Subgroups of Amish developed over the years, as
Amish
The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churc ...
churches have divided many times over doctrinal disputes. The 'Old Order' Amish, a conservative faction that withdrew from fellowship with the wider body of Amish in the 1860s, are those that have most emphasized traditional practices and beliefs. There are many different subgroups of Amish with most belonging, in ascending order of conservatism, to the Beachy Amish, New Order, Old Order, or Swartzentruber Amish groups.
Amish affiliations
Donald B. Kraybill, Karen M. Johnson-Weiner and
Steven M. Nolt speak in their book ''The Amish'' of different Amish ''affiliations''. They define an affiliation as "a cluster of two or more districts with at least twenty years of shared history". They continue: "affiliated congregations share similar
Ordnung
The Ordnung is a set of rules for Amish, Old Order Mennonite and Conservative Mennonite living. '' Ordnung'' () is the German word for order, discipline, rule, arrangement, organization, or system. Because the Amish have no central church governme ...
s, which specify distinctive lifestyles and visible symbols that set them apart from other affiliations". When referring to affiliations, Amish themselves speak of "our people" (''unser Leit'') and "our way" to do things. By 2012 there were more than 40 affiliations, with smaller subgroups within some affiliations counted, there were more than 65. In addition to that, there were more than 130 fairly independent congregations.
The majority of affiliations reflects mainly the different local ''
Ordnung
The Ordnung is a set of rules for Amish, Old Order Mennonite and Conservative Mennonite living. '' Ordnung'' () is the German word for order, discipline, rule, arrangement, organization, or system. Because the Amish have no central church governme ...
en'' (Orders) in different Amish settlements, e.g. Lancaster Amish, Elkhart-LaGrange Amish or Holmes Old Order Amish, even though there are also other differences. Other affiliations are the result of splits over major questions, such as shunning and reflect Ordnungen, that are either more conservative or more progressive than the Old Order mainstream. Examples for this are the Swartzentruber and Kenton Amish (very conservative), Andy Weaver Amish (conservative) and
Michigan Amish Churches of Amish, which still use horse and buggy, but are considered by many to be relatively liberal.
Amish convert and independent scholar Christopher Petrovich has challenged Kraybill, Johnson-Weiner, and Nolt's definitions of an affiliation on the grounds that their delineations of affiliations rests on somewhat arbitrary grounds, that they conflate the concept of a settlement and religious affiliation, that their imposition of a 20-year minimum of shared history to count as an affiliation is not only arbitrary but is inconsistently applied, and that their fragmenting of the Amish world into tiny factions not only ignores the reality of Amish religious relations but is useless to researchers looking for an ordinal scale of affiliations.
Petrovich proposes that Amish affiliations be sorted along the following variables:
(1) Shared identity arising from historic breaches in fellowship
(2) Disciplinary procedures
(3) Technology allowances and prohibitions
(4) Theological beliefs
(5) Community practices
From these criteria, he identifies six Amish religious affiliations:
(1) Swartzentruber
(2) Kenton
(3) Andy Weaver
(4) Old Order-mainstream
(5) New Order-traditional
(6) New New Order
Kraybill et al.'s original scheme critiqued by Petrovich is provided in "Amish affiliations Ranked by Number and Church Districts, 2011":
Use of technology by different Old Order Amish affiliations
The table below indicates the use of certain technologies by different Amish affiliations. The use of cars is not allowed by all Old and New Order Amish, as well as radio, television and in most cases the use of the internet. The three affiliations: "Lancaster", "Holmes Old Order" and "Elkhart-LaGrange" are not only the three largest affiliations, they also represent the Old Order mainstream among the Amish. The most conservative affiliations are above, the most modern ones below. Technologies used by very few are on the left, the ones used by most are on the right. The percentage of all Amish, who use a technology is also indicated approximately.
* Natural gas allowed
Old Order Amish
Old Order Amish
The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsace, Alsatian origins. They are close ...
are the main group of Amish who resisted innovations both in society and in church work. A series of conferences held in the years from 1862 to 1878 resulted in a clearer separation between the conservatives who later became known as "Old Order Amish" and the progressives who then referred to themselves as "Amish Mennonites".
The Old Order Amish are distinguished from less conservative groups of Amish by their strict adherence to the practice of forbidding automobile ownership and their traditional manner of dress. The Old Order Amish is the concept many outsiders have when they think of "Amish".
In 1990, Old Order Amish settlements existed in 20 states in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and in one province in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. Membership was estimated at over 80,000 in almost 900 church districts. By 2002, there were over 1,200 districts. According to sociologist Julia Erickson, of Temple University in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, the Amish are among the fastest-growing populations in the world. Old Order Amish groups include the Byler group,
Nebraska Amish
The Nebraska Amish, also called Old Schoolers, are a relatively small affiliation of the Amish. They are the most conservative subgroup of Amish, indicated not only by their use of technology but also by their particular style of dress. They emer ...
in
Mifflin County, Pennsylvania
Mifflin County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,143. Its county seat is Lewistown. The county was created on September 19, 1789, from parts of Cumberland County and Northumberlan ...
