Amish

Multiculturalism gives preference to group rights over individual rights. This may challenge democratic values. This paper focuses on the Amish denial of education from their adolescents. Criticizing Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972), the paper analyses the power of the Amish community over its members. The main questions are: Is it reasonable to deny the Amish adolescents' standard American education? What are the limits of state interference in norms of illiberal communities who invoke separatism as a mechanism of cultural and religious preservation?

Self-interested motives are typically assumed when addressing migration causation. However, values, such as those from religion, can also motivate migration. This study develops a theoretical framework of religiously motivated migration. Inasmuch as values are derived from and reinforced within groups, religions with strong cohesion are more likely to act on one of three value-based religious migration motivations: sacred command, context conducive for religious practice, and awareness of potential membership losses from competition. This theoretical framework is demonstrated through Amish-Mennonite migration. Generalizability is suggested from a brief review of the Puritans, Jews, Muslims, Mormons, and Russian Mennonites.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: SLC30A8 encodes a zinc transporter in the beta cell; individuals with a common missense variant (rs13266634; R325W) in SLC30A8 demonstrate a lower early insulin response to glucose and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. We hypothesised that zinc supplementation may improve insulin secretion in a genotype-dependent manner. METHODS: We evaluated the early insulin response to glucose (using frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance testing) by R325W genotype before and after 14 days of supplementation with oral zinc acetate (50 mg elemental zinc) twice daily in healthy non-diabetic Amish individuals (N = 55). RESULTS: Individuals with RW/WW genotypes (n = 32) had the lowest insulin response to glucose at 5 and 10 min at baseline (vs RR homozygotes [n = 23]). After zinc supplementation, the RW/WW group experienced 15% and 14% increases in the insulin response to glucose at 5 and 10 min, respectively (p ≤ 0.04), and, compared with RR homozygotes, experienced a ...

This article discusses geographic analytical units of plain Anabaptist groups relevant for conceptualizing spatial dispersion across Canada and the United States. All plain Anabaptist groups are tied to the land, hence, the religious values, cultural traditions, and social organizations of plain Anabaptists are intimately and reciprocally bound up with geography. We discuss six geographic units of the plain Anabaptists and describe how we gathered information about their locations. These include: local church, local affiliation, settlement, region, broad affiliation, and global region. We present maps of their geographic distribution throughout Canada and the U.S., noting spatial patterns. Hence, this article provides a geographic introduction to plain Anabaptist groups, which are defined further in the next article, “Who are the plain Anabaptists? What are the plain Anabaptists?” (Anderson 2013).

Erik G. Puffenberger 1, 2*, Robert N. Jinks 2, Carrie Sougnez 3, Kristian Cibulskis 3, Rebecca A. Willert 2, Nathan P. Achilly 2, Ryan P. Cassidy 2, Christopher J. Fiorentini 2, Kory F. Heiken 2, Johnny J. Lawrence 2, Molly H. Mahoney 2, Christopher J. Miller 2, ...

INTRODUCTION: The Maranatha Amish Mennonites were a separatist movement from the Beachy Amish Mennonites. Like the Beachys, they supported the 1632  Dordrecht Confession of Faith and also maintained a set of distinctive practices and limits on lifestyle choices. Their limitations were representative of the conservative wing of the Beachy denomination. Maranatha churches had a concern about the Beachys’ apparent lack of denominational structure and the declining distinctiveness of historic religious practices. While Maranatha congregations have remained autonomous, they come under the precepts detailed in a constitution.

Within Amish scholarship, the topic of Amish language use has the highest quantity of publications second only to health research. The Amish have been of interest because they not only use English but also two variants of German: Pennsylvania Dutch (or Pennsylvania German), which is primarily spoken, and an historic High German, which is primarily sourced from written texts. This they maintain after 200–300 years since they migrated from Germanic Europe to North America. Yet, a synthesis of Amish language publications is lacking. In this chapter, two major theoretical approaches are employed to achieve an understanding of the Amish language situation and change. The domain-isolation theory emphasizes a dichotomy between the Amish and the surrounding world. The world threatens to assimilate the Amish by drawing them into regular contact. The consequence of regular contact is that English overtakes Amish social domains, where the German variants would normally be used. The functionalist-role theory approaches language survival from the understanding that languages survive when they have functional uses. The Amish languages are functional because they are associated with roles that express community values. Functions and roles do change, as does the language. Hence, the borrowing of English forms into German is not a corruption from the world but rather demonstrates the adaptation of the German variants, especially Pennsylvania German, to new demands. This theory is used to try to understand the Amish culture producing the language situation as is rather than in opposition to an outside world. The chapter also briefly reviews a small body of literature addressing Amish naming patterns for people.

