Amish Culture

Marriage as evolved for thousands of years and it will be changing in more years to come. Marriage was known to be the union between man and woman but in recent times, in some countries, marriage is seen to be a union between same sex, or different sex couples. People get married in different ways depending on where they are from and their culture. In some culture, the man finds the girl he wants and kidnaps her and forces her to say yes to his proposal. How different or similar will Westernized America and Amish America be when it comes to marriage customs?

It’s very easy to find the differences between Amish and American societies and even though it may not seem like it at first glance there are some similarities between the two. Such as religion, yes America has a diverse set of religion, but both societies believe the right to religious freedom. That is why Amish societies are located in America because they are allowed to express their religion. Another similarity in both societies is education. Even though Amish children mostly only go to an eighth grade education, both societies prepare the children for adulthood and teach them skills that will help them in society.

Perhaps the most culturally diverse nation on the globe, the United States is home to a dominant Anglo-American Protestant culture intermixed and alongside a host of sub-cultures that live and thrive on US soil. Among these cultures exists an array of distinct form of living all who boast an identity specific to only that select group. These subcultures exist in a couple different forms; convergent subcultures and persistent subcultures. First, convergent subcultures intend toward assimilation with the dominant society through various tactics to include: residential clustering, adherence to the language, dress, and cultural norms of their native land (Parrillo, 42). Contrarily, some cultures simply do not assimilate. In these cases, persistent subcultures adhere as much as possible to their own way of life and resist absorption into the dominant culture (Parrillo, 43). Among these persistent subcultures within the US are the Amish. The Amish are a sect of the Christian faith whose members have roots in twenty-two states across the

Each Amish province is completely independent and lives by its own set of unwritten rules or Ordnung. The Old Order Amish are the most rigorous of them all. One way that the Old Order Amish punish members who have been disobedient to the community and God is by shunning. Shunning is defined as “to avoid somebody or something intentionally” (Shun, 2007). Shunning is not meant to injure an individual, but merely to wound them. It is an attempt for redemption. If an individual repents they will be allowed back into the patronage. It is only in extreme cases where an individual continuously breaks the rules where they may be permanently shunned. There are usually a very low percentage of Amish who are excommunicated. Because the community is so closely netted, shunning has proven to be a great form of social control.

Amish culture has been an attention grabbing field of study for many anthropologists. Currently, there population is only present in United States due to various historical events. Although Amish community has been living in United States for a considerably long time now which comprises of centuries but despite all the cultural influences from external forces, this community has successfully managed to retain its original character and essence. Where other communities have showed adaptation to sociological and cultural changes, Amish culture is present in its original form because of their closed social system. Their main mode of subsistence of Horticulture. Although this mode is considered to be a derivative of their way of obtaining financial independence but in reality this mode of living defines their Beliefs and values, Economic organization, Gender relations, Kinship Political organization and Social organization.

The Amish people are a subculture group. This culture is one of the more distinctive and colorful cultural groups across America. Their rejection of modern technology is what has kept them apart of the high tech culture. They start back in the sixteenth-century Europe when a rebaptism of adults was then a crime punishable by death. Anabaptists or rebaptizers were groups’ that threatened civil and religious authorities. The Swiss Anabaptists followed a Jesus life were they loved their enemies, forgiving insults, and turning the other cheek. While other groups we’re more into violence. The Amish came in 1693 when the Swiss and the South Germans Anabaptists split into two groups: Amish and Mennonites. Looking for political stability and religious freedom they moved to North America where they first settled in southern Pennsylvania then to Ohio, Indiana, and to other Midwestern states. Were they have been able to maintain a distinctive subculture. They try to maintain cultural customs to preserve their identity. Amish speak a dialect of German known as Pennsylvania German or Pennsylvania Dutch. This language is not a written language. Amish use the English when conversing with non-Amish individuals. When talking in Pennsylvania German to each other they tend to switch to English