, the Reno group, and the
Swartzentruber Amish in
Holmes County, Ohio
Holmes County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,223. Its county seat is Millersburg. The county was formed in 1824 from portions of Coshocton, Tuscarawas and Wayne counties and organize ...
.
Old Order Amish subscribe to the
Dordrecht Confession of Faith
The Dordrecht Confession of Faith is a statement of religious beliefs adopted by Dutch Mennonite leaders at a meeting in Dordrecht, the Netherlands, on 21 April 1632. Its 18 articles emphasize belief in salvation through Jesus Christ, baptism, ...
, a
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
Mennonite Confession of Faith adopted in 1632. Doctrinally they are similar to other Swiss Mennonites but show the influence of the Dutch Mennonites. They practice shunning of
excommunicated
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
members, and emphasize that a person can only hope to be saved and that it is a form of
pride
Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) w ...
to claim the assurance of salvation.
Feet washing
Maundy (from Old French ''mandé'', from Latin ''mandatum'' meaning "command"), or Washing of the Saints' Feet, Washing of the Feet, or Pedelavium or Pedilavium, is a religious rite observed by various Christian denominations. The Latin word ...
is observed twice annually, in connection with the
Communion.
Non-resistance Nonresistance (or non-resistance) is "the practice or principle of not resisting authority, even when it is unjustly exercised". At its core is discouragement of, even opposition to, physical resistance to an enemy. It is considered as a form of pri ...
, including refusal of military service in any form, is a standard practice.
Almost all Old Order Amish do not build church houses but meet for service in private homes every other Sunday. Because of this, they are sometimes called "House Amish".
In the following, subgroups of Old Order Amish are listed from conservative to progressive:
Nebraska Amish
The Nebraska Amish are perhaps the most conservative group of Old Order Amish. They live mostly in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
but they also have one small settlement in
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. Around 1880, Bishop Yost H. Yoder led nine families from
Juniata County, Pennsylvania
Juniata County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,509. Its county seat is Mifflintown. The county was created on March 2, 1831, from part of Mifflin County and named for the Juniata R ...
, to
Gosper County in south-central
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
, founding an ''Old Order'' settlement that would last until 1904. Yoder went back to the
Kishacoquillas Valley
The Kishacoquillas Valley, known locally as both Kish Valley and Big Valley, is an enclosed anticlinal valley in the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians of Central Pennsylvania, and is located in Mifflin and Huntingdon counties.
Geography
The valle ...
in Pennsylvania in 1881 to assist a conservative Amish group. Because bishop Yoder was living in Nebraska for some time the group was nicknamed the ''Nebraska Amish'' by others.
Like other Old Order Amish, the Nebraska Amish do not use motorized equipment or indoor plumbing and wear very conservative clothing. Differences include the fact that the men do not wear
suspenders and the women do not wear
bonnet
A Bonnet is a variety of headgear, hat or cap
Specific types of headgear referred to as "bonnets" may include
Scottish
* Blue bonnet, a distinctive woollen cap worn by men in Scotland from the 15th-18th centuries And its derivations:
** Fea ...
s (wearing black
kerchief
A kerchief (from the Old French ''couvrechief'', "cover head"), also known as a bandana, bandanna, or "Wild Rag" (in cowboy culture), is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the head, face or neck for protective or decorative purpos ...
s and flat
straw hat
A straw hat is a wide-brimmed hat woven out of straw or straw-like synthetic materials. Straw hats are a type of sun hat designed to shade the head and face from direct sunlight, but are also used in fashion as a decorative element or a ...
s instead). Other differences include the fact that they do not place screens on their doors or windows, men only wear white shirts, curtains are not used in homes, buggy tops must be white, men's hair must be shoulder length, no
lawn mower
A lawn mower (also known as a mower, grass cutter or lawnmower) is a device utilizing one or more revolving blades (or a reel) to cut a grass surface to an even height. The height of the cut grass may be fixed by the design of the mower, but g ...
s are allowed and houses must not have projecting roofs.
As of 2000, the Nebraska Amish had 14 districts, 775 members, a total population of 1,744 mostly in northeastern
Mifflin County, Pennsylvania
Mifflin County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,143. Its county seat is Lewistown. The county was created on September 19, 1789, from parts of Cumberland County and Northumberlan ...
.
Swartzentruber Amish
The Swartzentruber Amish are an
Old Order Amish
The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsace, Alsatian origins. They are close ...
group that is about as conservative as the Nebraska Amish but much more numerous and therefore much better known. They formed as the result of a division that occurred among the Amish of
Holmes County, Ohio
Holmes County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,223. Its county seat is Millersburg. The county was formed in 1824 from portions of Coshocton, Tuscarawas and Wayne counties and organize ...
, in 1917. The bishop who broke away was
Sam E. Yoder
Sam, SAM or variants may refer to:
Places
* Sam, Benin
* Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Iran
* Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place
People and fictional c ...
. The Swartzentruber name was appl