The Apostolic Christian Churches descend from the religious revivals instigated under the leadership of Samuel Fröhlich in 1830s Switzerland. Fusing Anabaptist thought into his revival through contact with Mennonites, Fröhlich’s movement constitutes a distinct religious tradition within the larger Anabaptist movement. Research about this Anabaptist tradition has remained sparse. This article helps introduce the Apostolics to a scholarly audience. It reviews the movement’s recent history in North America, tracing the history of both the largest body—the Apostolic Christian Church of America—and several smaller, generally more conservative, factions. In addition to establishing links between the Apostolics and other Anabaptist branches, this article also outlines their distinctive properties, including not only their ritual forms but also four overarching, generalized socio-religious characteristics. These include: true repentance and death of the old man; gentle, reasoned pleading; affectionate fraternity of the repentant; and the personal leading of the Spirit through the Church.

A selection of Free Exercise Clause cases, from the earliest to quite recent, after the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. These involve several religions (Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons,  Seventh-Day Adventists, Old Order Amish, and members of the Native American Church); and several significant shifts in the Supreme Court's jurisprudence.

This dissertation has been 64-11,37 5 microfilmed exactly as received HUNTINGTON, Abbie Gertrude Enders Huntington, 1926-DOVE AT THE WINDOW: A STUDY O F AN OLD O R D E R AMISH COM M UNITY IN OHIO [with] APPENDIXE S. Yale University , P h .D ., 1957 Anthropology. Reproduced with permission o f the copyright owner.

Self-transcendence, the ability to expand one’s relationship to others and the environment, has been found to provide hope which helps a person adapt and cope with illness. Spiritual well-being, the perception of health and wholeness, can boost self-confidence and self esteem. The purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to describe the relationship between self-transcendence and spiritual well-being in adult Amish. A random sample of Old Order Amish was surveyed by postal mail; there were 134 respondents. Two valid and reliable questionnaires were used to measure the key variables. The participants had high levels of self-transcendence and spiritual well-being and there was a statistically significant positive relationship between the two variables. The findings from this study will increase nurses’ awareness of the holistic nature of the Amish beliefs and assist nurses in serving this population. Additional research is needed to develop further understanding of the stud...

INTRODUCTION: The Midwest Beachy Amish Mennonites are an Old Beachy denomination, having never accepted the fundamentalist emphasis prevalent among the Beachy Amish Mennonites since the 1960s. Midwest Beachys have supported the 1632 Dordrecht Confession of Faith and also maintained a set of distinctive practices and limits on lifestyle choices. Their limitations were the strictest of all the Amish Mennonite denominations from the Beachy movement. In the early 21st century denominational structure was largely informal; the group had neither constitution nor regular ministerial meetings.

INTRODUCTION: The Ambassadors Amish Mennonites were a separatist movement from the Beachy Amish Mennonites. Like the Beachys, they have supported the 1632 Dordrecht Confession of Faith and also maintained a set of distinctive practices and limits on lifestyle choices. However, their limitations were more strict and their practices more uniform. While congregations were autonomous, they came under the precepts detailed in a constitution. Their outreach focus was apparent in the bi-monthly periodical Beside the Still Waters and their rapid successive church planting.

INTRODUCTION: The Beachy Amish Mennonites are a conservative Anabaptist denomination with Old Order Amish origins. They have supported the 1632 Dordrecht Confession of Faith and also maintained a set of distinctive practices and limits on lifestyle choices. However, they are not as strict in their practices as the Old Order Amish and have been evangelically oriented, prompting them to engage in outreach and mission programs. The Beachy denomination has been congregational but with many service programs stitching the individual churches together. While the formal Beachy denomination is the largest Amish Mennonite constituency, several other constituencies have their roots in the Beachy movement, including Maranatha Amish Mennonite, Ambassadors Amish Mennonite, Berea Amish Mennonite, Midwest Beachy Amish Mennonite, and Mennonite Christian Fellowship.