The Amish faith is to be considered as living a life of self-surrender. According to Kraybill this attribute is the core of the Amish religion. The cornerstone to the values in the Amish faith is Gelassenheit. “The German word means submission=yielding to a higher authority. It entails self-surrender, resignation to God’s will, yielding to others, self-denial, contentment, and a quiet spirit” (12). Being able to display wholesomeness and respect toward the individuals which are trying to bring about an end of your complete form of life is an influential aspect which enabled the Amish to aid in the uprising of the First Amendment clause. They continued to fight for their religious rights in away that does not intrude on their belief of living a

Many of the young men who chose to join the Amish church after Rumspringa agree that giving up the keys to their car is the single hardest part. Most men wear “English” clothes during Rumspringa while most of the women wear traditional Amish clothes. If an adolescent joins the Amish faith and then quits they are excommunicated from their families and shunned by the Amish church. The adolescents who do not join the Amish faith seem to have a very difficult time in general society because of their lack of education and just the total differences in their upbringing. Many of the teens seemed to be very distraught over the decision and it caused more depression than

In conclusion, many may think that the Amish are the only ones that shun or excommunicate their fellow members, but that’s not true. The Catholic Church will also excommunicate their members for sinning. The Amish church is based on multiple Christian principles, and shunning is used to uphold those beliefs. Punishment for Amish church members affects many aspects of their daily

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.

In class today we watched a video that observed multiple Amish adolescents who were experiencing what is known in Amish culture as rumspringa. Rumspringa is a time in which Amish adolescents break off from their families and church beliefs to discover whether they will commit to the Amish church for adulthood or if they will break free of the church from their childhood. Rumspringa starts at age sixteen and normally ranges from a few months to several years until they make their decision. During rumpsringa, Amish adolescents in the video were seen throwing large parties, possibly moving out from families, and sometimes experimenting with alcohol and drugs. Not all adolescents, however, make such big changes. Some commit very quickly to stay

The term Rumspringa can be translated as “running around, and it is derived from the German word Raum, which means space as in space to roam” (Shachtman, 2006, pg. 10). The more complete translation is “running around outside of the bounds” (Shachtman, 2006, pg. 10). Rumspringa gives the Amish youth “license to do things that they have never done before” (Shachtman, 2006, pg. 11). Most Amish youth continue to live with their parents during Rumspringa and while some do take part in rowdy parties, most do not. One of the main ideas of Rumspringa is to give “youngsters leaves and to find an appropriate mate” (Shachtman, 2006, pg. 13).

The Amish are a group of people that teach separation from the outside world. A group that originated from Switzerland is centered in the United States and Canada. Their rules as a society require farming and personal simplicity as their way of life. the luxury of having electricity and telephones are not accepted in this odd way of life. Their transportation is reduced to horse and carriages as a way for them to remain simple. These old order Amish traditions are very strictly enforced. Those who break from the Amish usually join the Mennonites, a society with similar rules and values, just less strict.

In 1525 a group of religious dissenters rebelled against religious conformity near Zurich, Switzerland . After the Anabaptists emigrated to the US for religious freedom and land, they formed the Mennonites and Amish. There is much diversity among the 5 separate affiliations of Amish, but the concept of “ordnung” is a main feature of social organization among Amish society. Because their beliefs are highly group oriented, all important areas of life, including decision making is highly determined by the church. The Amish have many opportunities to learn about the non- Amish communities, such as rumspringa, yet, most of those who are born of the Amish way of life choose it. This commitment is the religious basis of the Amish culture which successfully

In watching the video, "The Amish - A Family Legacy” I learned a vast amount of information about the Amish community. The Amish group of people live a more traditional lifestyle of past generations. The Amish lifestyle could be compared to the lifestyle of people who lived between the 1800's and 1900's prior to the Industrial revolution. The Amish do not partake in the uses of modern technology. For instance, their means of transportation are horses and walking. Our current means of transportation are cars, motorcycles, buses, trains, etc. Another instance is that the Amish still practice agricultural farming with little no involvement of machinery. They also refuse to use chemicals refuse to use chemicals such as pesticides as we do to repel bugs from our crops. The Amish feel that our two different worlds should be isolated and distant from one another to keep their traditional way of life away from the modern world.