Amish (disambiguation)
Encyclopedia
The Amish
are an Anabaptist
Christian
denomination formed in 1693 by a schism
among some German-speaking
Mennonite
s over the practice of shunning
. Today, the term can be applied to:
Many churches descended from the Amish now consider themselves conservative Mennonites
.
Amish
The Amish , sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches...
are an Anabaptist
Anabaptist
Anabaptists are Protestant Christians of the Radical Reformation of 16th-century Europe, and their direct descendants, particularly the Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites....
Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
denomination formed in 1693 by a schism
Schism (religion)
A schism , from Greek σχίσμα, skhísma , is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization or movement religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a break of communion between two sections of Christianity that were previously a single body, or to a division within...
among some German-speaking
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
Mennonite
Mennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
s over the practice of shunning
Shunning
Shunning can be the act of social rejection, or mental rejection. Social rejection is when a person or group deliberately avoids association with, and habitually keeps away from an individual or group. This can be a formal decision by a group, or a less formal group action which will spread to all...
. Today, the term can be applied to:
- The Old Order Amish, who live in rural communities in North America and are famous for their plain dress and limited use of technology.
- Amish MennoniteAmish MennoniteAmish Mennonites are a Christian church or constituency of Anabaptist heritage, that came into existence as a result of a division which took place in the Mennonite churches of Southern Germany, Eastern France and Switzerland in the late 17th century....
s, a broad term used for churches which split from the Old Order Amish, mostly in the 1880s. Some have a lifestyle similar to the Old Order Amish, while others do not. - The Beachy Amish (formed 1927), who have fewer limits on the use of technology and do not shun those who join Mennonite churches.
- The New Order Amish (formed 1966), the least restrictive Amish group. They permit the use of electricity in the home and do not practice shunning.
- People of Amish descent. The conservative Amish community has remained largely isolated in North America and can be considered a distinct ethnic groupEthnic groupAn ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
. Many people from Amish families who do not join the church still identify themselves as Amish.
Many churches descended from the Amish now consider themselves conservative Mennonites
Conservative Mennonite Conference
The Conservative Mennonite Conference is a Christian body of conservative evangelical Mennonite churches.-Background:The first American settlement of the Amish Mennonites — who separated from the main body of Swiss Brethren and followed Jacob Amman — was in Berks County, Pennsylvania, around...
.