A History of the Amish

by Steven M. Nolt

Genres: History

Paperback

Published February 2, 2016

About the author

Steven M. Nolt is Senior Scholar and Professor of History and Anabaptist Studies at the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College.

Reviews

[John Martindale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. The Amish originated with the nonviolent branch of the Anabaptists. They were severely persecuted throughout Europe. Gradually, there would be a number of internal conflicts among the Anabaptists, primarily over the issue of shunning. I personally find shunning to be so repugnant, unchristlike, and counter-productive that it isn't a surprise that it repeatedly came up for debate and was a cause for division. Eventually, largely to escape persecution, the Amish immigrated to America, where things went better for them, except when conflict arose (civil war, WWI, and WWII), in which their commitment to nonviolence led to persecution in the states, and later compulsory public schooling resulted in Amish parents going to jail and their children being sent into foster care, when they refused. Due to early liberal progressivism, welfare, the draft, and other encroachments on their religious liberties, many sought freedom (with limited success) outside of the United States. It all makes me feel disgusted with how much America violated its foundational principles in how it dealt with the Amish.

Anyhow, one thing their history illustrated to me was that to remain as a distinct group and not wholly assimilate and be absorbed in the dominant culture often meant being stubborn and legalistic. Giving up repugnant practices like shunning was often a slippery slope away from the religion.

So it is like this, the Amish, inasmuch as they lived out the sermon on the mount, display an admirable religious community worth maintaining. Yet, the only thing that seems capable of holding a group together is external identity markers (those legalistic badges of membership, like plain dress, shunning, foregoing technology, etc...). To be less conservative and less legalistic, following Jesus' example, and focusing instead on the weightier matters of the law, almost guarantees the ultimate absorption into common culture, for better or worse.

The ugly and harmful aspects of their religion are the very glue that holds it together as a distinct group. For anyone to attempt to reform it from within spells the ultimate unraveling of this religious identity.
The question is, are the goods worth the bads? Or should the attitude be, good riddance to anything that cannot survive without the bad?

I think evangelicals are in a similar boat now. It would seem the loss of the most irrational, repugnant, and bad aspects of the faith is often a slippery slope. Much of my life was spent within Evangelicalism, attempting to deconstruct the false and ugly and to strive for truth and beauty, and to then help others towards better doctrines through education. But now I worry that the worst aspects of Evangelical doctrine are the identity-signaling beliefs that function as glue. The greater the harm, irrationality, and foolishness, the better they prove tribal loyalty, and any attempt to reform will ultimately undermine the faith.

Makes me wonder if the ugly and unchristlike practice of shunning and hyper legalism (in the name of not being worldly) wasn't a central component of early Anabaptist communities, whether the Amish would even exist today. Almost like, some of these bad elements were the costly identity-signaling practices that allowed a distinct tribe to remain for hundreds of years through great persecution.

[Karin Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really interesting to understand how the Amish came to be what they are today and the various struggles and controversies that have affected them. I must admit there were bits where I let the various distinctions between various groups and the various conferences and ministers meetings wash over me (I listened to the audiobook). Overall though I gained understanding of how they think of themselves in relation to wider society and why certain technologies are rejected.

[Sherry Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took such a long time to read, but I really enjoyed reading it. Some really good information in there.