Many of you have probably never even heard of the Amish.

The Amish are a unique people living primarily in the United States. Unlike the Mormons, who can be said to belong to the state of Utah, the Amish do not have their own country as such, although they own lands. Amish Country is a figurative expression referring to areas where the Amish live. This is a full-fledged people - with its own culture, its own customs and traditions.

Amish - Christian movement of Mennonite origin. The founder is Jacob Ammann, a priest from Switzerland who emigrated to Alsace. Amish church doctrine can be characterized as the most conservative version of Mennoniteism.

A significant part of modern Amish (more than 200 thousand) live in the USA and Canada. The most conservative Amish groups in the United States retain the Pennsylvania German language (Pennsylvania Dutch, distorted deutsch) in everyday life.

After long and widespread persecution to which the Amish suffered in their homeland for the custom of baptism in adulthood and opposition to the union of church and state, they finally found a safe haven in America thanks to the prominent Quaker William Penn. The Amish, radical Mennonites from Switzerland and the Palatinate, were repeatedly martyred in their homeland at the hands of intolerant opponents, often being put in sacks and drowned in rivers. With the very lives of the Amish at risk, they moved en masse to Pennsylvania at the invitation of William Penn, as part of his “holy experiment” in religious tolerance. 1727 Empire Total War game (Sega 2009)

Main feature their creed is a stricter adherence to the Holy Scriptures. The Amish attach primary importance to the provision contained in the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans on the separation of church and state. Most of them, if possible, refuse any technical means, connecting them with the outside world: electricity, running water, central heating, telephone, etc.

The Amish are adherents of an old traditional way of life. Most of them wear clothes and hats certain colors and styles, rides in ancient horse-drawn carts, uses only steel wheels, and plows the land with a horse-drawn plow. Children and women walk barefoot in the warm season. The Amish are prohibited from serving in the army, taking photographs, driving cars and flying airplanes, owning computers, televisions, radios, wearing wrist watch And wedding rings. The Amish marry only with their coreligionists. In their free time, Amish men make furniture, Amish women sew clothes, in both cases everything is done by hand and according to the fashion of the early 18th century. Since the Amish marry exclusively with representatives of their communities, genetic diseases of one type are common among them, and women very often experience miscarriages, nevertheless, the birth rate among the Amish is traditionally high, families have 8-10 children, as a result of which in each generation their numbers double. Upon reaching a certain age, the Amish have the right to leave their father's home for 3 years and go to live in " external world", where they can sin as their soul pleases, but at the end of this period the Amish is obliged to return home and make a decision: either he is completely immersed in the traditional way of life of the Amish and remains in the community, observing all the rules of behavior, or he leaves the community forever and lives as he wants, and then even his closest relatives will never again give him a helping hand, no matter how much he needs it. As a result, the Amish, unprepared for life in modern society, often becomes an outcast from this society and, not finding his place in it, returns to live in the community. More often than not, Amish women do not return to the community from the “outside world.” On the tombstones of the dead, the Amish do not write their names, surnames, dates of birth and death, because they believe that the dead no longer need this.

Despite their whole way of life, the Amish are very rich people. They sell furniture, clothes (all this self made, made in an antique manner), and since the Amish lead natural agriculture, with the advent of fashion in America in the early 90s healthy image life, their agricultural products began in large quantities and high prices to be bought up by health-conscious Americans.

Most Amish do not have special places of worship, and meetings are held alternately in the homes of community members. Services are held every Sunday. On those Sundays when there are no services (Friendship Sundays), the Amish relax and visit friends. Each Amish congregation has two preachers. The bishop and deacon serve in two communities, holding services in them alternately on different Sundays.

The Amish number more than 200 thousand people, according to ethnic origin they are mostly Alsatians. Although they perceive themselves as belonging to one denomination, the Amish, however, are divided into different groups. The most conservative is the Old Order Amish Mennonite Church. In 1866, the Evangelical Mennonite Church was founded in Indiana as a result of the Amish spiritual awakening movement. In 1910, the Conservative Mennonite Conference was created. Its adherents began to hold services in special meeting houses, organized Sunday schools. Another breakaway organization, Beachy Amish Mennonite Churches, allowed cars, tractors and electricity. The same organization also leads missionary activity, which is not practiced by other Amish. In the CIS there is a small Amish community called Beachy in Cherkassy (Ukraine).

