America. Delaware ( is a state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. The State of Indiana ( was the 19th US state admitted into the union The State of Iowa ( is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States of America. Kansas ( is a Midwestern state in the central region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the American " The Commonwealth of Kentucky ( is a state located in the East Central United States of America. Michigan ( is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. Minnesota ( Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers Mississippi ( is a state located in the Deep South of the United States Missouri ( or) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee Nebraska ( is a state located on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States and New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads Tennessee ( is a state located in the Southern United States. Wisconsin ( or wɪˈskɑnsɨn (French Ouisconsin) is one of the fifty United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States The State of Maine ( is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The Amish congregations left in Europe slowly merged with the Mennonites. The last Amish congregation to merge with the Mennonites was the Ixheim Amish congregation which merged with the neighbouring Mennonite Church in 1937. Some Mennonite congregations, including most in Alsace, are descended directly from former Amish congregations. ^[4] No Old Order movement ever developed in Europe; these communities are all in the Americas. The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the Continents of North America and South America

Most Amish communities that were established in North America did not ultimately retain their Amish identity. The original major split that resulted in the loss of identity occurred in the 1860s. During that decade Dienerversammlungen (ministerial conferences) were held in Wayne County, Ohio, concerning how the Amish should deal with the pressures of modern society. Wayne County is a County located in the state of Ohio, United States, and is named for General "Mad" Anthony Wayne The meetings themselves were a progressive idea; that bishops should get together to discuss uniformity was an unprecedented notion in the Amish church. By the first several meetings, the conservative bishops agreed to boycott the Dienerversammlungen. A boycott is a form of Consumer activism involving the act of voluntarily abstaining from using buying or dealing with someone or some other organization as an expression of Thus, the more progressive Amish within several decades became Amish Mennonite, and were then later absorbed into the Old Mennonites (not to be confused with Old Order Mennonites). Amish Mennonites are a church or constituency within Anabaptist Christianity that has broken from the Old Order Amish, yet has resisted absorption into a Mennonite Old Order Mennonites is a branch of the Mennonite church. Although the term strictly refers to one particular group it is often used to refer to those groups of Mennonites The much smaller faction became the Amish of today. As the non-Amish world's usage of electricity and cars increased, a tourist industry sprang up around the Amish in places such as the Pennsylvania Dutch Country and Wayne County, Ohio and Holmes County, Ohio. Tourism is Travel for Recreational or Leisure purposes The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel Pennsylvania Dutch Country refers to an area of southeastern Pennsylvania that by the American Revolution had a high percentage of Lutheran, German Reformed Wayne County is a County located in the state of Ohio, United States, and is named for General "Mad" Anthony Wayne Holmes County is a County located in the state of Ohio, United States.

Religious practices

The Old Order Amish do not have churches, but hold their prayer services in private homes. Thus they are sometimes called "House Amish. " This practice is based on a verse from the New Testament: "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. . . " (Acts 17:24). In addition, the early Anabaptists from whom the Amish are descended were religiously persecuted, and it was safer to pray in the privacy of a home.

Hochmut and Demut

Two key concepts for understanding Amish practices are their rejection of Hochmut (pride, arrogance, haughtiness) and the high value they place on Demut or "humility" and Gelassenheit (German, meaning: calmness, composure, placidity) — often translated as "submission" or "letting-be," but perhaps better understood as a reluctance to be forward, self-promoting, or to assert oneself in any way. Martin Heidegger, the 20th-century German philosopher, introduced to the world a large body of work that represented The willingness to submit to the Will of God, as 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 community; or which, like electricity, might start a competition for status-goods; or which, like photographs, might cultivate individual or family vanity. It is also the proximate cause for rejecting education beyond the eighth grade, especially speculative study that has little practical use for farm life but may awaken personal and materialistic ambitions. The emphasis on competition and the uncritical assumption that self-reliance is a good thing — both cultivated in American high schools and exalted as an American ideal — are in direct opposition to core Amish values.

Separation from the outside world

The Amish often cite three Bible verses that encapsulate their cultural attitudes:

• "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?" (II Corinthians 6:14)
• "Come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin The Second Epistle to the Corinthians is a book in the New Testament, written by Paul the Apostle. " (II Corinthians 6:17)
• “And be ye not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. ” (Romans 12:2)

Both out of concern for the effect of a parent's absence on family life, and in order to minimize contact with the "English" (the Amish term for "non-Amish," without reference to actual English ancestry or language), the Amish prefer to work at home. The Epistle of St Paul the Apostle to the Romans is one of the letters of the New Testament canon of the Christian Bible. However, increased prices for farmland and decreasing revenues for low-tech farming have forced many Amish to work away from the farm, particularly in construction and factory-labor, and, in those areas where there is a significant tourist trade, to engage in shopwork and crafts for profit. The Amish are ambivalent about both the consequences of this contact and the commoditization of their culture. The decorative arts play little role in authentic Amish life (though the prized Amish quilts are a genuine cultural inheritance, unlike hex signs), and are in fact regarded with suspicion, as a field where egotism and a display of vanity can easily develop. The decorative arts are traditionally defined as ornamental and functional works in Ceramic, Wood, Glass, Metal, or Textile. A quilt is a type of Bedding — a bed covering composed of a quilt top a layer of batting, and a layer of fabric for backing generally combined using the technique Hex signs are a form of Pennsylvania Dutch Folk art, related to Fraktur, found in the Fancy Dutch tradition in Pennsylvania Dutch Country

Amish lifestyles vary between (and sometimes within) communities. These differences range from profound to minuscule. Beachy Amish drive black automobiles, while in some communities various groups differ over the number of suspenders males should wear, if any, or how many pleats there should be in a bonnet, or if one should wear a bonnet at all. Groups with similar policies are held to be "in fellowship" and consider each other members of the same Christian church. Groups in fellowship can intermarry and have communion with one another, an important consideration for avoiding problems that may result from genetically closed populations. Thus minor disagreements within communities, or within districts, over dairy equipment or telephones in workshops can create splinter churches and divide multiple communities.

