Amish :: essays research papers

The AmishWho ar the Amish? The Amish is a religious group, which lives in settlements in 22 states and Ontario, Canada. The oldest group of Old Order Amish, about 16-18,000 people live in Lancaster County, dada. The Amish stress humility, family, community, and separation from the world. Although Lancaster Amish is Pennsylvania Dutch, all Pennsylvania Dutch are not Amish. The Pennsylvania Dutch are natives of Central Pennsylvania, particularly Lancaster and its meet counties. Unlike the Amish, they are not all one religion. Instead, their common alignment is a mainly German background (Pennsylvania Dutch is actually Pennsylvania Deutsch, or German). They also have Welsh, English, Scottish, Swiss, and French ancestry. What is the history of the Amish?The Amish have their root in the Mennonite community. Both were part of the early Anabaptist movement in Europe, which took describe at the time of the Reformation. The Anabaptists believed that only adults who had confessed their f aith should be baptized, and that they should remain say from the larger society. Many early Anabaptists were put to death as heretics by both Catholics and Protestants, and some others fled to the mountains of Switzerland and southern Germany. Here began the Amish tradition of farming and keeping their worship services in homes rather than churches.In 1536, a new Catholic priest from Holland named Menno Simons joined the Anabaptist movement. His writings and leadership united many of the Anabaptist groups, who were nicknamed "Mennonites." In 1693, a Swiss bishop named Jacob Amman broke from the Mennonite church. His followers were called the "Amish." Although the devil groups have split several times, the Amish and Mennonite churches still share the same beliefs concerning baptism, non-resistance, and basal Bible doctrines. They differ in matters of dress, technology, language, form of worship, and interpretation of the Bible.The Amish and Mennonites both colo nized in Pennsylvania as part of William Penns "holy experiment" of religious tolerance. The first sizable group of Amish arrived in Lancaster County in the 1720s or 1730s. wherefore dont the Amish accept modern ideas and innovations?The Amish seem stuck in history.