More about the Amish

The history of the Amish goes back to the 17th century chronologically, and to Germany and Switzerland geographically. The Amish have nothing to do with Denmark and Holland. Accordingly, the language of the Amish is German. They still speak their own language, which is different from modern German. That’s why in the USA they call the Amish “Dutch”, and they call the Americans “English”. There is even a community in Indiana where the Swiss dialect of German is used.
The Amish are an offshoot of the Mennonites. Let me remind you that the Mennonites are a Protestant movement characterized by Anabaptism (rebaptism), which arose in the 40s of the 16th century. Mennonites, like all Anabaptists, do not recognize the baptism of children and believe that faith is a conscious matter, and everyone must decide the choice of faith for themselves. Therefore, they were baptized again, at the age of 16-20, without counting early baptism (which was a clear heresy for Catholics). The Amish not only share this position, but it greatly influences the very structure of their society. Already taking into account this position of the doctrine, talking about the Amish as a sect is not entirely correct. The Amish have always recognized religious tolerance both in theory and in practice, although with reservations, because the Amish society itself is still mono-confessional. In addition, the Amish, unlike other Protestant movements and sects, never preached their teachings. This is partly due to another important point Mennonite teachings are nonviolence. Mennon rejected the political, militant purpose of the church (which was preached by the Anabaptists Münzer and John of Leiden), and even wrote a special essay against John of Leiden and his claims to power. The Amish, like the Mennonites, have always stood outside of war and politics. Therefore, it would be incorrect to say that the Amish do not recognize the US state; in principle, like consistent Mennonites, they ignore politics and wars. Pacifism is a strict rule of the Amish, who are not only not allowed to fight or use violence, but even to keep weapons. The Amish did not participate in any war.
So, we have established that the Amish are descended from German Mennonites. They can be called “conservative Mennonites,” and this conservatism related not only and not so much to faith, but to a way of life. Or to put it another way, the Amish perceived their way of life as something closely related to faith and soul. The history of the Amish church (and by extension the people) began with the split of the Mennonite group of Switzerland and southern Germany in 1693. The leader of the “schismatics” is Jacob Amman, after whom the Amish got their name. Like all Mennonites, the Amish were persecuted and persecuted, and therefore their emigration from Europe is quite understandable. In the early 18th century, at the invitation of William Penn, the Amish moved south American state Pennsylvania. And now it is Pennsylvania, or rather the “county” of Lancaster, that can be called “Amish country.” More than 20 thousand people live here, and many Amish live in Ohio. In total, there are now about 225 thousand Amish living in the United States (22 states) and Canada (Ontario). How did someone like this move? big people, where did it come from and how was it preserved? The answer is simple - it didn’t come from anywhere and didn’t move in any way! In the 1720s, about 300 people moved to Pennsylvania, and from them the Amish people originated. Emigrants also came in the 19th century, but in any case, the people as such had already formed in America. The Amish have large families (usually 7-8 children). Demographers estimate the Amish population is doubling every 16-20 years. Of course, this growth is especially surprising against the backdrop of today’s general demographic crisis in developed countries. Therefore, do not be surprised that the Amish did not play a role in the history of the 18th and 19th centuries - they were perceived as a bunch of eccentric settlers, and America was full of them. Although in the 19th century they did not look very eccentric in their everyday life. In every second article in a magazine or on the Internet you can read that they have preserved the way of life of the 17th century. Of course, these are fairy tales. The Amish themselves deny this, as is emphasized in the words included in the epigraph. Why do superficial observers say this? Because for them, anything different from modern life is “17th century,” although the Amish have a lot from the 18th century, and from the 19th, and even from the 20th. The Amish are indeed very conservative, but their conservatism is meaningful. Only when we look closer will we understand that the Amish are not an isolated society, they are included in the general civilization. But it has significant autonomy in all aspects - from political to moral and everyday. So. The people as such arose and began to form - by culture, by the principles of faith, and by blood - at the end of the 17th - beginning of the 18th century. Its history is not so eventful, but it itself is no less interesting. Here we come exactly to the question, why are the Amish important to us, why are they so special? In what ways are they different from Mormons, for example?

