Department of English and American Studies English Language and

86 Pages·2014·0.4 MB·English

Masaryk University
Faculty of Arts

Department of English
and American Studies

English Language and Literature

Lucie Světloňová

The Amish and Stereotypes
Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis

Supervisor: Jeffrey Alan Smith, M.A., Ph.D.

2014
Content
1. Introduction ................................................................................................. 1
2. The Amish .................................................................................................... 2
3. Stereotypes .................................................................................................. 6
4. Ethnic Jokes ................................................................................................. 8
5. Comments on the Internet ............................................................................. 9
5.1. Methodology ......................................................................................... 10
5.2. Lifestyle ............................................................................................... 14
5.2.1. Technology vs. Simple Life ............................................................... 14
5.2.2. Appearance .................................................................................... 19
5.2.3. Work .............................................................................................. 21
5.2.4. Transportation ................................................................................ 23
5.2.5. Rumspringa .................................................................................... 24
5.2.6. Geographical Background ................................................................ 25
5.3. Religion ................................................................................................ 25
5.4. Women and Men ................................................................................... 28
5.5. Amish on Television .............................................................................. 30
6. Amish Life in Reality .................................................................................... 32
6.1. Lifestyle ............................................................................................... 32
6.1.1. Technology ..................................................................................... 32
6.1.2. Appearance .................................................................................... 34
6.1.3. Work .............................................................................................. 36
6.1.4. Transportation ................................................................................ 37
6.1.5. Rumspringa .................................................................................... 39
6.1.6. Geographical background ................................................................ 40
6.2. Religion ................................................................................................ 41
6.3. Women and Men ................................................................................... 42
6.4. Amish on Television .............................................................................. 45
7. Conclusion .................................................................................................. 46
8. Bibliography ............................................................................................... 48
9. Appendix .................................................. Chyba! Záložka není definována.
I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently,
using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography.

……………………………………………..
Author’s signature
I would like to thank my supervisor, Jeffrey Alan Smith, who so kindly helped me
with my thesis and answered all my questions as quickly as possible. Also, I would
like to thank my family, friends and God for the best support.

1. Introduction

Amish are among the most distinct groups which do not belong into the
mainstream culture. Their culture differs from the rest of the world so much that it
has drawn attention of many people. Due to their seclusion from the society and
many radical rules governing their lives, they are perpetual subject matter of
numerous comments on the Internet every day. However, the comments very often
do not correspond to reality but more likely include stereotypes that try to cover
Amish culture. Life of the Amish is however not black and white as the stereotypes
suggest, but rather very diverse and complex.
People in the U.S. and other countries are attracted to the Amish culture in
one way or another. However, attitudes toward Amish are often negative and also
based on stereotypes. This thesis should point these stereotypes out, sort them
according to the topic, and compare them with secondary literature that tries to
examine Amish as much objectively as possible. The thesis should show that
information on Amish shared among people is not always true and herewith initiate
changing of negative attitudes toward the Amish for the better.
The thesis will, first of all, give general information on Amish and explain
terms, such as “stereotypes” and “ethnic jokes.” Then it will focus on society and its
views of Amish while analyzing comments found on the Internet. This analysis should
point out stereotypes that are likely to be found when one studies a distinct group of
people. Subsequently, the thesis will try to compare the stereotypes with secondary
literature and also give possible examples of sources of stereotypes. All this will
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show how far people know about Amish and how far they rely on stereotypes shared
in the society.
2. The Amish

