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Amish, pronounced AM ihsh or AH mihsh, belong to a Protestant group that originated in Switzerland but is now centered in the United States and Canada. They are also called Old Order Amish.
The Amish teach separation from the world. Members are forbidden to go to war, swear oaths, or hold public offices. Their doctrine requires farming and personal simplicity as a way of life. Men wear beards and wide-brimmed hats, and women wear plain long dresses and bonnets. Members meet in their homes every two weeks for worship. They till the soil with horses, and their Ordnung (rules) ban the use of electricity and telephones. They limit education to the eighth grade. Those who break with the Old Order usually join the Mennonites.
The Amish were named for Jacob Ammann, who led them in breaking away from the Swiss Mennonites in the 1690's because of disagreements over church discipline. The Amish were more strict and shunned (avoided completely) excommunicated members. They probably first came to North America in 1727. Today, they live in farm communities in 23 states and in Ontario. Their largest communities are found in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Iowa, and Illinois. The Amish are part of the group called Pennsylvania Dutch.
Pennsylvania Dutch refers to the people who came to Pennsylvania in the late 1600's and the 1700's from the German Rhineland, and their descendants. Some of these immigrants came from the German part of Switzerland, and others were French Huguenots. Only a few of them came from the Netherlands. The Pennsylvania Dutch were called Dutch because the word Deutsch, which means German, was misinterpreted.
Most of the original Pennsylvania Dutch belonged to the Lutheran or German Reformed churches. They were called "the church people." Others belonged to various sects (religious groups) that grew out of pietism, a religious movement that opposed formal religious practices. These sects included the Amish and Mennonites. These two groups were noted for their plain dress and distrust of formal church practices. Today the Amish and Mennonites are called "the plain people," and live mainly in Lancaster County. Another early group, the Moravians, founded Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and worked to convert American Indians to Christianity.