Avoiding disease, maintaining physical and cognitive function, and continued social engagement in long-lived individuals describe successful aging (SA). Mitochondrial lineages described by patterns of common genetic variants ("haplogroups") have been associated with increased longevity in different populations. We investigated the influence of mitochondrial haplogroups on SA in an Amish community sample. Cognitively intact volunteers aged ≥80 years (n = 261) were enrolled in a door-to-door survey of Amish communities in Indiana and Ohio. Individuals scoring in the top third for lower extremity function, needing little assistance with self-care tasks, having no depression symptoms, and expressing high life satisfaction were considered SA (n = 74). The remainder (n = 187) were retained as controls. These individuals descend from 51 matrilines in a single 13-generation pedigree. Mitochondrial haplogroups were assigned using the ten mitochondrial single nucleotide polymorphisms (mtSNPs) defining the nine most common European haplogroups. An additional 17 mtSNPs from a genome-wide association panel were also investigated. Associations between haplogroups, mtSNPs, and SA were determined by logistic regression models accounting for sex, age, body mass index, and matriline via generalized estimating equations. SA cases were more likely to carry Haplogroup X (OR = 7.56, p = 0.0015), and less likely to carry Haplogroup J (OR = 0.40, p = 0.0003). Our results represent a novel association of Haplogroup X with SA and suggest that variants in the mitochondrial genome may promote maintenance of both physical and cognitive function in older adults.

While aspirin is a well-established and generally effective anti-platelet agent, considerable inter-individual variation in drug response exists, for which mechanisms are not completely understood. Metabolomics allows for extensive measurement of small molecules in biological samples, enabling detailed mapping of pathways involved in drug response. We used a mass-spectrometry-based metabolomics platform to investigate the changes in the serum oxylipid metabolome induced by an aspirin intervention (14 days, 81 mg/day) in healthy subjects (n=156). We observed a global decrease in serum oxylipids in response to aspirin (25 metabolites decreased out of 30 measured) regardless of sex. This decrease was concomitant with a significant decrease in serum linoleic acid levels (-19%, P=1.3×10(-5)), one of the main precursors for oxylipid synthesis. Interestingly, several linoleic acid-derived oxylipids were not significantly associated with arachidonic-induced ex vivo platelet aggregation, a w...

To test common genetic variants for association with seasonality (seasonal changes in mood and behavior) and to investigate whether there are shared genetic risk factors between psychiatric disorders and seasonality. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) were conducted in Australian (between 1988 and 1990 and between 2010 and 2013) and Amish (between May 2010 and December 2011) samples in whom the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ) had been administered, and the results were meta-analyzed in a total sample of 4,156 individuals. Genetic risk scores based on results from prior large GWAS studies of bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder (MDD), and schizophrenia were calculated to test for overlap in risk between psychiatric disorders and seasonality. The most significant association was with rs11825064 (P = 1.7 × 10⁻⁶, β = 0.64, standard error = 0.13), an intergenic single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) found on chromosome 11. The evidence for overlap in risk facto...

A full history of the “Old Amish Church” project (c. 1865 to c. 1955-1973) has yet to be written, at least not in English, and not as an overarching, analytical narrative. However, several primary German accounts provide a close—albeit partial—analysis of events leading to the collapse of a unified Old Amish church in the aftermath of the 1860s Amish-Mennonite/Old Amish schism. While Amish-Mennonite churches continually drained a minority of Old Amish members, stricter church districts also emerged, moving members in the opposite direction. Though not self-evident as separate denominations at first, these movements were eventually recognized as schisms. These included the Sam Yoder, Stutzman-Troyer, and Andy Weaver Churches, started in the Holmes County, OH, Amish settlement, as well as the Joe L. Church in Adams County, IN, and the Highway A and Highway C Churches in Seymour, MO. Other contemporary Old Amish communities experienced similar unrest, although stricter individuals largely opted to migrate elsewhere and establish new settlements. Today, the Old Order dominate large, historic Amish communities, while the Andy Weaver and other, stricter denominations dominate the landscape of small settlements outside historic communities. Although three Ordnungs Briefen—1865, 1917, and 1939—represented overarching attempts to forge and maintain a unified Old Amish Church, these statements better predicted the types of changes on the horizon that would permanently divide Old Amish denominations. Hence, no Ordnungs Briefen have been written since 1939. The translations in this issue of JAPAS provide important insights into how Old Amish forged institutional unity and how schisms gradually unfolded. With these original documents now translated and compiled, we better understand more about the attempt at a unified Old Amish Church. Even today, the sheer amalgamation of membership loyalties, ideologies, and practices that characterize each Old Amish denomination suggests ongoing transformations in Old Amish understandings of church unity, in process, theology, and practice.

