Amish Culture - Essay 2

The social constructionism of the Amish community is one that passes quick judgment. The judgments might include the Amish having a simple life. The thought that the members are forced into the religion. That they lose out from choosing not to fully utilize electricity. That they must all dress the same. Regardless of how people view them, there needs to be further examination of their culture, before a socially constructed perspective of their community is made. This examination is important to sociology due to the ever-growing population of Amish people within North America. The mass major of Amish use to live in Europe today there are no Amish people left in the country. Although, in North America, there are over 250,000 Amish people, most of which live in either Pennsylvania or Ohio (Yonke, 2010, p. 1). Never the less, they are still true to their roots and still speak German,

Culture can be defined as the totality of socially transmitted customs, beliefs, behavior, material objects, language, values, art and practices. Amish and American cultures have coexisted for more than 300 years, yet both are distinct while still sharing some similarities. Amish roots can be retraced to the 16th century, during the Protestant Reformation. Due to its ineffectiveness some reformers baptized each other, which outraged religious authorities. At the time, rebaptism of adults was a crime and punishable by death. In these reformers’ views baptism was purposeful for adults if they made a voluntary confession of faith. Anabaptism, the act of rebaptizing, spread across Europe. Ultimately, Anabaptists separated into two major groups: the Amish and Mennonite. In the search for religious freedom and stability, as a result of violence targeted toward the Amish, they migrated to the USA during the 1700s and 1800s.

The aspects of an Amish funeral service are steeped in customs that vary largely from that of an English funeral. Though the ideals and customs of an English funeral service change with the new trends of the region. While the Amish funeral service has changed very little from the Amish deviation from the Quakers. In most branches of the Amish church, the rituals and traditions surrounding death are held in the highest regard. These sacred teachings are known to very few members of the church; generally, by the bishops, or by the Amish funeral director. The funeral, as seen from the English perspective, is a celebration of life or the mourning of a life; while, the funeral seen from an Amish perspective, is a celebration of the gift of God.

To conclude, we always assume that the man, usually the one earn more, is the main support of the family, but we should remember that the woman always contributes mentally and does most of the housework. She and her husband are two people seemingly brought together by love but ultimately kept together by

Amish culture is a European born group of Christians who are descendents of Mennonite church. Due to few fundamental religious differences, they separated from Mennonite regime which made them go through a series of violence causing a remarkable decrease in their population. However, after gaining ground sin United States and Canada, they are living their lives peacefully in isolation. The current culture of Amish people is a true representative of simplicity, humility, thrift, obedience,

Amish children are considered to be done furthering their education after 8th grade. At this point, the young women are to learn how to manage the household. Likewise, the young men learn how to manage and maintain the farm. Amish people do not allow people to join the military, because “they follow the biblical aspect of love thy neighbor and forbids violence and active military service” (AmishCountry.org, 2015). Alternative treatments are what they use instead of seeking professional help, but when that fails they do what is necessary (AmishCountry.org, 2015). “Amish pay state, federal and county taxes and usually refuse Social Security benefits” (AmishCountry.org, 2015). Their faith and religion makes it mandatory for them to care for their

Throughout the readings I have done for this class, there is in fact little exact mention of the way in which Amish pray. One of the times Amish prayer is mention is in the video called The Amish where they talked about how the Amish usually are

In the mid the seventeenth century, the Amish movement was founded in Europe at the time of the Protestant Reformation. They are derived from a group impatient with the pace of reform in the existing churches. One of the main issues is baptism. A group of Anabaptists practise adult baptism. Religion is the basis of Amish life. They believe they must obey God at all times.

The relationship between mainstream society and the Amish society of a particular interest because the Amish lifestyle is not meant to be admired or praised. The American public thinks the Amish way of life is so interesting that it becomes irresistibly fascinating and fashionably old-fashioned. Mainstream American culture has adopted the “Say No” approach to the Amish way of life because most Americans will not be doing any back breaking work like farming, driving a buggy every day, or living a simply settled life. Americans pay taxes, social security, state and federal taxes, real estate, county taxes, sales tax, etc. On the other hand, Amish does pay the same taxes except for social security. If the Amish is self-employed, they do not pay

The Amish and the State is wrote with the intent to identify the cultural values and social organizations of the Amish order along with how the traditional values of the Amish counteracted with the modernity of the state. This book covers the most prominent aspects of the Amish order dating all the way back to their very existence during the Radical Reformation in the sixteenth century. It entitles one to see and feel the persecution the Amish order has faced since 1525. Donald Kraybill believes that the Amish order, even though some individuals view their religious practices as being extremely impractical, is a major attribute toward the freedom

The Amish are one subculture that has certain beliefs that separate them from other Christian denominations. The Bible influences their idea of the way they should dress;Therefore they believe that modesty is humility and what they wear helps display their faith. Amish men and boys only wear dark solid color clothing with cut vest jackets. They do not wear belts, buttons, and jewelry because of its flashy appearance and boastfulness it displays. Females of the Amish community are to wear calf-length solid color dresses with either a black or white aprons. On their heads, they have to wear prayer caps.These prayer caps allow the women to pray whenever they want to, because they are not allowed to pray by men without it. Amish women are never to cut their hair and the Amish men do not grow their hair out; however,they can grow facial hair once they get married. There are many rules on what the Amish can and cannot wear . Modesty is great, however to that extent other Christians will disagree. Other Christians believe that no matter what you wear, God will not love you less.

The thriller film ‘Witness’, directed by Peter Weir in 1985, tells about cultural conflicts between the Amish of Western Pennsylvania and Modern American corruption and violence. Philadelphia Police officer, John Book was obligated to hide from the three brutally and corrupt police officers as they were looking for a little Amish boy, Samuel Lapp. The boy witnessed the brutal killings and identified the killer as the three police officers. The ‘Witness’ strongly displayed many images of people and incorporated several techniques and images in various scenes to portray the contrast between two different worlds.

The Amish life is centered on a form of Christianity that demands strict adherence to the word of the Bible.

Some extreme cases are the conservative Swartzentrubers, and the Nebraska Amish of Central Pennsylvania who do not use indoor plumbing, or motorized machinery of any kind. They also wear even more conservative clothing. The Nebraska Amish, for example, do not wear suspenders or bonnets, and will not even allow screens on their doors and windows. Over 90% of the current Amish population, are from the original emigrant ancestors. There are less than 10% converts included in the total membership.

Religion being practiced rather than being displayed is what the Amish believe in. They translate this into their daily life. According to them, God has an interest in their lives, families, and communities. God is the force that keeps families and communities so close to each other.