Amish Mennonites
It might be surprising to some that the people known as the Amish in America date to a Protestant group founded in the Netherlands in the sixteenth century. The Amish were followers of Anabaptist leader Jakob Ammann, a seventeenth-century elder whose teachings caused a schism among members in many parts of Europe. His followers were called the Amish.
Persecution drove many Mennonites to emigrate from Holland and Switzerland starting in 1663. The Mennonite beliefs still include adult baptism (usually between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five), pacifism, and an overarching rejection of worldly concerns in favor of withdrawal from society.
Ammann was difficult due to his oppressive strictures and orders. He took issue with Swiss Mennonite leaders for their lack of discipline and split off to form his own group. He introduced the washing of feet into services and taught the plainness of dress and habit that became a staple of the Amish way of life.
The Amish migration to North America landed them in eastern Pennsylvania, and their settlement remains in that part of the country. Schisms again occurred after 1859 between the Old and the New orders, resulting in the formation of smaller churches or amalgamations within the Mennonite Church.
Amish children attend public elementary schools, but not high schools. This practice has caused problems because of school attendance laws. Some Amish have gone to jail rather than allow their children to attend high school. In fact, the Amish shun education past the eighth grade, believing that their learning to that point provides a sufficient preparation for their lifestyle.
Following the eighth grade, children work on their family's farm or business until they marry. Although they pay school taxes, the Amish have fought to keep their children out of public schools. In 1972, the Supreme Court handed down a landmark unanimous decision that exempted the Old Order Amish and related groups from state compulsory attendance laws beyond the eighth grade. Amish students do have access to higher education by enrolling in their own colleges, seminaries, and Bible schools.
Each Amish settlement is generally comprised of some seventy-five baptized members. If a group becomes any larger, a new group is formed because members meet for services in each other's homes; they have no church buildings. Each district has a bishop, two to four preachers, and an elder. Holy Communion is celebrated twice each year. Services are conducted in a mixture of English and palatine German, known as Pennsylvania Dutch.
Adults are baptized when they are admitted to formal membership, generally around seventeen to twenty years of age. The Amish believe in the Trinity and affirm the scriptures, particularly the New Testament.
To better grasp the Amish way of life, you should bear in mind two ideas. One is their rejection of hochmut (pride, arrogance, haughtiness) and their prizing of demut (humility) and gelassenheit (calmness, composure; but perhaps better translated as “submission” or “letting be”). This concept also signals an aversion to self-promotion and a rejection of individualism in favor of community life.
The Amish are notable for their “plain” customs, which even today include homemade clothing without buttons; hooks and eyes are used instead. A familiar sight is of men wearing broad-brimmed black hats and full beards without moustaches. The women wear bonnets and modest dress, including long dresses with capes over the shoulders, shawls, and black shoes and stockings. No jewelry of any kind is ever worn. The mode of dress dates to their early traditions established in Europe.
They live without telephones or electric lights. The Amish drive horses and buggies rather than automobiles, and they shun modern farm machinery, although they have a reputation for being excellent farmers.
There are now about 500,000 full members, about 225,000 of whom are in the United States and Canada.
