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Plain people

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An Amish family.

Plain people are Christian groups characterized by separation from the world and simple living, including plain dress. These group include Amish; Old Order, Conservative and Old Colony Mennonites; Old German Baptist Brethren; the Hutterites;[1] and Old Order River Brethren; and at one time Quakers, the Brethren in Christ (BIC),[2] Shakers,[3] Dunkards and Moravians.[4] A small number of Quakers still practice plain dress.[5][6][7]

Customs of plain people include:

  • Plain clothes, usually in solid, normally dark colors.
  • Plain church buildings, or no church buildings whatsoever.
  • A utilitarian view of technology, similar to the precautionary principle of technology in that unknowns should be avoided, but the emphasis was on the results in the eyes of God. If they were unsure of how God would look upon a technology, the leaders of the church would determine whether it was to be avoided or not.[8] The degree to which this principle was supported varied among the congregations, but in general, the Amish people believed that the Mennonites had not done enough to separate themselves from the rest of the world.

Origins

The Mennonite movement was a reform movement of Anabaptist origins based on the teachings of Menno Simons 1496–1561, and the 1632 Dordrecht Confession of Faith. The Amish movement was a reform movement within the Mennonite movement, based on the teachings of Jacob Ammann, who perceived a lack of discipline within the Mennonites movement by those trying to avoid prosecution. Ammann argued that Romans 12:2 prohibited that.

William Penn, having experienced religious persecution as a Quaker, offered asylum to others who were suffering religious persecution, an offer that many followers of Jacob Ammann accepted, starting with the Detweiler and Sieber families, who settled in Berks County, Pennsylvania, in 1736. Many of them settled near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which offered some of the most productive non-irrigated farmland in the world. By 1770, the Amish migration had largely ceased.

Religious practices

Plain sects typically have a Bishop presiding over one congregation. Some meet in church buildings, but most sects meet in members' homes. Services are normally held in a language closely related to Palatinate German, with extra vocabulary. Bishops are commonly chosen by lot as a reflection of God's will. While the Bishop tends to be influential, he tends to rule by building consensus rather than by issuing edicts.

Nowhere is the Bishop more influential than in decisions concerning the Ordnung. The Ordnung is a largely unwritten code of behavior, covering such items as clothing, vehicles, and the use of technology. The Ordnung varies slightly from congregation to congregation, though is in essence the same. Violations are not considered sins, although wilfulness is considered to be a serious violation of the faith. The Bishop leads the congregation in changing their Ordnung over time. The Bishop may also grant exemptions to the Ordnung. In one instance, one farmer was granted permission to buy a modern tractor since he had arthritis and no children to help him harness horses.

Amish women at the beach, Chincoteague, Virginia.

The Old Order Amish are among the fastest-growing populations in the world. They prohibit the use of contraception and have low infant mortality rates. The average Amish woman can expect to have at least seven live births.[9] Other plain sects with the same or similar doctrines can be expected to have similarly explosive growth.

Despite this, the Pennsylvania Dutch, which includes Amish and Old Order Mennonite, are expected to become a smaller percentage of the population as the sects respond to high prices of farmland by spreading out all over the United States and internationally, and the English population spreads out from Philadelphia into suburban and rural areas. Donald Kraybill believes there are plain sect communities in 47 states.

Among people at least five years old living in Lancaster County in 2000,

  • 89% spoke English at home;
  • 7% spoke Pennsylvania Dutch;
  • 4% spoke Spanish.[10]

Most plain sects do not admit children to their church, and impose no sanctions on those who do not join, but shun those who fall away from the church once becoming a member. Among Old Order Amish, teenagers who are not yet baptized are not bound by the rules and go through a period of rumspringa, often with certain amount of misbehavior that would not otherwise be tolerated.

Health

The Pennsylvania Dutch generally do not proselytize and discourage intermarriage. Because of close consanguinity, certain genetic problems occur more frequently. Dr. D. Holmes Morton has established the Clinic for Special Children to study and treat families with these problems.[11]

The plain sects typically prohibit insurance, and they assist each other charitably in case of sickness, accident, or property damage. Internal Revenue Service Form 4029[12] allows one to claim exemption to Social Security taxes under certain very restrictive conditions, and members of the plain sects neither pay the taxes nor receive death, disability and retirement benefits from social security.

See also

References

  1. ^ Hostetler, John (1997). Hutterite Society. The Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 105. ISBN 0801856396.
  2. ^ Wittlinger, Carlton (1978). Quest for Piety and Obedience: The Story of the Brethren in Christ. Evangel Press. p. 347. ISBN 0916035050.
  3. ^ The Shaker Manifesto. N. A. Briggs, Publisher. 1878.
  4. ^ Dunaway, Wilma (2008). Women, Work and Family in the Antebellum Mountain South. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521886198.
  5. ^ Savage, Scott (2000). A Plain Life: Walking My Belief. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0345438035.
  6. ^ Cooper, Wilmer (1999). Growing Up Plain Among Conservative Wilburite Quakers: The Journey of a Public Friend. Friends United Press. ISBN 0944350445.
  7. ^ Quaker Jane website
  8. ^ Zimmerman, Diane (2000). Holding the Line: The Telephone in Old Order Mennonite and Amish Life. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0801863759.
  9. ^ Meyers, Thomas J. (1990). "Amish". Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  10. ^ United States Censues, 2000, Population and Housing Profile: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
  11. ^ Kate Ruder, Genomics in Amish Country Genome News Network, July 23 2004
  12. ^ Internal Revenue Service Form 4029; Application for Exemption From Social Security and Medicare Taxes and Waiver of Benefits

Further reading

  • Donald B. Kraybill, Carl Desportes Bowman. On the Backroad to Heaven: Old Order Hutterites, Mennonites, Amish, and Brethren. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-8018-7089-5.
  • Donald Kraybill, Puzzles of Amish Life. ISBN 1-56148-001-0.
  • Stephen Scott, Why Do They Dress That Way?. ISBN 1561482404.
  • Amelia M. Gummere, Quaker: A Study in Costume. ISBN 0405085850.
  • Stephen Scott, An Introduction to Old Order and Conservative Mennonite Groups. ISBN 1561481017.
  • Margaret C. Reynolds, Plain Women: Gender and Ritual in the Old Order River Brethren. ISBN 0271021381.
  • Charles D. Thompson Jr., The Old German Baptist Brethren: Faith, Farming, and Change in the Virginia Blue Ridge. ISBN 0252073436.
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