Donald B. Kraybill (born 1945) is an American author, lecturer, and educator on

Anabaptist Anabaptism (from New Latin language, Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re- ...

faiths and culture. Kraybill is widely recognized for his studies on

groups and in particular the

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 churches ...

. He has researched and written extensively on Anabaptist culture. He is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at

Elizabethtown College Elizabethtown College (informally E-town) is a private college in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. History Founding and early years Founded in 1899, Elizabethtown College is one of many higher learning institutions founded in the 19th century by c ...

and Senior Fellow Emeritus at Elizabethtown's Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies.

Early life and education

Kraybill was born in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, in 1945 to a

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

family and grew up on dairy farms in Mount Joy,

Lampeter Lampeter (; cy, Llanbedr Pont Steffan (formal); ''Llambed'' (colloquial)) is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigion, ...

and Morgantown. His surname Kraybill is a form of the name

Graybill Graybill is a surname of German origin of which the earliest known bearers were from Grosshöchstetten in the canton of Bern. The name was recorded as early as 1728 in America when an Eva Grabiel was married to a Christian Wenger in Lancaster Cou ...

which is a typical Mennonite and Amish name, first recorded in America in 1728. He graduated from Lancaster Mennonite High School in 1963. After attending

Millersville University Millersville University of Pennsylvania (commonly known as Millersville University, The Ville, or MU) is a public university in Millersville, Pennsylvania. It is one of the fourteen schools that comprise the Pennsylvania State System of Higher E ...

for two years, he received a bachelor's degree from

Eastern Mennonite University Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) is a private Mennonite university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The university also operates a satellite campus in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which primarily caters to working adults. EMU's bachelor-degree holders ...

in 1967, a master's degree from

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

in 1971, and a PhD in sociology from Temple University in 1976. At Temple he was a research assistant to John Hostetler, a recognized authority on Amish society who had himself grown up Amish and who was influential in Kraybill's interest in studying the groups.

Career

Kraybill served for five years as an associate pastor in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, at the Willow Street Mennonite Church and served four years as the associate director of Mennonite Voluntary Service as a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

. He started teaching sociology at

in 1971. From 1979 to 1985 he chaired the Sociology and Social Work Department and from 1989 to 1996 was director of the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown. He was provost of

Messiah College Messiah University is a private interdenominational evangelical Christian university in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. History The school was founded as Messiah Bible School and Missionary Training Home in 1909 by the Brethren in Christ Church. ...

from 1996 to 2002 before returning to Elizabethtown in 2003. In October 2005, Young Center was awarded a $100,000 grant from the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

for a three-year collaborative research project entitled "Amish Diversity and Identity: Transformations in 20th Century America." In addition to Kraybill as senior investigator, the investigative team included

Steven Nolt Steven M. Nolt (born 1968) is an American scholar who serves as Senior Scholar and Professor of History and Anabaptist Studies at the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College. The author of fifteen books, most of w ...

, a professor of history at

Goshen College Goshen College is a private Mennonite liberal arts college in Goshen, Indiana. It was founded in 1894 as the Elkhart Institute of Science, Industry and the Arts, and is affiliated with Mennonite Church USA. The college is accredited by the High ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, and Karen Johnson-Weiner, a professor of

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

at the

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by c ...

at Potsdam. A national panel of seven scholars advised the research team throughout the project. The NEH grant enabled the researchers to investigate the Amish experience at the national level, giving attention to geographic expansion, the growth of diversity, changing conceptions of identity and evolving patterns of interaction with the larger society. The team also explored how the Amish have contributed to shaping the identity of a nation that made exceptions in the areas of education,

Social Security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

, and

child labor Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...

for a religious minority living on its cultural margins. The project resulted in a website; an international conference, The Amish in America: New Identities and Diversities, held in 2007; and a book, ''The Amish''. Kraybill is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Elizabethtown College and Senior Fellow Emeritus at the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies. He is widely recognized for his studies and expertise on

groups and in particular the

. Kraybill retired in 2015 and planned to continue his research in his retirement. He was succeeded as director of the Young Center after his retirement by Nolt. Elizabethtown College holds his papers in their Earl H. and Anita F. Hess Archives and Special Collections.

