Who Are The Amish Essay Research Paper

Who Are The Amish Essay, Research Paper

Who are the Amish

If you are interested the values and lifestyle of the

nineteenth century, here is a great example: The

Amish, is a group of religious people who live in

settlements in 22 states and (Ontario), Canada. The

roots of the Amish come from Mennonite community, a

part of early Anabaptist Movement in Europe, which

took place at the time of the Reformation. At that

time, this movement were seen as heretical and the

members of the movement oppressed and people were

cruelly put to death by both Catholics and

Protestants. As a result, of this oppression from

larger religious groups and having a different point

of view in terms of interpretations of Christianity,

the Amish fled to the rural areas and isolated

themselves from the others. This separation from the

others can be the best answer to why the Amish have

insisted on being different from the contemporary

world. The Amish continue emphasizing the basic values

of the nineteenth century. Their distinctions from

other minorities in America are their different

beliefs, community structure and their simplistic

lifestyles.

Until 1972 the Amish were forced to complete

high-school, at which point the supreme court

overturned this ruling to allow them to discontinue

after elementary school. Their lack of faith in the

American school system was made them to want withdraw

their children from school. They feared that U.S. high

school would spoil the children’s peaceful, simple

tendencies and push them into crime and violence.

Instead of public high school they have their own

schools, staffed with teachers from Amish backgrounds.

In the words of researcher John Andrew Hosstetler,

“The Amish school has generally been successful in

preparing young people to be honest, hardworking and

conscientious adults, capable of earning a living,

raising Christian family, and contributing to the

Amish community.” (29). Most Amish schools today have

one room and one teacher for all eight grades, and

English is the language of instruction.

Unlike the U.S. culture the Amish have their own

small communities. They live and die only within this

community without mingling with any others.

Individuality is of no concern to the Amish. They

become part of a whole community when they are

baptized, and remain so until death. The two most

important rules of the Amish demand that they are

separated from the rest of the world and that they

must be obedient to everything the church asks of

them. These two rules bring heavy restrictions on

them. Their strong ties to family and community limit

their interaction and participation in modern American

society. They do have to work among people outside of

their religions, for example, many in dairy factories,

but they do avoid working with any kind of modern

electronic machinery. They fallow the same

restrictions at home. For instance, most Amish

households do not have a central heating system, but

instead heat only the living room. This practice

gathers everyone in one room of the house and applies

to the importance they give to family and community.

Ruth Hoover Seitc states that “Almost all members of

the Amish community help each other to build a barn

and nothing is prefabricated. The entire structure is

built on location. In a single day.” (99). They try to

stay together and help each other with problems so

that interaction with the outside world is minimized.

The Amish still insists on rejecting modern

technology. For instance, they use gas lamps instead

electric lights and they reject using highly

sophisticated farming equipment, the Amish prefer

horse and cattle. “Kerosene lamps or pressurized lamps

are commonly used for general lighting. Ironically,

Amish farmers who do not use electricity may have to

put with massive power lines cut g through their

farms, ” says Merle Good in his book “Who are the

Amish.” (93). In addition to this the Amish children

play with hand-made toys. From a functionalist

perspective it can be said that the Amish are for the

most part isolated from American culture. They have

their own strict beliefs, their own churches and their

own communities. Family structure is more important to

them than the role they play in society. Amish people

refuse to be slaves of technology in the modern world.

Their basic principles in living are simplicity and

self-sufficiency, which are also factors in isolating

themselves from modern American culture.

The old order Amish gather to worship together, but

following a belief left from the years of exile and

torture in Europe, where they met

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