Some of the strictest Old Order Amish groups are the Nebraska Amish ("White-top" Amish), Troyer Amish, the Swartzendruber Amish. The Nebraska Amish are perhaps the most conservative group of Old Order Amish, descendants of the Anabaptists and Mennonites The present Nebraska In 1932 bishop Eli A Troyer withdrew from the Swartzendruber Amish and began the Troyer church in Wayne County Ohio. The Swartzentruber Amish are an Old Order Amish sect that formed as the result of a division that occurred among the Holmes County Ohio, Amish in 1917 Nearly all Old Order groups, besides the "Swiss Amish", speak Deitsch in the home, while more progressive Beachy Amish groups often use English in the home. Amish who leave the old ways often remain near their communities, and in general, there are levels of progression from strict Amish to more liberal groups (usually Mennonite). The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after Menno Simons (1496&ndash1561 though his teachings were a relatively

Baptism, rumspringa, and shunning

The Amish and other Anabaptists do not believe that a child can be meaningfully baptized; this is, in fact, reflected in the name Anabaptist (which means "rebaptizer", as the Anabaptists would baptize adults who had already been baptized as children). Amish children are expected to follow the will of their parents in all issues, but when they come of age, they are expected to make an adult, permanent commitment to God and the community.

Rumspringa (German/Deitsch, "running or jumping around") is the general term for adolescence and the period leading up to serious courtship during which rules may be relaxed a little. Rumspringa (also Rumschpringe or Rumshpringa, derived from the Deitsch term for "running around" As in non-Amish families, it is understood as a practical matter that there will likely be a certain amount of misbehavior during this period, but it is neither encouraged nor overlooked. At the end of this period, Amish young adults are expected to find a spouse and be baptized. A small number choose not to join the church, but to live the rest of their lives in wider society. Some Amish communities will actively shun those who decide to leave the church after having been baptized, even those going to a different Amish congregation with different doctrines. Shunning is the act of deliberately avoiding association with and habitually keeping away from an individual or group Still other communities practice hardly any shunning, keeping close family and social contact with those who leave the church, even after baptism. Some communities have split in the last century over how they apply the practice of shunning, as in the case of Swartzendruber Amish who split from the wider Amish community over the strict-shunning issue. Shunning is also sometimes imposed by bishops on church members guilty of offenses such as using forbidden technology. Church members may also be called to confess before the congregation.

Religious services

The Old Order Amish have worship services every other Sunday at private homes. Since the average district has 169 members, they are often seated in several different rooms,^[1] Worship begins with a short sermon by one of several preachers or the bishop of the church district, followed by scripture reading and silent prayer, and another, longer sermon. The service is interspersed with hymns from the Ausbund, sung without instrumental accompaniment or harmony. A hymn is a type of Song, usually religious specifically written for the purpose of praise adoration or Prayer, and typically addressed to a deity/deities The Ausbund is the oldest Anabaptist Hymnal and the oldest Christian song book in continuous use Singing is usually very slow, and a single hymn may take 15 minutes to finish. Worship is followed by lunch and socializing. The service and all hymns are in Deitsch. Amish preachers and deacons are selected by lot^[5] out of a group of men nominated by the congregation. They serve for life and have no formal training. Amish bishops are similarly chosen by lot from those selected as preachers.

Communion

Generally, the Amish hold communion in the spring and the autumn, and not necessarily during regular church services. The Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or Lord's Supper and other names is a Christian Sacrament by which in a common interpretation those Communion is only held open to those who have been baptised. As with regular services, the men and women sit in separate rooms. The ritual ends with members washing and drying each other's feet. ^[6]

Baptism

The Amish practice of adult baptism is part of the admission into the church. In Christianity, baptism ( Greek, "immersing" "performing Ablutions " is the ritual act with the use of water by which one is admitted Admission is taken seriously; those who choose not to join the Church can still visit their friends and family, but those who leave the church after joining are shunned by the entire Amish community. Those who come to be baptized sit with one hand over their face, to represent their submission and humility to the church. Typically, a Deacon will ladle water from a bucket into the Bishop's hand, and the Bishop will sprinkle the head three times, in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, after which he blesses each new male member of the church and greets each into the fellowship of the church with a holy kiss. The holy kiss is a traditional Christian Greeting. The term comes from the New Testament, where it appears five times His wife similarly blesses and greets each new female church member.

Weddings

Weddings are typically held on Tuesdays and Thursdays in November to early December, after the harvest is in. The bride wears a new blue linen dress that will be worn again on other formal occasions. She wears no makeup, and will not receive an engagement or wedding ring because the Ordnung prohibits personal jewelry. The Ordnung is a set of rules for Amish living The word Ordnung borrowed from the German language means order, arrangement organization or system The marriage ceremony itself may take several hours, followed by a community reception that includes a banquet, singing and storytelling. Newlyweds spend the wedding night at the home of the bride's parents. Celery is one of the symbolic foods served at Amish weddings. Celery is also placed in vases and used to decorate the house instead of flowers. ^[7] Rather than immediately taking up housekeeping, the newlywed couple will spend several weekends visiting the homes of friends and relatives who attended the wedding.

Funerals

Funeral customs appear to vary more from community to community than other religious services. In Allen County, Indiana, for example, the Amish engage Hockemeyer Funeral Home, the only local funeral director who offers a horse-drawn hearse and embalms the body. Allen County is the largest County (by area in the state of Indiana, United States. The Amish hold funeral services in the home, however, rather than using the funeral parlor. Instead of referring to the deceased with stories of his life, eulogizing him, services tend to focus on the creation story and biblical accounts of resurrection. After the funeral, the hearse carries the casket to the cemetery for a reading from the Bible; perhaps a hymn is read (rather than sung) and the Lord's Prayer is recited. The Lord's Prayer, also known as the Our Father or Pater noster, is probably the best-known Prayer in Christianity. The Amish usually, but not always, choose Amish cemeteries, and purchase gravestones which are uniform, modest, and plain; in recent years, they have been inscribed in English. The deceased are dressed by family members of the same sex: men and unmarried women in white clothing, and married women in their wedding outfits. After a funeral, the community gathers together to share a meal.

