As societies have existed for billions of years, it is commonly asked, what makes a society? A society can be a group of people that share common traditions, activities and interests. The members of the society can be a part of a community, nation, or even a cyber-society. With that being said the Amish are a society. “The Amish focuses on the similarities as well as the differences found among the various communities” (Nolt, 2013). There are several different orders within the Amish community; the largest of these communities are the Old Order Amish, New Order Amish, Andy Weaver Amish, Beachy Amish, and Swartzentruber Amish. Within these orders there are specific rules and regulations that make each Amish order unique, but generally speaking all the communities prior mentioned have similar beliefs, clothing and grooming standards, and forbid the use of television and radio. All Amish Communities believe in Jesus Christ, heaven and hell, the bible which the Amish see as the word of god, and communion which is practiced twice a year. The Amish also have their own language which is based upon the German and English language; they call this language Pennsylvania Dutch. Old Order Amish have been around since the 1800’s, and descended from the Anabaptist-Mennonite followers of Jacob Amman. The Old Order Amish is the typical concept that the world has when they think of the Amish. The Old Order is conservative in how strict they adhere to beliefs of forbidding ownership of automobiles and how traditional they dress.
New Order Amish are a subgrouping of Old Order Amish as they split away from the Old Order church in the 1960’s. In this order, they desire clean youth standards, meaning no tobacco, alcohol, or non-sexually lying in bed together, during courtship. Some New Order Amish communities permit electricity as well as telephones within the homes.
Andy Weaver Amish are another order of Amish that split from their original order in 1952 because they did not agree with their churches stand on shunning. In the Andy Weaver order they are more liberal with consumption of tobacco and alcohol, not allowed to have automobiles at their home, and very strict with the shunning of individuals in their communities.
Beachy Amish split from the Old Order Amish in 1927, led by Bishop Moses M. Beachy. Different congregations within the Beachy Amish order will allow different rules for instance; most congregations within this order will permit the use of internet as long as it is filtered to what is available to be viewed. Beachy Amish also the ownership of automobiles and insist that the men wear ready-made clothing.
Swartzentruber Amish are the most conservative Amish; they are a sect of the Old Order Amish which formed in 1917 by Bishop Sam Yoder. Swartzentruber Amish are identified very easily as they only wear dark colors like navy, dark burgundy, or gray. Men within this order wear only a single suspender to hold up their pants and the women’s dresses reach the top of their shoes.
There are several jobs in the Amish society, “A person was less an individual and more a member of a family. Each member of the family had a job, a position, a status.” (Igou, 2010) In the Amish society, the contribution that an individual puts in is the pay for the work they do, for example the cows have to milked and fed daily so the family will have food and shelter. A typical setup for an Amish family as far as roles are concerned would be the husband would work on the farm and is the head of household, any male children would accompany the father to help out as well as learn vital information about life. The wife would do anything pertaining to cooking and cleaning, also the daughter would stay with the mother learning and helping out chores. This
Amish Research Paper ANT 101 December 10, 2012 AMISH Although the Amish are a very tight knit family with-in their own communities, they seem to be somewhat sheltered compared to our way of living. They prefer to not use western medicine(s) or modern technology. Amish value their rural living, manual labor, the plain dressing and simple living. Most of us would think that the horse and buggy from back in the day is outdated and non-existent, however, that is still the mode of transportation…
The Amish Decision Olivia Ducasse ANT:101 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Instructor Michelle Neumyer 6/3/12 The Amish Decision 1 The Amish religion and culture…
The Amish Culture Ant 101 3/4/2013 In this research paper the reader will be able to explore about the Amish culture. This paper will include knowledge about the people and the effects of their subsistence with regards to the aspects of their culture and beliefs, social organizations, kinship, and family values. The overall style of their subsistence is horticulturist, which directly impacts aspects of their culture. The Amish lifestyle was a subject that really gained my interest because…
The Amish The Amish culture revolves around their families, generations’ passes down farm lands, and the peace among their settlement community. This hard working culture believes in living by the soil and what was given to them by the land. In our day the modern world has taken us over, the Amish live a simple life, not because they have to, they allow their children to choose the Amish life style. When you think of an Amish family you think of a horse-drawn carriages and building all the…
The “Riddles” of Amish Childhood A little boy runs home after returning home from school. He knows in a few years he will no longer be attending the school, but taught at home by his parents. His homeschooling will help him from staying away from controversial ideas and it will teach him important values that his family and community share. For now, the boy will spend the rest of his day helping his father in the field and caring for livestock around the farm. He knows he will later have the…
The Amish culture began in Europe, around the 1700s they migrated to America settling into Pennsylvania. Today the Amish have more than 200 settlements, in 22 states as well as groups living in Canada around Ontario. Though they are mostly known for the lack of using technology they are one of the most profound and most distinctive cultural groups that we have in America. The Amish are Agriculturists. Agriculture is when you cultivate soil, produce crops, and raise livestock making it their primary…
audience aware of how impure the modern society has become. Throughout the movie the director shows the Amish in a favourable light to emphasise the beauty of their culture. The Amish are introduced as a traditional Christian culture that has maintained many pure aspects that have been lost in modern society. This is shown in the opening scene with the Amish moving together through the green wheat field. The use of soft music further associates the Amish with purity. They are each a part of an extended…
Amish Grace It was October 2, 2006; a day in which nobody in the town could have predicted the horrific act that would occur that day. Charles Carl Roberts IV stepped into a schoolhouse and shot and killed 5 young girls, while wounding 5 others before finally killing himself. Instead of the Amish community reacting in rage towards the murder, they reacted in an astounding way that shocked American culture. They forgave the shooter and then proceeded to care for his distraught family. The tale Amish Grace tells…
have probably been about one hundred thousand religions throughout human history (Hadden 1997a). Tracing their roots back to the Anabaptist movement of the 16th century, the Amish people are a tightly knit religious and ethnic group. (http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/AmishHistoryTimeline.html). The Amish are a group of traditionalist Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches. "Anabaptist" means "one who baptizes again"—a reference to those who had been…
The Amish Jamila Davis Introductory t Anthropology 101 Justine Lemos November 11, 2012 The Amish It hasn’t been agreed unanimously where the Amish community is categorized in Christianity. However, most Amish consider themselves Anabaptist while some people view them as conservative Protestants. J Gordon Maelton, categories The Amish as part of European Free-Church Family, together with Brethren Quakers, Mennonites and other denominations.It is in the above understanding thatthis paper will…