The origins of the Amish are to be found in the Anabaptist movement that
started in 1525, eight years after the beginning of the Protestant Revolution.
Anabaptist leaders were more radical than other reformers at that time and
advocated the changes and division from the Catholic Church vehemently. The
leaders were not satisfied with the course of the Mass, refused to use images,
doubted morals of state church leaders, and disagreed with baptism of babies
because they believed that only adults who consciously and voluntarily decide to
follow Jesus can be baptized. The word “Anabaptist” means “rebaptizer,” which
relates to the second voluntary and conscious baptism which followed their first
infant baptism in the Catholic Church. In the 16th century in Europe rebaptism was
considered a heretic deed that was severely punished (Kraybill xiv).
The Anabaptist movement gave rise to Amish in 1693. The name “Amish”
developed from their leader’s name – Jakob Ammann who was a member of Swiss
Anabaptist church. The Amish are divided into around forty subgroups with various
cultural customs that are found in Ontario in Canada and in twenty-seven states in
the United States, most of them in the east of the Mississippi River, where they
migrated due to the persecution from Europe. Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana are
places of residence for two thirds of the Amish population. There are approximately
104,000 adults and if counted together with children, the number goes up to
233,000 (Kraybill xiv).
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One Amish remarked: “You can drive down any north-south road in the
settlement and in a span of just a few miles you might pass Amish families from five
or six different affiliations” (Hurst and McConnell 1). Upon this one can see probably
the most significant fact – diversity – that is so typical for the Amish. Many people
think that the Amish are one unitary group that is situated on various places in
America but they are rather many different groups occurring on various places that
have some common characteristics and present themselves with the unitary name –
Amish. As Hurst and McConnell point out, the differences between the groups lie in
both culture and religion and have origins in the question “where to draw the
boundary between the church and the outside world and how to define
nonconformity1” (34). The Amish could not agree on a common understanding of this
subject matter and decided to divide and create a system of various branches and
subgroups that is far from the idea of a simple and clear-cut church which is mostly
shared among the non-Amish.
In order to better understand the diversity among the Amish, it is important to
give an explanation on how they are actually organized. The most basic unit is a
family which together with other twenty-four to forty families creates a church
district. A bishop, two ministers and a deacon partake in leading of the district. Each
district is governed by a written set of various rules called “Ordnung”, which is orally
handed over from a generation to a generation and twice a year traditionally read
over and eventually amended. The church district is the place where the diversity
among the Amish is initiated because it has the power to change the Ordnung, and

1 “Refusal or failure to conform to accepted standards, conventions, rules, or laws” (The Free
Dictionary) - in this case, the term means refusal to conform to the “world” – the society outside the
Amish communities.
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hence also the customs. The next step in the system is fellowship of the church
districts which is called an “affiliation” and is characterized by sharing similar
Ordnung. There is also relationship between the church districts called full fellowship
that enables the districts to exchange ministers at funerals and church services and
members to take Communion in any church of the full fellowship area. There is the
term “settlement” to indicate a gathering of church districts disregarding the kind of
the affiliation as well (Hurst and McConnell 16-18). Furthermore, it is estimated that
there are up to eight religious “Orders”, or main groups, to which the Amish are
affiliated. Most of them however belong to these five Orders: Old Order Amish, New
Order Amish, Andy Weaver Amish, Beachy Amish, and Swartzentruber Amish from
which Old Order Amish is the most numerous and Swartzentruber Amish the most
conservative one (Powell). The Amish indicate their Orders as “low” and “high” which
is connected to the amount of conservatism included in the Ordnung. Low Orders are
more conservative and hence they prefer stricter prescriptions and separate more
from the society. They see themselves as humble followers of the original teachings
and reproach the higher Orders for their diversion from them. High Orders are on the
contrary more progressive, more open for using technology, and “emphasize more
personal and reflective religious experience.” The high Orders see the low ones as
Orders based on “man-made traditions” rather than on “true spirituality” (Hurst and
McConnell 35). Even though the discrepancies between Orders, affiliations and
districts are typical for the Amish, there are a few fundamental characteristics
common for all of them.
One can see that the system is complex to such an extent that a family from
one district can live near a family from another district whose customs could differ
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radically. It is hence possible to see the Amish once using a car and next time other
Amish using a buggy and that only because they belong to different affiliations. In
another case, one can notice that some Amish use flash-lamps but no electricity and
that just because of multiple prescriptions in the Ordnung that may seem to the non-
Amish as contradictory but to the particular church district as absolutely reasonable.
Thus, it is understandable that people from the outside of the Amish society – “the
English” – are confused and think of Amish as of hypocrites. That is why the
information about the customs and reasons for them needs to be completed so as to
avoid similar conclusions.
However, despite of the great diversity among the Amish, there are a few
basic beliefs that are common for all of them. First and foremost, it is the belief in
living in the same way as Jesus Christ lived. Their faith should be reflected in their
daily lives (Hurst and McConnell 18) which is basically living what they believe in; it is
not any kind of a hobby or an additional activity. Hurst and McConnell further
convey that this faith-living is supported by a “strong belief in Gelassenheit, which is
best translated as a spirit of selflessness, humility, or meekness”. They describe it as
an opposite to the individualism, boldness and competitiveness of the modern age
(18).
Another basic belief which is common for all Amish is based on what the
apostle Paul writes in the letter to Romans: “And be not conformed to this world: but
be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that
good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Official King James Bible Online,
Romans 12.2). This verse is mostly interpreted as urging against conforming to the
sinful behavior and opinions colliding with the Scripture. However, the Amish
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