Family

Having children, raising them, and socialization with neighbors and relatives are the greatest functions of the Amish family. The main purposes of ‘family’ can be illustrated within the Amish culture in a variety of ways. The family has authority over the individual, not only during infancy and in youth, but throughout life. Loyalties to parents, grandparents, and relatives may change over time, but they will never cease. A church district is measured by the number of families (households), rather than by the number of baptized persons. Families take turns hosting the bi-weekly preaching service. Once a couple has married, it is understood that the most important family function is childbearing. Parents stress their responsibilities and obligations for the correct nurture of their children. They consider themselves accountable to the Lord for the spiritual welfare of their children.

Lifestyle and culture

Amish lifestyle is dictated by the Ordnung (German, meaning: order), which differs slightly from community to community, and, within a community, from district to district. The Ordnung is a set of rules for Amish living The word Ordnung borrowed from the German language means order, arrangement organization or system What is acceptable in one community may not be acceptable in another. No summary of Amish lifestyle and culture can be totally adequate, because there are few generalities that are true for all Amish. Groups may separate over matters such as the width of a hat-brim, the color of buggies, or various other issues. The use of tobacco (excluding cigarettes, which are considered "worldly")^[8] and moderate use of alcohol^[9] are generally permitted, particularly among older and more conservative groups. Tobacco is an Agricultural product recognized as an addictive drug processed from the fresh Leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana.

Modern technology

The Amish, especially those of the Old Order, are probably best known for their avoidance of certain modern technologies. The avoidance of items such as automobiles and electricity is largely misunderstood by outsiders. The Amish do not view technology as evil, and individuals may petition for acceptance of a particular technology in the local community. Technology is a broad concept that deals with a Species ' usage and knowledge of Tools and Crafts and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt In some communities, the church leaders meet annually to review such proposals. In others, it is done whenever necessary. Because the Amish, like some Mennonite groups, and unlike the Catholic or Anglican Churches, do not have a hierarchical governing structure, differing communities often have different ideas as to which technological items are acceptable. See also Anglicanism The Anglican Communion is an international association of national Anglican churches

Electricity, for instance, is viewed as a connection to, and reliance on, "the World," the "English," or "Yankees" (the outside world), which is against their doctrine of separation. The use of electricity also could lead to the use of worldly household appliances such as televisions, which would complicate the Amish tradition of a simple life, and introduce individualist competition for worldly goods that would be destructive of community. In certain Amish groups, however, electricity can be used in very specific situations: for example, if electricity can be produced without access to outside power lines. Twelve-volt batteries, with their limited applications, are acceptable to these groups. Electric generators can be used for welding, recharging batteries, and powering milk stirrers. In certain situations, outdoor electrical appliances may be used: lawn mowers (riding and hand-pushed) and string trimmers, for example, are known to be used in some communities. Some Amish families have non-electric versions of vital appliances, such as kerosene-powered refrigerators.

Amish communities often adopt compromise solutions involving technology, which may seem strange to outsiders. For example, many communities will allow gas-powered farm equipment such as tillers or mowers, but only if they are pushed by a human or pulled by a horse. The reasoning is that Amish farmers will not be tempted to purchase more land in order to out-compete other farmers in their community if they still have to move the equipment manually. Many Amish communities also accept the use of chemical pesticides and GM crops, forgoing more common Amish organic farming techniques. Genetically modified (GM foods are food items that have had their DNA changed through Genetic engineering.

The Ordnung is the guide to community standards, rather than doctrine that defines sin. The Ordnung is a set of rules for Amish living The word Ordnung borrowed from the German language means order, arrangement organization or system For example, the four Old Order Amish communities of Allen County, Indiana, are more conservative than most; they use open buggies, even during the winter, and they wear black leather shoes even in the hot summer. Allen County is the largest County (by area in the state of Indiana, United States. The restrictions are not meant to impose suffering. In the 1970s, for example, a farmer near Milan Center, Indiana, was ordered by his bishop to buy a conventional tractor. He had severe progressive arthritis, and with no sons to harness the horses for him, the tractor was seen as a need, rather than a vanity. Arthritis (from Greek arthro-, joint + -itis, inflammation plural arthritides is a group of conditions involving damage to the Joints of the body The rest of the community continued farming with horses.

Although most Amish will not drive cars, they will hire drivers and vans, for example, for visiting family, monthly grocery shopping, or commuting to the workplace off the farm — though this too is subject to local regulation and variation. The practice increases the geographic reach of the Amish, and decreases isolation: a horse can travel only about 25 miles (40 km), and then it must rest for a considerable period, restricting the Amish to a radius of 12. 5 miles (20. 1 km) from home. Moreover, a horse and buggy can only sustain 10 mph (16 km/h) over an extended distance, and thus is impractical for emergencies. ^[10] Regular bus service between Amish communities has been established in some areas, and train travel is accepted. Hiring a taxi is forbidden on Sundays, as is any transfer of money.

The avoidance of telephone technology is also often misunderstood. The Amish dislike the telephone because it interferes with their separation from the world: it brings the outside world into the home, it is an intrusion into the privacy and sanctity of the family, and it interferes with social community by eliminating face-to-face communication. However, some Amish, such as many of those in Lancaster County, use the telephone primarily for outgoing calls, but with the added restriction that the telephone not be inside the home, but rather in a phone "booth" or shanty (actually just a small out-building), placed far enough from the house as to make its use inconvenient. Commonly, these private phone shanties are shared by more than one family, fostering a sense of community. This allows the Amish to control their communication, and not have telephone calls invade their homes, but also to conduct business, as needed. In the past, the use of public pay phones in town for such calls was more common; today, with dwindling availability of pay phones because of increased cellphone use by the non-Amish population, Amish communities are seeing an increase in the private phone shanties. ^[11] Many Amish, particularly those who run businesses, use voicemail service. ^[12] The Amish will also use trusted "English" neighbors as contact points for passing on family emergency messages. Some New Order Amish will use cellphones and pagers, but most Old Order Amish will not. ^[13]

Language

In addition to English, most Amish speak a distinctive High German dialect called Pennsylvania German or Pennsylvania Dutch, which they call Deitsch ("German"). The High German languages (in German, Hochdeutsch) are any of the varieties of standard German, Luxembourgish and A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος dialektos) is a variety of a Language that is characteristic of a particular group of Pennsylvania German (also Pennsylvania Dutch, Deitsch, Pennsylvania Deutsch, Pennsilfaanisch-Deitsch, Pennsilfaani-Deitsch, Pennsilveni-Deitsch It is not descended from the Dutch language, but is closest to the German dialect Schwäbisch or Swabian, the dialect of German spoken by the Donauschwaben (Danube Swabians). Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname Swabian ( Schwäbisch) is one of the Alemannic dialects of High German, spoken in the region of Swabia. The English term "Dutch" originally referred to all forms of the German language, whose own name for itself is Deutsch.

