Amish

Particular groups of MENNONITE Christians. The most traditional Amish are the Old Order Amish. They are probably the most visible and best known Mennonites. That is because, paradoxically, they are so assiduous in avoiding the ways of the world. The Amish split off from other Mennonites in the 1690s. The issue was discipline. All of the "plain people"—conservative Mennonites, Amish, and Brethren—observe a strict discipline. It covers many areas of life, such as dress and the use of modern inventions. In observing the discipline they claim to practice what the BIBLE teaches, especially Romans 12.2: "Do not be conformed to this world." In the 1690s Jakob Amman (c. 1675–1725), a Mennonite elder, disagreed with other elders over how to enforce the discipline. Following certain verses in the Bible, he taught that those who violated the discipline should be shunned. That is, no member of the community should associate with them. Other Mennonites thought that shunning was too harsh. It meant, for example, that one might have to avoid one's own children. At one time Amish Mennonites lived in several parts of Europe: Switzerland, Alsace (eastern France), southern Germany, Holland, and Russia. Today the Amish live in North America, where they began to settle around 1720. The earliest immigrants settled in Pennsylvania, especially Lancaster County. Amish immigrants also settled in western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas. In the last years of the 20th century many Amish were leaving Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and moving farther west, some to the Midwest. Land in Lancaster County had become too expensive. (It is traditional for Amish families to purchase farms for their sons when their sons become adults.) Many Amish also found the publicity they were receiving in Lancaster County distasteful. Amish beliefs and practices are very similar to those of other Mennonites. The Old Order Amish conduct their WORSHIP services in a dialect of German known as Pennsylvania Dutch; this is the language that they ordinarily speak. Other Amish conduct their services in English. Old Order services are known for the slow, prolonged manner in which they sing in unison; a single hymn may take as much as half an hour. Other Amish sing more quickly; like other plain people they sing without instruments and often in four-part harmony. Old Order Amish worship in homes. Other Amish have constructed church buildings. Men and women sit separately. Like other plain people, the Amish celebrate the EUCHARIST in the context of a "love feast." At this special service, often held in the evening, participants not only partake of the Eucharist but also wash each other's feet. In doing this, they follow the example of JESUS, who washed his disciples' feet at their last meal together (John 13.3–15). The Amish have traditionally shied away from Bible study and THEOLOGY. In their eyes, study symbolized the sin of pride. But in the late 20th century many Amish were fi nding EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANITY attractive (see EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANITY; FUNDAMENTALISM, CHRISTIAN). They liked its emphasis on the Bible and on cultivating a personal relationship with GOD. Amish groups have bishops, preachers, and elders, all of whom must be men. To avoid pride, these leaders are chosen by lot from candidates recognized as worthy of the offi ce. A person becomes Amish by being baptized, generally around the age of 15 or 16. Once baptized, a person is subject to the community's discipline or way of life. Technically, unbaptized children are not subject to the discipline's rules, and many teenagers from Amish families experience the wilder aspects of life before being baptized. For example, some keep cars "hidden" in distant pastures on their parents' farms. Nevertheless, an Amish childhood does not simply conform to what is common in the surrounding society. For example, the Amish do not think a modern education is necessary for those who drive horses and buggies, do not use public electricity or telephones, use horses to pull ploughs, and insist that men wear untrimmed beards. In cases of need they may ask their non-Amish neighbors for rides or to take telephone messages. All plain people are strict pacifi sts; because soldiers in Europe wore mustaches, their men are not allowed to have them. Despite the extremely plain lifestyle of the Old Order Amish, it would be a serious mistake to see them as unchanging. They change in different ways. Many Old Order Amish own tractors. They use them for power. Amish farmers have invented many pneumatic (air-driven) farm tools. Amish buggies may look plain and old fashioned on the outside. But within the limits of the discipline, the interiors of many buggies are plush. Some even have special sound systems.