Amish Communities

The Amish lead simple, uncomplicated lives. They live in many different states in the United States, but the majority of them live in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. The Old Order Amish originally came to America from Switzerland where they eventually settled in Pennsylvania when William Penn created a place without religious persecution. Since then, the Amish have kept their old-world traditions. They practice a form of Christianity; they follow the Bible and its teachings. They live in small, tight-knit communities allowing them to get around easily by horse and buggy to visit friends and family members, who never live too far apart from each other. Family ties are extremely important to the Amish. They choose to live without electricity, automobiles, technology, fashion, and higher education because they feel that these things take away their religious and moral values. If a member of an Amish community steps away from the Amish culture, the rest of the community will “shun” the individual. They cherish working together as a community.


While family and community are important in modern day American society, the individual tends to be valued. Families are sometimes separated by distance depending on where each family member decides to live. Individual success is prioritized over the success of a community or culture. The Amish have removed the pieces from modern day technology and culture that would “encourage” their children to grow apart from the Amish culture. They believe that technology puts more emphasis on the individual. With this belief and through their religion, they shun technology and modern conveniences. This brings them closer together as a community.

Bibliography

William C. Lindholm
1997. Origins of the Old Order Amish. Internet Document,
http://www.holycrosslivonia.org/amish/origin.htm. Accessed November 5, 2009.