Although now limited primarily to the Amish, and to the Old Order Mennonites, Pennsylvania German was originally spoken by many German-American immigrants in Pennsylvania, especially by those who came prior to 1800. Old Order Mennonites is a branch of the Mennonite church. Although the term strictly refers to one particular group it is often used to refer to those groups of Mennonites German Americans ( German: Deutschamerikaner) are citizens of the United States of Ethnic German ancestry The so-called Swiss Amish speak an Alemannic German dialect that they call "Swiss. Alemannic German ( Alemannisch) is a group of Dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language family. " Beachy Amish, especially those who were born roughly after 1960, tend to speak predominantly in English at home. All other Amish groups use either Pennsylvania German or "Swiss" German as their in-group language of discourse. There are small dialectal variations between communities, such as Lancaster County and Indiana speech varieties. The Amish themselves are aware of regional variation, and occasionally experience difficulty in understanding speakers from outside their own area.

Deitsch is distinct from Plautdietsch and Hutterite German dialects spoken by other Anabaptist groups. Plautdietsch, or Mennonite Low German, was originally a Low Prussian variety of East Low German, with Dutch influence that developed in Hutterite German ( Hutterisch) is an Upper German dialect of the Austro-Bavarian variety of the German language, which is spoken by

Dress

Dress code for some groups includes prohibitions against buttons, allowing only hooks and eyes to keep clothing closed; others may allow small undecorated buttons in a dark color. Clothing is an aspect of Human physical appearance, and like other aspects of human physical appearance it has social significance In some groups, certain articles can have buttons and others cannot. The restriction on buttons is attributed in part to their association with military uniforms, and also to their potential for serving as opportunities for vain display. Straight-pins are often used to hold articles of clothing together. In all things, the aesthetic value is "plainness": clothing should not call attention to the wearer by cut, color, or any other feature. Prints such as florals, stripes, polka-dots, etc. , are not allowed in Amish dress, although these styles have been adopted by fellow Mennonites.

Women wear calf-length plain-cut dresses in a solid color, such as blue. Aprons are often worn at home, usually in white or black, and are always worn when attending church. A cape, which consists of a triangular piece of cloth, is usually worn, beginning around the teenage years, and pinned into the apron. In the colder months, a long woolen cloak is worn. Heavy bonnets are worn over the prayer coverings when Amish women are out and about in cold weather, with the exception of the Nebraska Amish, who do not wear bonnets. When a girl becomes available to be courted, she wears a black bonnet. These unmarried women also wear a white cape.

Men typically wear dark-colored trousers and a dark vest or coat, suspenders (Brit. braces), broad-rimmed straw hats in the warmer months, and black felt hats in the colder months. For the 1974 Soviet film see The Straw Hat. For the crew from One Piece, see Straw Hat Pirates. Single Amish men are clean-shaven; if they are available to court women, they will put a dent in their hat. Married men grow a beard. In some more traditional communities, a man will grow a beard after he is baptized. Moustaches are not allowed, because they are associated with the military, and because they give opportunity for vanity. For the Swedish heavy metal band see Mustasch. A moustache (or mustache) is Facial hair grown on the upper Lip. The avoidance of military styles has origins in the religious and political persecution in 16th and 17th century Europe. Men of the nobility and upper classes, who often served as military officers, wore moustaches but not beards, and the pacifist Amish avoid moustaches because of this association. The wearing of beards, however, is largely based on the same beliefs against shaving that lead Hasidic Jews and conservative Muslims not to shave their beards. Hasidic Judaism (also Chasidic, etc from the Hebrew: he '''''חסידות''''', Chassidus, meaning "piety" from the Hebrew A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion (Amish men who wear beards do not abhor shaving: some men grow a fringe of beard around the edge of the face while shaving the hair off the front of the face, including the moustache. These men refrain from shaving the throat. )

During the summer months, the majority of Amish children go barefoot, including to school. For people with the name Barefoot see Barefoot (surname Going barefoot (also barefoot ed) means for a person not to use or The prevalence of the practice is attested in the Pennsylvania Deitsch saying, "Deel Leit laafe baarfiessich rum un die annre hen ken Schuh. " (Some people walk around barefooted, and the rest have no shoes. ) The amount of time spent barefoot varies, but most children and adults go barefoot whenever possible.

Health issues

Some Amish are afflicted by heritable genetic disorders, including dwarfism (Ellis-van Creveld syndrome), and are also distinguished by the highest incidence of twins in a known human population, various metabolic disorders, and unusual distribution of blood-types. A genetic disorder is a condition caused by abnormalities in Genes or Chromosomes While some diseases such as Cancer, are due to genetic abnormalities acquired Dwarfism ( is a medical condition in humans characterized by extreme small size Ellis-van Creveld Syndrome (also called chondroectodermal dysplasia or mesoectodermal dysplasia) is a rare Genetic disorder of the Skeletal Twins are Offspring resulting from the same Pregnancy, either of the same or opposite Sex. Since almost all of the current Amish descend primarily from about 200 founders in the 18th century, some genetic disorders from a degree of inbreeding do exist in more isolated districts. However, Amish do not represent a single closed community, but rather a collection of different demes or genetically-closed communities. In Biology, a deme is another word for a local Population of organisms of one Species that actively interbreed with one another and share a distinct gene ^[14] Some of these disorders are quite rare, or even unique, and they are serious enough that they increase the mortality rate among Amish children. The majority of the Amish accept these as "Gottes Wille" (God's will); they reject any use of genetic tests prior to marriage to prevent these disorders as well as genetic testing of unborn children that would discover any genetic disorder.

There is an increasing consciousness among the Amish of the advantages of exogamy. Exogamy has two related definitions both biological and cultural A common bloodline in one community will often be absent in another, and genetic disorders can be avoided by choosing spouses from unrelated communities. For example, the founding families of the Lancaster County Amish are unrelated to the founders of the Perth County Amish community in Canada.

