History and Practices of the Amish Religion

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The Amish Religion

History of the Religion

Developed from the Radical Reformation in the 1300’s, a group was formed called the Anabaptists. These Anabaptists were a joint group between the Mennonites, the Hutterites, and the Amish. The Amish people came from a split in the Swiss Mennonites in 1693 when a man named Jacob Amman and his supporters left their church to begin their own. Jacob Amman was born in Switzerland as an Anabaptist in 1644, and is considered the founder of the Amish religion.

Most of the Amish communities began from places like Switzerland, Alsace, Russia, Holland, and Germany. Although in today’s world, there are no Amish people living in Europe any longer. This is because in the 1700’s, they were being persecuted because of their religious beliefs. They mostly moved to North America and settled in Pennsylvania along with settlements in many other states. Some of these states are Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Wisconsin, Missouri and Minnesota.

Around 1850, there was a separation between the Old Order Amish and the New Order Amish. The New Order Amish accepted new technology and social changes, but also kept most of the old Amish traditions and practices. There are now about 200,000 Old Order Amish living here in the United States along with some living in Canada.

Sacred Stories and Sacred Scripture

The Amish people, who are considered as conservative Protestants, believe in the readings of the bible. Most Amish people also have the Martyr’s Mirror, which is the book of Amish history and tells about the Amish, Mennonites, and Anabaptists who died for their faith. There is also a newspaper that many Amish and Mennonite communities use called the Budget, which is still p...

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...so make meals, celebrate holidays, and even have gardens around their homes. The Religion and Catholicism The Amish Religion and Catholicism are actually quite similar. They both use the bible; both celebrate Holidays relating to Jesus like Christmas, Easter, Good Friday, Pentecost, and the day of Ascension. The Amish have districts, which are similar to different diocese for Catholics; they celebrate communion but only twice a year, and perform baptisms also. A difference is their beliefs on war. Amish believe in peace and pacifism, while Christians will go to war, and believe in the Just War doctrine. Christians also join the world with advances in technology, while the Amish want to stay away from outer influences. Overall there are many similarities that most people would not know about the ideas of the Amish religion compared to Catholicism.

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