Comparing Amish and North American Society to Determine Which Is More

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.

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,

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.

Cultural values are collective conceptions of what is considered good or desirable. While American culture has been known for values pertaining to individualism, the Amish value their religion greatly. They follow Jesus Christ and their goal is to go to Heaven. For example the value of education is viewed differently in both cultures. While Americans stress the value of schooling and pursuing a higher education, the Amish believe that education leads to hubris. At Amish funerals, eulogies are not common on behalf of the deceased because they do not praise individuals. In addition, the Amish do not value sports, personal appearance, or rights and freedom. Although, both cultures value the importance of family, and

The focus of this research paper is to examine the religious beliefs of the Amish communities. From their humble beginnings of migration into the United States from Europe, to their present day living arrangements, they have been and will continue to be a prosperous community. By shunning modern conveniences and relying only on what nature has provided, society has referred to them as the “Plain People.” Being far from ordinary in their dress and way of life separates this community from that of the modern world. They have managed to integrate into modern life while holding on to their cultural values. It is with continued commitment from its members that this community will continue to thrive. I often drive to the

Rebels of society are often times considered deviate and choose not to adhere to society’s customs and norms. However, would one consider the Amish communities as rebellious? The Amish are a unique subculture of the United States that do not adopt customs, norms, and lifestyles of the broader society (Sternheimer, 2012). Just because they set themselves apart from social norms, does not make them deviate. The Amish is an old religious group that originated in Europe. In the sixteenth century, Jakob Ammann and other devoted followers broke away from the Anabaptists and establish themselves as the Amish. Due to a disagreement with the laws and order set by the Anabaptist, the Amish felt the need to set themselves apart. Largely, order of

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

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

Out of the three groups, women, Native Americans and African Americans, I believe that the Native Americans gained the least in comparison to the women and the African Americans from the American victory in the Revolutionary war. During the war women had gained a lot more than the Indians or the African Americans. Some went to fight with the men others stayed home, ran farms and businesses, raised children and kept the household together. They gain more responsibilities that was usually meant for men.  This helped to grow a new confidence within women, they even stated a group called the Daughters of Liberty , just like the Sons of Liberty the joined in on harassing those who opposed the rebel. Women gained more freedom, power and recognition.

Most people seem to know very little about the Amish besides their antique clothing and horse-drawn modes of transportation. To understand the Amish better, some key concepts include the history of the Amish, their rules of discipline, and

Euro-Americans believed the Native Americans were savages and devil worshippers. They believed the land the Indians were on was for everybody to settle on and use for their own reasons. The land had no titles or deed stating who owned it or was using it. The Indians had their own way of reserving land among themselves. Europeans believed in paperwork stating ownership, the Indians didn’t have such paperwork. If the Indians were to have titles or deeds for the land, the Europeans would not recognize it as a legal document. Therefore making the paperwork null and void and the land free to use. The Europeans had plans to preserve the land and build on it. John Winthrop believed there was a natural and civil right to the land. Natural right meaning

“Sometimes it is impossible to know where you are headed without reflecting on where you came from. Understanding your heritage, your roots and your ancestry is an important part of carving out your adventure.” When reading from Close Range and A Radiant Curve the reader gets the feeling that both of these women have strong ties to their heritage, their roots. It is evident in Luci Tapahonso’s poem “The warp is even: taut vertical loops”. Tapahonso wants the reader to feel close to her family as she feels. “Suddenly I miss my father to. How he savored such mornings (Tapahonso 3).”

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.

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.

Based on this definition it is interesting to note that the Old Order Amish Mennoite community satisfies the requirements of place, interests and communion. Aside from being a perfect example of a community the Amish people exemplify what it means to be a part of a community that it is their source of identity, strength, and sustainability. Each individual exists for the community but as a whole the community nurtures each member and therefore it is unthinkable for an Amish man or woman to leave their community behind. On the other hand many Americans feel they must “get involved.” In public life as well as in private, we can discern the habits that sustain individualism and commitment as well as what makes them problematic. (Bellah, p.74)