Amish do not carry private commercial health insurance. The Amish of Lancaster County, however, do have their own informal self-insured health plan, called Church Aid, which helps members with catastrophic medical expense. About two-thirds of the Amish there enroll. ^[15] A handful of American hospitals, starting in the mid-1990s, created special outreach programs to assist the Amish. A hospital is an institution for Health care providing treatment by specialised staff and equipment and often but not always providing for The first of these programs was instituted at the Susquehanna Health System in central Pennsylvania by James Huebert. This program has earned national media attention in the United States, and has spread to several surrounding hospitals. ^[16] Treating genetic problems is the mission of Dr. Holmes Morton's Clinic for Special Children in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, which has developed effective treatments for such problems as maple syrup urine disease, which previously was fatal. The Clinic for Special Children is a gene research clinic located in Strasburg Pennsylvania. Strasburg is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. Maple syrup urine disease (MSUD also called branched-chain ketoaciduria, is an Autosomal Recessive Metabolic disorder affecting The clinic has been enthusiastically embraced by most Amish, and has largely ended a situation in which some parents felt it necessary to leave the community to care properly for their children, an action which normally might result in being shunned.

A second research and primary-care clinic, patterned after Dr. Holmes Morton’s clinic, the DDC Clinic for Special Needs Children, is located in Middlefield, Ohio. Middlefield is a village in Geauga County, Ohio, United States. The DDC Clinic has been treating special-needs children with inherited or metabolic disorders since May 2002. The DDC Clinic provides treatment, research, and educational services to Amish and non-Amish children and their families. The DDC Clinic is open to all children.

Most Amish do not practice any form of birth control, hence their large families, and are against abortion. Birth control, sometimes synonymous with contraception, is a regimen of one or more actions devices or Medications followed in order to deliberately prevent They also find "artificial insemination, genetics, eugenics, and stem cell research" to be "inconsistent with Amish values and beliefs". ^[17]

Suicide rates for the Amish of Lancaster County were 5. 5 per 100,000 in 1980. The overall suicide rate in 1980 in the USA was 12. 5 per 100,000. ^[18]

Education

The Amish do not 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. Eighth grade (called Grade 8 in some regions is a year of Education in the United States and many other nations ^[19][20] Almost no Amish go to high school, much less to college. High school is the name used in some parts of the world (in particular Scotland, North America and Australia) to describe an institution College ( Latin collegium) is a term most often used today to denote an Educational Institution. In many communities, the Amish operate their own schools, which are typically one-room schoolhouses with teachers from the Amish community. These schools provide education in many crafts, and are therefore eligible as vocational education, fulfilling the nationwide requirement of education through the 10th grade or its equivalent. There are Amish children who go to non-Amish public schools, even schools that are far away and that include a very small Amish population. For instance, there have been some Amish children who have attended Leesburg Elementary School in Leesburg, Indiana (about 12 miles (19 km) from Nappanee, Indiana), because their families lived on the edge of the school district. Leesburg is a Town in Plain Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana, United States. Nappanee is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. In the past, there have been major conflicts between the Amish and outsiders over these matters of local schooling. But for the most part, they have been resolved, and the educational authorities allow the Amish to educate their children in their own ways. Sometimes, there are conflicts between the state-mandated minimum age for discontinuing schooling, and the younger age of children who have completed the eighth grade. This is often handled by having the children repeat the eighth grade until they are old enough to leave school. However, in the past, when comparing standardized test scores of Amish students, the Amish have performed above the national average for rural public school pupils in spelling, word usage, and arithmetic. They performed below the national average, however, in vocabulary. ^[21]

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. Events 1535 - French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail on his second voyage to North America with three ships 110 men and Year 1972 ( MCMLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In Wisconsin v. Yoder, the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned the conviction, and the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed this, finding that the benefits of universal education do not justify a violation of the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. Wisconsin v Yoder, 406 US 205 ( 1972) is the case in which the United States Supreme Court found that Amish children could The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. The Free Exercise Clause is the accompanying clause with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The decision of the U. S. Supreme Court quoted sociology professor John A. Hostetler (1918–2001), who was born into an Amish family, wrote several books about the Amish, Hutterites, and Old Order Mennonites, and was then considered the foremost academic authority on the Amish. John A Hostetler (1918-2001 was an author educator and leading scholar of Amish and Hutterite societies Hutterites are a communal branch of Anabaptists who like the Amish and Mennonites, trace their roots to the Radical Reformation of the 16th century Old Order Mennonites is a branch of the Mennonite church. Although the term strictly refers to one particular group it is often used to refer to those groups of Mennonites Donald Kraybill, Distinguished College Professor and Senior Fellow in the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College, is one of the most active scholars studying the Amish today. Donald B Kraybill is a prolific author lecturer and educator on Anabaptist faiths and living. Elizabethtown College is a small comprehensive College located in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania in Lancaster County.

Relations with the outside world

The Amish feel the pressures of the modern world. Child labor laws, for example, are seriously threatening their long-established ways of life. The Child labor laws in the United States include numerous statutes and rules regulating the employment of minors. Amish children are taught at an early age to work hard. Parents will supervise the children in new tasks, to ensure that they learn to do them effectively and safely. The modern child labor laws conflict with allowing the Amish parents to decide whether their children are competent to perform hazardous tasks. The Child labor laws in the United States include numerous statutes and rules regulating the employment of minors.

Contrary to popular belief, some of the Amish vote, and they have been courted by national parties as potentially swing voters: their pacifism and social conscience cause some of them to be drawn to left-of-center politics, while their generally conservative outlook causes others to favor the right wing. They are nonresistant, and rarely defend themselves physically or even in court; in wartime, they take conscientious objector status; their own folk-history contains tales of heroic nonresistance, such as the insistence of Jacob Hochstetler (1704-1775) that his sons stop shooting at hostile Indians, who proceeded to kill some of the family and take others captive. Nonresistance (or non-resistance) discourages physical resistance to an enemy and is a subdivision of Nonviolence. A conscientious objector (CO is an individual who on religious moral or ethical grounds refuses to participate as a combatant in war or in some cases to take any role that would support ^[22]

Like many Mennonites, Amish rely on their church and community for support, and thus reject the concept of insurance. The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after Menno Simons (1496&ndash1561 though his teachings were a relatively An example of such support is barn raising, in which the entire community gathers together to build a barn in a single day. A Barn raising is an event during which a community comes together to assemble a barn for one or more of its households particularly in 18th- and 19th-century rural It means coming together to celebrate with family and friends.

