Amish Subculture

The Amish is a group of traditionalist Christians that rely on simple living, plain dress and refuse to adapt to modern technology. The history of the Amish started in Switzerland in 1693 led by Jakob Amman. Today majority of the traditional descendants of the Amish live in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

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

Other than goths I think a subculture that really stands out in our culture is the subculture deemed as redneck, I am not certain what the exact title of this subculture is or should be because it can be pretty diverse. I was raised in a small farming and mining town so I have seen firsthand how diverse red necks can be; a redneck can be anything from a dignified rancher to a back woods, alligator wraslin’[sic], moon shine drinking, hillbilly. Webster defines rednecks as, “a white person who lives in a small town or in the country especially in the southern U.S., who typically has a working-class job, and who is seen by others as being uneducated and having opinions and attitudes that are offensive.”(Webster,2016) I think as a general consensus

In regards to the Amish beliefs and customs, they live faithfully by the Bible. Evident from the previous information given, their religion conducts every act of their life. “A strong sense of community regulates the rhythms of Amish life. One of the tenets of Amish faith is care and

The Amish are people who believe in Christ but have strict rules in their style of living, which is quite different from the modern society today. They live in a city in Philadelphia called Lancaster County, it is a very country style due to the acres of land each house has, the barn houses, and the animals. The uniqueness of their lifestyle to me is how they live in the world where technology is practically taking over every aspect, but they continue to stick to their beliefs and not change anything. To me it’s difficult to comprehend due to the fact that you can’t live like that in a majority of the cities today since technology is widely known. This is part of the reason why they live in their city far away in the middle of Philadelphia and have kept all their traditional ways. Part of the Amish belief is their separation from electricity since electricity is part of the “outside” world. They are not able to watch tv, have any public utility line running to their houses, or operate automobiles. It just blew my mind sitting there listening to how they live and how they follow all these guidelines in their life. For me it was different, but it intrigued me for some odd reason, just the fact that they have family time with no interruption, and dinner time with no distractions. Those two aspects alone bring families much closer and to me all the families in the world have become detached from true family time. Seeing their lifestyle and hearing all the guidelines they follow make me think of life without technology and how it would change our

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

Amish society is based on co-operation among people. By accepting the orodung, the Amish establish

The Amish usually speak three languages, Pennsylvania Dutch first, then English as a second language and High German third, as it is used in church services and in their version of the Bible.

The old order Amish worship in individual homes compared to the New Order Amish. Old Amish send their children to elementary school but do not believe in them attending high school. The Old Order Amish are descendants of the colonial Amish who came to Lancaster and Berks counties Pennsylvania from 1738 to 1756 from Switzerland, Palatinate, Waldeck, Hesse- Cassel, Alsace, Bavaria, and Montbeliard ("Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online," 2012).

The Amish are a small group of people that live in a secluded area of the eastern United States of America. The cultural group known as the Amish has constituted themselves as a unique entity in America's diverse landscape. Amish life is centered on religion, agriculture, and the family. For most people who live outside of the Amish culture, this group seems out of touch with the present time; a culture of another era. This belief is primarily attributable to the Amish belief in simplicity and their rejection of modern technologies (The Amish 2011). One of the most important aspects of Amish life and livelihood is agriculture; the Amish focus much of their life on the growth and harvest of food and other crops. The various factors that affect the culture are based upon agriculture; including the Amish beliefs and values, economic organization, gender relations, kinship, political organization, sickness, social change, and social organization.

When discussing subcultures it’s important to establish what a subculture is to be able to correctly identify a specific subculture and differentiate it from a main culture. An example of a main culture or parent culture could be the most prominent culture of Great Britain, which would be its development from an island to a civilized prospering democratic country. The main culture that is associated with Britain that separates it from other cultures is that it is seen as a liberal democracy. The main religion associated with British culture would be Christianity, and most people would generalise British culture to be drinking tea, eating scones and having a particular “posh” accent. These small characteristics are what cultures are made of

Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people. It is learned and transmitted from one generation to the next. Culture will change as situations and the needs of people change. A school environment itself constitutes a subculture within a larger society. Each school has a culture of its own, like a minuscule society. The school culture reflects the community in which the school is located and its students’ characteristics. This will consist of the values, attitudes, beliefs, norms, and customs of those making the system. This is because of the racial and socioeconomic segregation of residential communities. A school’s culture is formed by its history context and the individuals in it. Each school has a

The Amish, who are also called “The Plain People” or Old Order Amish, originated in Switzerland in approximately 1525. They originated from a movement called the Anabaptist movement. Jacom Amman was the leader. This happened during the reformation in the16th Century Europe. They believed in holding on to traditions and keeping themselves separated from the world. He was stricter about this than other Anabaptists of that time. The Anabaptists were against the union of church and state and also against infant baptism. They felt that each individual should make this choice for himself when he or she is old enough. They felt the age for baptism was about 18 years. This disagreed with the laws of the time. It was

The Amish have a lot of beliefs and values. They follow the basic beliefs of Christian faith, focusing mainly on adult baptism, simplicity, community, and separation from everyone else. Amish are taught to be selfless and put Jesus and the community first, yourself last, and others in between. Obedience, humility, and simplicity are what the Amish express. If they disobey someone, it is considered dangerous to them. They take no pride in what they do because they don’t want to stick out to others. Their clothing, house décor, and architecture is very simple because once again, they don’t want to stand out.