Women's Role in Amish Religion: Faith, Doctrine, and Subordination
This paper examines the role of women within the Amish faith, tracing the religion's origins in the sixteenth-century Anabaptist movement and exploring how its strict biblical interpretation governs gender relations. The paper reviews Amish theology and the Ordnung — the oral code of conduct that structures community life — before analyzing the specific expectations placed on women, including domestic responsibilities, modesty, submission to male authority, and restricted participation in church governance. It also evaluates the broader implications of these practices from a modern feminist perspective, considering whether women freely choose this lifestyle or are effectively constrained by the threat of shunning and excommunication.
- Introduction: Overview of women's subordinate role in Amish faith
- History of the Amish: Amish origins, migration, and community structure
- Theology and Doctrine: Core beliefs, Ordnung, and biblical literalism
- Women in the Amish Community: Domestic duties, church participation, and gender norms
- Analysis and Modern Perspectives: Feminist critique and technology disparity in Amish life
- Conclusion: Whether women freely choose or are constrained by faith
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What makes this paper effective
- Uses direct biblical citations (Corinthians 11:3, Titus 2:5) to anchor its claims about gender doctrine in primary textual evidence, strengthening credibility.
- Balances descriptive reporting of Amish practices with analytical commentary, acknowledging insider perspectives rather than simply condemning the community from a modern standpoint.
- Incorporates a memorable first-person Amish woman's quotation about technology to illustrate the power imbalance in a concrete, vivid way.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates the use of multiple secondary scholarly sources — Hostetler, Kraybill, Nolt, Olshan and Schmidt — to triangulate claims about Amish religious and social practice. By citing page numbers and cross-referencing findings across sources, the writer builds an evidence base that goes beyond a single authority, lending depth to otherwise difficult-to-verify ethnographic claims.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with an introduction establishing the central tension between Amish gender norms and modern values. It then provides historical background on Amish origins and settlement, followed by a theology section detailing core doctrines including the Ordnung and Meidung. A dedicated section on women surveys their domestic duties, church participation, and legal-spiritual standing. An analytical section closes with a critical evaluation of whether women genuinely choose subordination or are structurally compelled to accept it, with the technology disparity used as a focal case study.
Introduction
Women in the Amish religion are committed to living a life that is subordinate and subservient to the male members of the community. Many women within the Amish community complacently accept this role, as it is the role assigned to women in ancient biblical scripture. There are many who would argue that women within the Amish community are unfairly suppressed; however, all women living within the community do have the option to choose whether or not they will accept the faith before becoming a member of the Amish religion.
The Amish, otherwise known as "plain people" for their unadorned clothing, live in segregated communities in many different parts of the United States. Speaking what is referred to as "Pennsylvania Dutch," many people in the Amish community avoid casual contact with people living in modern society as a means to avoid most of the conveniences afforded to people living in the twenty-first century (Kelly & Yoder, 1992).
The Amish practice a very strict form of Christian idealism derived from Anabaptist practices of the early 1500s. The Amish interpret church doctrine, as indicated by biblical scripture, very literally. Amish women are considered the caretakers of the family and community within Amish culture. By modern standards the role of Amish women is considered very submissive; Amish women live a lifestyle far more reminiscent of women in Victorian times, where men held the upper hand and made all important decisions. A modern woman may look down upon Amish women as subservient, but the Amish religion actually teaches respect and recognition for the important role Amish women play within their communities, even though it is a role subordinate to that of men.
This paper examines in greater detail the doctrines of Amish faith that govern the role and place women hold within the Amish community.
History of the Amish
The Amish religion originated during the early 1500s as a offshoot of the Anabaptist movement in Switzerland (Kelly & Yoder, 1992). Members of the Amish faith first arrived in the United States in the early 1700s and formed their first settlement in Pennsylvania (Kelly & Yoder, 1992). Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is in fact well known for its large Amish community.
The Amish religion dictates that people living within an Amish community enjoy a very simple lifestyle; as such, they avoid anyone who might attempt to educate them regarding the ways of the modern world. Associating with members of modern society is often considered a sin, as it implies that individuals are consulting with people who might otherwise be shunned by the community.
There are approximately 150,000 Amish living in North America today, with the largest concentration centralized in Holmes County, Ohio (Kelly & Yoder, 1992). The Amish have become synonymous, however, with Pennsylvania, with Lancaster often referred to as Pennsylvania Dutch country (Kelly & Yoder, 1992). Pennsylvania is perhaps better known because of the tourism that centers on the community rather than because of a particularly large population.
The majority of Amish live on farmland without electrical conveniences or telephone lines, in simple farmhouses that house multiple or large families (Kelly & Yoder, 1992).
The Amish religion is generally categorized into several groups labeled the New Order or the Old Order (Kelly & Yoder, 1992). The Old Order currently has the most members and follows the strictest rules and regulations regarding modern conveniences (Kelly & Yoder, 1992). New Order followers observe many of the older practices but are typically considered more progressive, allowing such conveniences as telephones, air-filled tires, and in some cases electricity in their homes (Kelly & Yoder, 1992).
Church is attended every Sunday, held at a different home within the community each week so that members of the community can keep tabs on each family and ensure they comply with the laws and rules of the church (Kelly & Yoder, 1992). The religion is very unforgiving and requires that the rules of order, called the Ordnung, be followed strictly. If a family disobeys these rules, they are shunned by the community and may even face excommunication from the church (Kelly & Yoder, 1992).
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