In 1961, the United States Internal Revenue Service announced that since the Amish refuse United States Social Security benefits and have a religious objection to insurance, they need not pay these taxes. The Social Security, in the United States currently refers to the federal Old-Age Survivors and Disability Insurance ( OASDI) program In 1965, this policy was codified into law. ^[23] Self-employed individuals in certain sects do not pay into, nor receive benefits from, United States Social Security, nor do their similarly-exempt employees. Amish employees of non-exempt employers are taxed, but they do not apply for benefits. A provision of this law mandates that the sect provide for their elderly and disabled; one visible sign of the care Amish provide for the elderly are the smaller Grossdaadi Heiser or Daadiheiser ("grandfather house"), often built near the main dwelling. The Amish are not the only ones exempt from Social Security in the United States. Ministers, certain church employees, and Christian Science practitioners may qualify for exemption under a similar clause. Christian Science is believed by its supporters to be a system of spiritually scientific truths which are summed up in the two commandments having one God one Mind one Life Truth The Amish pay other taxes the same as other American citizens.

The Amish have, on occasion, encountered discrimination and hostility from their neighbors. During the World Wars, Amish nonresistance sparked many incidents of harassment, and young Amish men forcibly inducted into the services were subjected to various forms of ill treatment. A world war is a War affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations In the present day, anti-Amish sentiment has taken the form of pelting the horse-drawn carriages used by the Amish with stones or similar objects as the carriages pass along a road, most commonly at night. A 1988, made-for-TV film, A Stoning In Fulham County, is based on a true story involving one such incident, in which a six-month-old Amish girl was struck in the head by a rock and died from her injuries. In 1997, Mary Kuepfer, a young Amish woman in Milverton, Ontario, Canada, was struck in the face by a beer bottle believed to have been thrown from a passing car;^[24] she required thousands of dollars' worth of surgery to her face (which was paid for by an outpouring of donations from the public). Milverton is a community in Perth County Ontario, Canada with a population of around 1700 people Ontario (ɒnˈtɛrioʊ is a province located in the central part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest after Quebec Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page

Portrayal in popular entertainment

Film

Peter Weir's 1985 acclaimed drama Witness is set and filmed in the Amish community of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Peter Lindsay Weir AM (born 21 August 1944 is an Australian Film director. Witness is a 1985 American thriller Film released by Paramount Pictures, and starring Harrison Ford, Kelly The story focuses on the interaction and culture clash of an Amish family with a Philadelphia detective hiding among them while he investigates a murder that an Amish boy witnessed. The film won an Oscar for screenwriting, and it was nominated for several other Academy Awards. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. Harvest of Fire is a 1996 Hallmark Hall of Fame made-for-TV movie about an FBI agent's investigation of cases of suspected arson in an Amish farming community, and the relationship she develops with an Amish woman who helps her to uncover the truth. Hallmark Hall of Fame is a long-running irregularly scheduled anthology program on American Television. The 2002 documentary Devil's Playground follows a group of Amish teenagers during rumspringa, and it portrays their personal dilemma with both the 'English' world and the decision on whether or not to be baptized as adult members of the church. Devil's Playground is a 2002 Documentary film by Stick Figure Productions directed by Lucy Walker about the alleged Amish Rite Rumspringa (also Rumschpringe or Rumshpringa, derived from the Deitsch term for "running around"

Some comic movie portrayals of the Amish include Randy Quaid’s Amish character "Ishmael Boorg" in Kingpin, directed by the Farrelly brothers in 1996, and the 1997 For Richer or Poorer, starring Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley, also about city folk hiding among the Amish. Randall Rudy "Randy" Quaid (born October 1, 1950) is an American actor and Comedian. Kingpin is a 1996 Farrelly brothers film starring Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, Vanessa Angel, and Bill Murray The Farrelly brothers, Peter (b December 17 1956 and Bobby (b For Richer or Poorer is a ( 1997) comedy film starring Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley. Tim Allen (born Timothy Allen Dick; June 13, 1953) is an American Comedian, Actor, Voice-over artist and Kirsten Louise "Kirstie" Alley (born January 12 1951 is an American Actress known for her role in the TV show Cheers, in which Rob Reiner's 1994 comedy, North, includes a short vignette sequel to Witness, with two of the original actors, Kelly McGillis and Alexander Godunov, portraying what might have happened to their characters after the end of Witness. Robert "Rob" Reiner (born March 6, 1947) is an American Actor, director, producer, Writer, and North is a 1994 film directed by Rob Reiner, and starring Elijah Wood, Bruce Willis, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus Witness is a 1985 American thriller Film released by Paramount Pictures, and starring Harrison Ford, Kelly Kelly Ann McGillis (born July 9, 1957) is an American Actress, whose notable movies include Witness (for which she Alexander Borisovich Godunov ( Russian: ru Александр Борисович Годунов November 28 1949 — May 18 1995) The 1968 comedy The Night They Raided Minsky's is the story of an Amish girl who goes to New York in the 1920s to be a dancer, and ends up as a burlesque stripper. The Night They Raided Minsky's is a 1968 musical comedy film directed by William Friedkin and produced by Norman Lear. Burlesque is theatrical entertainment of broad and parodic humor which usually consists of comic skits (and sometimes a strip tease)

