The Amish: A Concise Introduction PDF
Preview The Amish: A Concise Introduction
The Amish Young Center Books in Anabaptist and Pietist Studies Donald B. Kraybill, Series Editor © 2016 Johns Hopkins University Press All rights reserved. Published 2016 Printed in the United States of Amer i ca on acid- free paper 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1 Johns Hopkins University Press 2715 North Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4363 www . press. j hu . edu Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Nolt, Steven M., 1968– author. The Amish : a concise introduction / Steven M. Nolt. pages cm. — (Young Center books in Anabaptist and Pietist studies) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4214-1956-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 1-4214-1956-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-4214-1957-2 (electronic) — ISBN 1-4214-1957-2 (electronic) 1. Amish— United States— Social life and customs. 2. Amish— History. I. Title. E184.M45.N65 2016 289.7'3— dc23 2015028198 A cata log rec ord for this book is available from the British Library. Special discounts are available for bulk purchases of this book. For more information, please contact Special Sales at 410-5 16- 6936 or specialsales @press . jhu . edu . Johns Hopkins University Press uses environmentally friendly book materials, including recycled text paper that is composed of at least 30 p ercent post- consumer waste, whenever pos si ble. Contents 1 Meet the Amish 1 2 Amish Roots 12 3 Living the Old Order 26 4 Community and Church 40 5 Rumspringa: Amish Gone Wild? 53 6 Family and Schooling 66 7 Work and Technology 80 8 The Amish and Their Neighbors 95 9 Amish Images in Modern Amer i ca 107 Appendix A: Amish Spirituality 119 Appendix B: Related Groups 122 Notes 125 For Further Reading 131 Index 135 This page intentionally left blank The Amish This page intentionally left blank C H A P T E R O N E Meet the Amish In 2013 an Amish father placed a notice in an Amish newspaper for a meeting of parents and teachers in- volved with Amish schools. Information about the gathering, to be held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, ended with this reminder: “If you are planning to attend and are using a GPS, you must use the correct spelling [for Punxsutawney].”1 The Amish use global positioning systems? For many Americans, the image of the Amish as reclu- sive, dark- clad, horse- and- buggy-driving folks conjures no- tions of the nineteenth century and hardly comports with twenty- first- century satellite technology. In fact, most ob- servers would either be perplexed by the notice or decide that it reveals some secret hy poc risy among a p eople who present a publicly plain life but b ehind the scenes are actually no dif- fer ent from the rest of us. The truth is something else, as we will see, but the Punx- sutawney school meeting lays bare distinctive aspects of 1
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