The Beachy Amish-Mennonite bishop committee was established at the 1991 annual ministers’ meeting as a conservative response to uncertainty about religious practices across the denomination. The committee was tasked with developing 18 concerns from the meeting into a denomination-wide standard of practice. While majority support was forthcoming for this statement, leadership from some influential, moderate congregations worked against the committee for two reasons. First, the congregation’s leaders wanted a think tank-style advisory committee, not a committee that made and enforced regulations. Second, these congregations feared being ousted due to eventually falling out of conformity. Due to this opposition, the committee began rotating members and the initial goal of a standard of practice was lost, except a prohibition against television and radio that was ratified in 1999. The committee was an institutional focal point that allowed conservatives and moderates to express their goals, and when the moderates gained control, some conservatives took independent initiative to establish a constitution, to which congregations voluntarily adhered. This eventually turned into the Maranatha Amish-Mennonite and Ambassadors Amish-Mennonite denominations.

Group-produced literature is representative of and reinforces group behaviors, norms, and beliefs. This study focuses on the missionary theme in literature from three Conservative Mennonite publishers, identifying two major constructs of what we term evangelical separatism. First, Rod & Staff depicts evangelism as establishing stable, integrating church communities in places where none exist, making their offering accessible to any who would care to join while also withholding assessment of outsiders. Second, Christian Light Publications and TGS present missions in a more aggressive, individualized mode, whereby the outside is viewed as a land of darkness and the missionary, in embodying Christ’s incarnation, bring light to that place. The focus of evangelism is conversion to Christianity, with the church as a social system peripheral to the action. Separatism is maintained by staking claim to authentic Christianity against inferior outside offerings. This latter plotline has birthed the new missionary adventure genre, which both entertains readers through secular adventure techniques while emphasizig a sacred end mission. The classic Anabaptist suffering theme is present in both types of stories, though transformed to include social / personal sacrifices and patience needed to engage in mission work.

The Amish are one of the fastest growing ethnoreligious groups in rural America. They are not only growing in historic settlements but are also starting new settlements. This study synthesizes and tests hypotheses about Amish migration destinations and settlement sustainability. Specifically, hypotheses address factors related to population, agriculture, and proximity to other Amish. Findings suggest that the locations Amish settle have several defining characteristics including: low population density, nonmetropolitan county designation, context conducive to small-scale farming (e.g., low farm acreage price, moderately rolling hills), vicinity to a small commercial center, low to negative population growth, and proximity to an existing Amish settlement. Some characteristics are showing increasing flexibility, such as a small-scale farming context and proximity to a commercial center. Conversely, settling in areas with a growing population or at a distance from another Amish settlement contributes to a higher likelihood of community dissolution.

Pockets of undervaccinated individuals continue to raise concerns about their potential to sustain epidemic transmission of vaccine-preventable diseases. Prior importations of live polioviruses (LPVs) into Amish communities in North America led to their recognition as a potential and identifiable linked network of undervaccinated individuals. We developed an individual-based model to explore the potential transmission of a LPV throughout the North American Amish population. Our model demonstrates the expected limited impact associated with the historical importations, which occurred in isolated communities during the low season for poliovirus transmission. We show that some conditions could potentially lead to wider circulation of LPVs and cases of paralytic polio in Amish communities if an importation occurred during or after 2013. The impact will depend on the uncertain historical immunity to poliovirus infection among members of the community. Heterogeneity in immunization covera...