Literature

Modern novels

Amish farmers involved in murder mysteries are also central to Paul Levinson's 1999 Locus Award-winning novel The Silk Code, a science-fiction mystery about biotechnology and mysterious deaths, and Jodi Picoult's 2000 novel (and 2004 TV movie) Plain Truth, a crime drama about the death of a newborn infant on an Amish farm. Paul Levinson (born 1947 is an American Author and Professor of Communications and Media studies at Fordham University The Locus Awards were established in 1971 and are presented to winners of Locus Magazine 's annual readers' poll Dr Phil D’Amato is a fictional NYPD Forensic Detective who has a penchant for strange cases Jodi Lynn Picoult (ˈdʒoʊdi ˈpiːkoʊ (born May 19, 1966) is an American Author. Plain Truth is a novel written by Jodi Picoult about a murder on an Amish farm The Amish are portrayed in other novels, including Lurlene McDaniel's 2002 The Angels Trilogy, and Beverly Lewis' extensive series of Amish romantic fiction. Lurlene McDaniel (born c 1948 is an author who has written over 50 young adult books. Beverly Lewis is a Christian fiction novelist and children's Author of over 70 books

Older novels

Helen Reimensnyder Martin's 1905 novel Sabina, A Story of the Amish, like her 1904 novel Tillie, a Mennonite Maid, so harshly depicted its subjects as to provoke cries of misrepresentation. Helen Reimensnyder Martin (1868-1939 was an American author She was born at Lancaster, Pa Anna Balmer Myers' 1920 novel Patchwork; a Story of "the Plain People," like her 1921 novel Amanda: A Daughter of the Mennonites, are generally regarded as gentle correctives to the work of Martin. Anna Balmer Myers was an American author of romantic novels featuring the local color of Lancaster County Pennsylvania. Ruth Lininger Dobson's 1937 novel Straw in the Wind, written while she was still a student at the University of Michigan and receiving that school's Hopwood Award, so harshly depicted the Amish of Indiana that Joseph Yoder was motivated to correct its harsh stereotypes with a better book about Amish life; thus, in 1940, he wrote the gentler Rosanna of the Amish, a story of his mother's life (and his own). The University of Michigan Ann Arbor ( U of M, U-M, UM or simply Michigan) is a top-ranked Coeducational public research The Hopwood Awards are a major scholarship program at the University of Michigan, founded by Avery Hopwood. Joseph Yoder ( 1872 September 22 - 1956 November 13) was an educator musicologist and writer the first successful He later wrote a sequel, Rosanna's Boys (1948), as well as other books presenting and recording what he regarded as a truer picture of Amish culture.

Children's literature

An Amish family is tenderly portrayed in Marguerite de Angeli's 1936 children's story Henner's Lydia. Marguerite de Angeli ( March 14 1889 - June 16 1987) was a bestselling author and illustrator of children's books including the 1950 Newbery Henner's Lydia ( is a 1936 children's story book written and illustrated by Marguerite de Angeli, who later won the Newbery Medal for excellence in Many of the author's illustrations were sketched at the site of the little red schoolhouse still standing at the intersection of PA route 23 and Red Schoolhouse Road west of Morgantown, Pennsylvania; the building is today known as the Amish Mennonite Information Center. The Lancaster County landscape portrayed in the end papers of the book can be recognized in the landscape today. De Angeli's illustrations of a nearby bank barn were sketched just hours before the barn was destroyed by fire. She incorporated the incident in her 1944 Caldecott Honor book Yonie Wondernose, a story about a curious Amish boy, younger brother to the Lydia of Henner's Lydia.

Theatre

An early portrayal of the Amish, the 1955 Broadway musical show Plain and Fancy, is also set in Lancaster County, but with a much lighter tone: it tells the story of a couple from New York who encounter the quaint Amish lifestyle when they arrive to sell off some property. Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located Plain and Fancy is a musical with a book by Joseph Stein and Will Glickman, lyrics by Arnold Horwitt and music by Albert Hague. This show brought depictions of shunning and barn-raising to the mainstream American audience for the first time. Another play that features the Amish people is Quiet in the Lands, a Canadian play about the Amish struggles in World War II. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

Television

In 1988 NBC aired a family drama called Aaron's Way about an Amish family who move to California and have to adjust to a non-Amish lifestyle; numerous TV shows have had individual episodes with Amish characters and storylines, including Pinky and the Brain, Arthur (TV series), Picket Fences, Murder She Wrote, MacGyver, Grey's Anatomy, Tales of the Gold Monkey and Cold Case, among others. The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Aaron's Way was a family drama series that ran in 1988 on American television starring Merlin Olsen as Aaron Miller the husband and father of an Pinky and the Brain are Cartoon characters who have starred in the American Animated television series Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs Arthur is a long-running American and Canadian educational Television series for children, that airs on PBS in the United States Picket Fences is a 60-minute television drama centering around the residents of the fictional community of Rome Wisconsin. Murder She Wrote is a television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. MacGyver is an American Adventure Television series, produced in the United States and Canada, about the laid-back Grey’s Anatomy is an American Primetime television medical drama. Tales of the Gold Monkey is a 1982 Television show broadcast by ABC. Cold Case is an American Police procedural Television series revolving around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division . ^[25] In the summer of 2004, a controversial reality-television program called Amish in the City was aired on UPN, where Amish teenagers are exposed to non-Amish culture, by living together with "English" teens while the Amish teens decide if they want to be baptized into their church. Amish in the City is an American reality Television series by Stick Figure Productions and UPN. United Paramount Network ( UPN) was a Television network that broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States and that was in production for over eleven ^[26] On October 7, 2007, the CBS TV show Cold Case featured the episode "Running Around," in which the team re-opens the 2006 case of a missing Amish girl who was murdered during her rumspringa journey to Philadelphia. CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. Cold Case is an American Police procedural Television series revolving around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division

Music

"Weird Al" Yankovic's 1996 parody Amish Paradise and the accompanying music video was an affectionate send-up of Coolio's earlier hip-hop song Gangsta's Paradise, with Yankovic in Amish garb, and lyrics reflecting Amish themes. Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic (ˈjæŋkəvɪk born October 23 1959 is a Grammy Award winning American singer Musician, actor satirist " Amish Paradise " is a single by parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic. Artis Leon Ivey Jr (born August 1 1963 better known by his Stage name Coolio, is a Grammy Award -winning American Rapper and Gangsta's Paradise is the second Album by rapper Coolio, released on November 21, 1995.

