The Amish

The Amish

The Amish subculture is a group of christians that strictly enforce the biblical commands to separate themselves from the modern world. Therefore the Amish live a simple, technology free life.

The Amish trace their origin back to the Protestant Reformation in Europe, where there they emphasized the return of the purity of the New Testament church. Before becoming the Amish, they were part of the Mennonites. The Mennonites believed that religion was becoming too complicated and modern. They thought their way of life should be simple, and religion should follow biblical commands. Since they developed through the 1500s in Europe, religion was forced, so they were killed or arrested when found practicing.

Jacob Ammons had formed the subculture of the amish. It all began when, Jacob Ammons separated himself from the Mennonites and decided to create a group named the Amish, in hope to avoid the harassment the Mennonites were facing. He failed as Amish were still being persecuted. They began to practice their religion in homes or hidden places. Many Amish and Mennonites accepted William Penn’s offer of religious freedom as part of Penn’s “holy experiment” of religious tolerance. They settled in what later became known as Pennsylvania. The first sizable group of Amish arrived in Lancaster County in the 1720’s or 1730’s.The Amish have expanded significantly. From a population of 5,000 in the beginning of the 20th century to a quarter million today. Amish can be found throughout twenty eight states in the U.S. and some parts of Canada . The states with the largest Amish populations are Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Every subculture has its own symbolic culture. Some Amish people usually speak the languages English,Dutch and German. Many speak German because they originally came from Germany to America to practice their religion freely. The Amish do not use any gestures however, one gesture the used was a hand gesture that they used when they are in their buggy (a horse carriage like ride) they use their arms to display the direction they are going.

The Amish people strictly enforce themselves to their religious beliefs. The Amish people have different norms and values than an average American . A value that Amish people have is their religion they revolve their lifestyle around it, god is the priority for Amish people. To the Amish everything that has happened to them is because of god and during bad times the Amish seek out to god for help. A norm that the Amish people encounter because of their value of religion every other Saturday they have service at a fellow Amish friends home for 3 hours . The Sunday the Amish do not have service the must stay together with their family and praise god while reading different gospel testimonies.

Another value the Amish had was family. The Amish people do not