The Amish Culture

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The Amish culture is a very unique culture. Known widely for their distinctive dress and principled rejection of modernity, the Amish provide unending fascination to outsiders. The Amish have distinctive cultural values and beliefs, which govern their everyday lives. Amish communities have marriage and clothing customs that are different from most Christian religious groups.
“The Amish, sometimes known as Amish Mennonites, Plain people, and Anabaptists are a North American ethnic group living mostly in the American states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana and the Canadian province of Ontario (Minah).” The Amish culture and other Mennonites are from the Anabaptist movement. This was a movement when church members called for adult baptism beside …show more content…
They are deeply bred and reflected into everything in their lives that governs perceptions, emotions, behavior, organizational structure, and architecture. The Amish people have a saying in their culture about life called “Gelassenheit”. It’s a German word that means “calmness, acceptance, and yeildness.” In practical terms, Gelassenheit discourages higher education, abstract thinking, competition, and scientific pursuits. Amish people submit to the authority of the church, respect the wisdom of traditions, and wash the feet of others in an act of humility. Obedience is taught from an early age in the Amish culture. Children’s hands are held together by their parents during prayer so they don’t reach for food. Spanking is introduced early when children start throwing tantrums but the church urges parents to not spank when they are angry. Obedience is one of the core values of the Amish because it shows obedience to God’s will. Humility is taught because Jesus showed a spirit of humility and the bible says God hates a prideful look. The Amish people are taught to keep things plain in life; toys few and simple. They teach basic skills like sewing and reuse the old to make the new in every generation. Amish communities eat homegrown instead of luxury or snack foods (Kraybill, 98-105). Amish children do not attend public school after the eighth grade, because the Amish think …show more content…
Courting or dating is done very secretly where only the parents of the male and female know about it. A young man will not even tell his friends that he is even interested in a female or thinking of dating her. In their early twenties, the young couple are usually waiting for their wedding day. In order for the couples to get married they must be baptized first and fully commit to the church. If they both are committed to the church in today’s society, then the young man an ask her to marry him (“Amish Weddings”). Some communities still follow the tradition of the young man going to the head Bishop to state that he wants to marry this certain girl and then the Bishop goes to the girl’s father to ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage (Naylor 21). Couples do not announce their intentions to marry each other until July or August, when the bride tells her family her plans to marry. The Deacon announces the girls and the boys who are planning to marry; afterwards the Fathers of the couples announce the date and time of the wedding, inviting everyone in the communities. Couples do not attend church when their wedding is announced. The bride cooks for her fiancé and they enjoy dinner together when the bride formally introduces her groom to her family that day after everyone gets back from church (“Amish Weddings”). “Amish marriages
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