Similar groups

As Anabaptist religious groups that avoid automobiles and live apart from the outside world, Old Order Mennonites, Hutterites, and Old German Baptist Brethren are sometimes considered by outsiders to be the same as the Old Order Amish. Old Order Mennonites is a branch of the Mennonite church. Although the term strictly refers to one particular group it is often used to refer to those groups of Mennonites Hutterites are a communal branch of Anabaptists who like the Amish and Mennonites, trace their roots to the Radical Reformation of the 16th century Old German Baptist Brethren (OGBB descend from a pietist movement in Schwarzenau, Germany, in 1708 when Alexander Mack founded a fellowship However, all were distinct groups before emigrating from Europe, with different dialects and separate cultural and religious traditions. The Hutterites, who live communally, come from the same broad Anabaptist background, but were never Mennonites. They use the most modern farming methods on their colonies' farms, including extended- and crew-cab pickup trucks for personal transportation.

Quakers are unrelated to the Amish, although the early Quakers were influenced to some degree by the Anabaptists, and were also "plain people" in manner and lifestyle. Plain people are Christian groups characterized by separation from the world and Simple living, including Plain dress. Most modern Quakers have since abandoned their traditional dress.

Despite the vast differences between the two groups, the French version of the film Witness mistranslated "Amish" as "Mormon. Witness is a 1985 American thriller Film released by Paramount Pictures, and starring Harrison Ford, Kelly TalkMormon#Latter Day Saint vs Latter-day Saint --> Mormon "

Abuse controversy

Several recent high-profile cases have brought attention to sexual abuse of children among the Amish in some of the smaller more isolated communities, which has been called "almost a plague in some communities. Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual acts by one person upon another "^[27] Bishops and preachers of Old Order groups settle conflicts and mete out punishment for sins (generally in the form of shunning), and sexual abuse may therefore be less-often reported to law enforcement. Shunning is the act of deliberately avoiding association with and habitually keeping away from an individual or group Those who are mistreated have little recourse, and may be shunned for seeking outside help. Mary Byler was raped over a hundred times between the ages of 8 and 14 by her brothers; she was excommunicated and shunned for reporting her abusers. ^[28] David Yoder, who grew up in a conservative Swartzentruber Amish family, recalls one man who committed incest with his daughter, and was punished with 90 days of shunning. David E Yoder (born October 13 1956) is a self proclaimed advocate for Amish victims of Child abuse and a former member of ultra-conservative ^[29] Another young woman was repeatedly raped by her brother-in-law, who was eventually punished by being shunned for two-and-a-half months. ^[30] Some groups have also been accused of tolerating severe physical abuse of children. Child abuse is the physical, psychological or sexual maltreatment of children ^[31] Although the rate of physical or sexual abuse does not appear to be higher in the Amish community than in the general public, their physical and social isolation from the outside world makes it difficult for victims to seek help.

The Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based Intelligencer Journal published a four-part series on domestic abuse, child abuse, and child sexual abuse inside Amish (and Mennonite) families from the heart of PA Dutch country. Lancaster is a city in the South Central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is the County seat of Lancaster County. The Intelligencer Journal, known locally as the Intell, is the daily morning Newspaper published by Lancaster Newspapers Inc These articles suggested that abuse may be systematically silenced inside Amish (and Mennonite) churches, because of the emphasis on Gelassenheit and male authority in the church. The series, published on August 4, 2004, won a state-wide award for Best Public Service reporting in Pennsylvania. It began with an article entitled "Silenced by Shame: Hidden in Plain Sight," and ended with an article entitled "The Ties That Bind Can Form the Noose. " As the article "Beliefs, Culture Can Perpetuate Abuse in Families, Churches" makes clear, child and spousal abuse is often concealed and denied in the service of other church ends. One reaction from an Old Order woman was the following: "They made Plain women look too stupid and ignorant to know how to get help. "^[32]

The Amish community recently has started to address the issue of abuse awareness. The Amish publisher Pathway Publishers, for example, has run several series in its magazine Family Life that touch on the subjects of sexual and physical abuse. Pathway Publishing Company of Aylmer, Ontario, Canada, is a major publisher of Amish written material Family Life is a Magazine published by and primarily for the Old Order Amish. Pathway Publishers has also distributed free-of-charge resources for the abused and their families. Some Amish communities have objected to the articles, preferring that the subject not be raised, and claiming that these problems exist only among the "English". ^[33]

See also

• Amish music
• Amish school shooting
• Northkill Amish Settlement
• Fancy Dutch
• Martyrs Mirror
• Amish furniture
• Ordnung

References

Further reading

External links

• "Amish" from Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
• Amish at the Open Directory Project
• Amish 101 — Amish Beliefs, History & Lifestyle
• Amish in Lancaster County
• Amish links
• "Amish Series & Articles" — from Amish Country News
• Amish Studies
• Countries and Their Cultures: Amish
• The Gentle People — Legal affairs article about how incest is handled in the Amish community
• An article about a hate crime against the Amish in Wisconsin
• Genetic Disorders Hit Amish Hard — from 60 Minutes, CBS News
• "Family Ties" — Article from University of Miami "Medicine" magazine, Spring 2004 — During a lifetime of studying the Old Order Amish in central Pennsylvania, University of Miami professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences Janice Egeland, Ph. The Open Directory Project ( ODP) also known as dmoz (from directory Incest refers to any sexual activity between closely related persons (often within the immediate family that is illegal or socially Taboo. D. , discovers the genetic clues behind the mystery of bipolar disorder and helps generations of families cope with the devastating disease.
• The Amish Get Wired — The Amish? — 1993 article by Paul Levinson in Wired about the Amish's selective and not technophobic use of technology
• Look Who's Talking — 1999 article by Howard Rheingold in Wired about the same topic
• Article in Baltimore Sun on Amish Grief
• The Amish in Missouri, from the Missouri Folkore Society
• Annotated Bibliography of the Old Order Amish of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania by Adrian L. Paul Levinson (born 1947 is an American Author and Professor of Communications and Media studies at Fordham University Wired is a full-color monthly American Magazine and on-line periodical published in San Francisco, California since March 1993 Howard Rheingold (born July 7, 1947) is a critic and writer his specialties are on the cultural social and political implications of modern communication media such Wired is a full-color monthly American Magazine and on-line periodical published in San Francisco, California since March 1993 Whicker, MA, MLIS.
• Amish America - a Blog by Erik Wesner

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