This paper examines the belief system, customs, and social structure of the Amish, a small but distinctive religious community concentrated in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. Drawing on sources from religious studies and journalism, the paper explores core Amish values such as Gelassenheit (humility and submission to community), the role of the Ordnung (unwritten community rules), the Anabaptist roots of adult baptism and shunning, and the practice of Rumspringa. It also addresses Amish attitudes toward education, technology, and political life, as well as the landmark Supreme Court case Wisconsin v. Yoder. The paper concludes by noting the paradox of a community that rejects mainstream society yet has become an object of admiration within it.
The paper consistently applies a single interpretive framework — the primacy of community over individual — to explain every Amish practice it discusses. This creates a unified analytical thread rather than a disconnected list of cultural facts. Each custom (shunning, limited education, rejection of the electrical grid) is shown to follow from the same foundational value, demonstrating how a single organizing principle can generate a coherent cultural analysis.
The paper opens with an outsider's perspective and narrows progressively inward: from demographics and origins, to theology and ritual, to education and law, to everyday technology choices, and finally to social practices. The conclusion reverses the lens, showing how mainstream America now views the Amish — producing an effective circular structure that returns to the outsider's gaze introduced at the start.
Despite their prominence in many states of America, and despite the fact that many Americans and foreign visitors have viewed Amish culture as a spectacle when touring their communities, few outsiders are really well acquainted with the belief system of the Amish. An observer may be able to identify someone who is Amish by his or her dress and the fact that the person is driving a horse and buggy on a busy road, but little else. Those who know the Amish only by sight might also wonder why members of this religious sect shun certain aspects of technology and not others, and why young Amish people are allowed to experience modern life before formally adhering to the church.
The lack of understanding of the Amish is perhaps understandable, as the total Amish population is estimated at only 134,000. Although it is worthy of note that despite the religion's European origins, the Amish today dwell almost exclusively in North America — fewer than 900 members live in Canada. Three-quarters of all Amish are located in just three U.S. states: Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana (Inge, 2007). The confusion about Amish traditions may also stem from the fact that the Amish are fairly unique among Protestant sects. The Amish faith is almost completely integrated into Amish culture and lifestyle, unlike other Protestant sects, which are religions "of the book" and are therefore more portable and adaptable to national values (Inge, 2007). The Amish do not evangelize, for that would require leaving the community and going out into the world ("Amish: Frequently Asked Questions," 1995).
The Amish hold the Bible to be the most sacred text, and they believe this text instructs them to place community above all else (Inge, 2007). The Amish lifestyle was forged as a way to obey the word of the Bible as literally as possible. To preserve the religious community, unwritten rules agreed upon by elders were established — rules known as the Ordnung — that must be strictly followed by all Amish. The stringency of these laws exists to preserve age-old Amish values within an individualistic, contemporary setting.
The Amish people are Anabaptists, part of a religious tradition that arose during the Reformation in Germany. Anabaptism denies infant baptism and holds that an adult must consciously decide to accept Christ. This is why young people in the Amish community are allowed, before they formally swear allegiance to the church, to engage in a period of experimentation. "You see these kids, they get drunk, but when they join the church, it ends," said one judge, describing the alcohol use, smoking, modern clothing, and attendance at sporting events, concerts, and movies that are common during this period (Drummond, 2007). This period of freedom ensures that when an Amish person is baptized into the church, he or she is certain of his or her commitment.
The Anabaptist movement believes that only the pure should be involved in religion, and that if a member were to fall into sinful behavior, he or she should be excommunicated or shunned. The Amish draw their instruction for shunning from the Bible, specifically I Corinthians 5:1: "But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother or sister who is sexually immoral or greedy, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or robber. Do not even eat with such a one" (Inge, 2007). Shunning is a serious action decided upon by the community as a whole and acts as a check on nonconformist behavior. A person is not allowed to speak to someone who is shunned, even if that person is a family member. Again, the community comes before personal desires and relationships.
Interestingly, despite the allowance of "flings in the English world," the number of Amish teenagers who join the church has risen over the past 50 years. "In 1940, only about 60% remained in the Amish faith...[now it is] hover[ing] around 90% and is even higher in some areas" (Drummond, 2007). And although the Amish still disdain higher education and contact with the wider world, that world has sought out their community — not only as tourists but as consumers of their handicrafts, including Amish furniture, food, and hand-woven quilts. This commerce has also made "the English" more sympathetic to their way of life and has encouraged non-Amish people to lobby the government to protect Amish values as part of America's freedom of religion. Ironically, this society so grounded in collective values — a society that runs against the grain of contemporary individualism — has become beloved by the very society it spurns, as an example of a different, simpler way of life.
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