The Hutterites are a closed ethnoreligious community whose funeral traditions have remained unchanged for centuries. Few researchers have had the opportunity to study this unique group. This study is an ethnographic exploration into the experience of child death and ritual on a Hutterite colony utilizing participant-observation and interviewing. Three recurrent themes emerged: ritual/tradition, spirituality/faith, and social cohesion and integration/group identity. Observed rituals are situated within the broader framework. While some aspects of the response to death may resemble those of mainstream culture, a deeper evaluation of descriptive and structural specifics reveals some important differences. Most of the cultural contrast is contained in concrete social enactment of death rituals, shared identity, and the immutable faith in God at the center of the Hutterite mourning process. These factors may help account for the low rates of mental disorders seen among Hutterites, even f...

The Hutterites are a closed ethnoreligious community whose funeral traditions have remained unchanged for centuries. Few researchers have had the opportunity to study this unique group. This study is an ethnographic exploration into the experience of child death and ritual on a Hutterite colony utilizing participant-observation and interviewing. Three recurrent themes emerged: ritual/tradition, spirituality/faith, and social cohesion and integration/group identity. Observed rituals are situated within the broader framework. While some aspects of the response to death may resemble those of mainstream culture, a deeper evaluation of descriptive and structural specifics reveals some important differences. Most of the cultural contrast is contained in concrete social enactment of death rituals, shared identity, and the immutable faith in God at the center of the Hutterite mourning process. These factors may help account for the low rates of mental disorders seen among Hutterites, even f...

Feminist ethnographic methods stress the role of empathy for research subjects and researchers’ willingness for their work to be useful to their subjects. When the research subjects are “unloved groups,” though—people whose actions or beliefs are hateful or harmful—some ethnographers argue that such empathy and empowerment is misplaced or leads to uncritical scholarship. In this reflection on the author’s ethnographic study of Westboro Baptist Church, a small Kansas-based congregation infamous for preaching its anti-gay theology at funerals, including the funerals of fallen servicemen and -women, she questions the usefulness of denying an emotional connection with “hatemongers.” Instead, she argues for compassion for both the victims and, more challengingly, the
perpetrators of hate in order to protect researchers from the threat of desensitization.

Co-edited with Anselm Schubert and Astrid von Schlachta. Includes essays by (in the order they appear in the volumes) Hans-Jürgen Goertz, Astrid von Schlachta, Ellen Yetzy Glebe, Alejandro Zorzin, Gary K. Waite, Adam W. Darlage, C. Arnold Snyder, Urs Leu, Päivi Räisänen, Mathilde Monge, Martin Rothkegel, Thomas Kaufmann, Katharina Reinholdt, Marion Kobelt-Groch, Ralf Klötzer, Victor Thiessen, Piet Visser, James Stayer, Anselm Schubert, John D. Roth, and Michael Driedger.

(downloadable file includes table of contents, introduction, and 4 short concluding essays)

Reformation era martyrdoms in Zürich marked the beginning of the Anabaptist movement (Amish, Hutterites, and Mennonites).  From around the globe, members of these groups travel to Switzerland in search of a better understanding of their history, theology and family origins.  In 2004, reconciliation events took place wherein the Zurich city council and the Reform Church in Switzerland formally requested forgiveness, which was given, of a group of Anabaptist church leaders. Then in 2007, the Swiss government tourism authority in Emmental organized a year-long series of reconciliation events. This paper will examine the impact of the events in 2004 and 2007 on inter-group relations in the light of some relevant aspects of conflict resolution theory.  An interface with tourism and pilgrimage research is suggested through the concept of reconciliation tourism.

Horse and buggy transportation is spreading as rapidly as its Amish and Old Order Mennonite users are, as are buggy crashes with motor vehicles. This study examines the primary causes of 76 reported horse and buggy crashes in Pennsylvania in 2006. The main crash types identified include a motorist rear-ending a forward-moving buggy, a motorist striking the buggy while attempting to pass, buggy struck while crossing an intersection, and buggy struck while making a left turn. While causative factors varied, major factors include the motorist or buggy driver incorrectly comprehending speed differentials, the motorist acting carelessly around the buggy, and miscommunication between the motorist and buggy driver. Within these crash types, buggy conspicuity was not commonly a potential cause.