Works

Kraybill has authored or edited nearly 30 books on various aspects of the lives of Plain sects. He writes almost exclusively on the groups within the Anabaptist faith such as the Mennonites, Amish, and Bruderhof. In addition to academic books — largely published by

Johns Hopkins University Press The Johns Hopkins University Press (also referred to as JHU Press or JHUP) is the publishing division of Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and is the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. The press publi ...

— he also writes popular books sold in

gift shops A gift shop or souvenir shop is a store primarily selling souvenirs, memorabilia, and other items relating to a particular topic or theme. The items sold often include coffee mugs, stuffed animals, toys, t-shirts, postcards, handmade collec ...

to tourists, interested in learning more about the plain sects. He is one of two experts frequently quoted by reporters to give background to news stories involving the Amish. He also served as a consultant for the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

show

The American Experience ''American Experience'' is a television program airing on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. The program airs documentaries, many of which have won awards, about important or interesting events and people in American his ...

series The Amish. Book projects include ''Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy'' (Jossey-Bass, 2007), a discussion of the Amish response to the school shooting at Nickel Mines, and ''The Amish Way: Patient Faith in a Perilous World'' (Jossey-Bass, 2010), an exploration of Amish spiritual life and practices, both with coauthors Steven M. Nolt and David L. Weaver-Zercher. Kraybill also authored ''Concise Encyclopedia of Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites'' (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010), which provides basic information about these four Anabaptist groups in North America, and coauthored (with Karen M. Johhson-Weiner and Steven M. Nolt) ''The Amish'', a comprehensive description and analysis of Amish life and culture. In 2014 he published a book related to five beard-cutting attacks on Amish people in eastern Ohio in the fall of 2011, which led to the arrests of sixteen members of a maverick Amish community in Bergholz, Ohio. Kraybill assisted federal prosecutors in understanding Amish beliefs and practices and served as an expert witness at the federal trial in 2012. He wrote a book about the attacks, investigation, trial, and aftermath: ''Renegade Amish: Beard Cutting, Hate Crimes, and the Trial of the Bergholz Barbers''. In August 2014, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the hate crimes convictions, a ruling that generated much response. Kraybill was selected to research and write a centennial history of

, his alma mater, that was published in 2017.

Bibliography

* ''Our Star-Spangled Faith'', 1976. * ''Puzzles of Amish Life'', 1990. * ''Old Order Amish: Their Enduring Way of Life'' (with Lucian Niemeyer), 1993. * ''The Amish Struggle With Modernity'' (Co-edited with Marc Alan Olshan), 1994. * ''The Riddles of Human Society'' (with Conrad L. Kanagy), 1999. * ''The Riddle of Amish Culture'', 2001. * ''Anabaptist World'' USA (with C. Nelson Hostetter), 2001. * On the Backroad to Heaven: Old Order Hutterites, Mennonites, Amish, and Brethren (co-author: Carl Bowman), 2001. * '' The Upside-Down Kingdom'', 2003. * ''The Amish: Why They Enchant Us'', 2003. * ''Who Are the Anabaptists: Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites'', 2003. * ''The Amish and the State'', 2003. * ''Amish Enterprise: From Plows to Profits'' (with Steven M. Nolt), 2004. * ''Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy'' (with Steven M. Nolt and David L. Weaver-Zercher), 2007. . * ''The Amish of Lancaster County'' (with photography by Daniel Rodriguez), 2008. . * ''The Amish Way: Patient Faith in a Perilous World'' (with Steven M. Nolt and David L. Weaver-Zercher), 2010. . * ''Concise Encyclopedia of Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites'', 2010. . * ''The Amish'' (with Karen M Johnson-Weiner and Steven M Nolt), 2013 . * ''Renegade Amish: Beard Cutting, Hate Crimes, and the Trial of the Bergholz Amish'', 2014. .

Personal life

Kraybill lives in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, with his wife. He and his wife are members of Elizabethtown Church of the Brethren.

References