Interest in the Amish awakens in everyone who hears about them for the first time. The Amish are in many ways analogous to the Old Believers. But the point here is not traditionalism, the point is that the Amish do not recognize modern civilization! And it is not just words. Amish society is not an archaic society unfamiliar with civilization, it is a society of people who have not accepted progress in all its negative manifestations, perceive it very warily, and borrow innovations only when necessary. Precisely out of necessity - after all, such a sharp increase in the number of people gives rise to many problems. Nevertheless, a significant part of the Amish still live according to the old way of life.
The Amish do not recognize modern technology and electricity, although they do not consider them something diabolical. Rather harmful, for the soul and for the community. They believe that modern technology divides people and makes them individualists. Moreover, it is a whim, a luxury not needed for life. Therefore, they do not live in the 17th century, but they are not present in the 21st century either. This is like another dimension, a real alternative history (which, according to the usual unfounded idea, is the lot of only science fiction writers). That's why I talk about Amish society as a real dystopia - they live in real world, not on paper. This is not a utopia (as some ordinary people perversely interpret Amish society), but a practical dystopia. The Amish turned “as if” into “it is,” showing us that our civilization and way of life are not the only possible ones.

A few words about the life and rules of Amish society (= people).
The Amish do not use cars. None, including tractors. Carts, horses, plow. This immediately distinguishes the Amish from modern society. Of course, the Amish, when absolutely necessary, buy a bus ticket or travel in a car - they have no superstitions. But owning a car and driving it is out of the question.
Further. Electricity is not used for any purpose. The houses are heated with wood. Traditional stoves or gas are used for cooking. The utensils, as you can see, are more typical of the 19th century than of the 17th-18th centuries. But the cut of the clothes is old - single-color dresses and caps for women. Black trousers, white shirts, and long-brimmed hats for men. Buttons are not allowed because the Amish associate them with military uniforms and thus with the army.
They do not use any computers, televisions, radios, telephones, washing machines or other things. For Americans, hand-washed linen dried on a line is, of course, exotic. Curiosity about the Amish is aggravated by the fact that they do not allow any images of people (more precisely human faces). Photos of an adult Amish man are rare. Why an adult? Yes, because the prohibitions do not apply to children so much - they are not baptized, and the commandments do not apply to them with such severity. But note that the Amish are not against photographs and cameras per se - but against images of people. In this, by the way, they follow the ancient Hebrew tradition.
The picture that emerges is more than surprising, especially since the entire life of the Amish cannot be called archaic - they use modern materials in the construction of houses and agricultural buildings (which is clearly visible in the photographs), plumbing, and fabrics. But at the same time they have forges and they produce a lot of things, primarily furniture and embroidery.
Until recently, the Amish were predominantly farmers, but nowadays they are increasingly engaged in crafts, because there is not enough land. All this once again shows the dynamism and vitality of the Amish society, which is not banal retrogrades and orthodoxies. I repeat, the Amish are not a sect, nor an island from the past. This is a unique alternative society.
What attracts the observer to this society, besides the unusual way of life? Undoubtedly the social and cultural foundations themselves. The Amish live in communities; there was and is no “patriarch” or “prophet” (like the Mormons). Moreover, community elders can make their own decisions, due to which differences exist between different communities, but do not lead to confrontation. The Amish are pacifists and do not serve in the military. They do not recognize the state and do not participate in elections. At the same time, they pay some taxes (forced, of course). No medical insurance is provided. And as far as I understand, they don’t have passports. This is such an amazing antisocial society, anarchism in action. But at the same time there is no confusion, this is a monolithic society with its own way of life. Most of all, the Amish resemble peasants, only free peasants.
About religiosity. Yes, faith plays a role in their lives big role. But the Amish have little in common with other sects and even churches. To begin with, they do not have temples or houses of worship. There are no icons, of course, and therefore no home “red corner”. There is no priesthood either. Baptism occurs at about 18 years of age, on average. And baptism is not just a ritual, but entry into the church, a change in life. So much for a “religious sect”! How much people still love to attach labels, instead of understanding the essence of the matter. I think the picture will be completed by mentioning the frequency of services - they are held every other Sunday, that is, twice a month. And their life itself is not at all imbued with religious rigorism, as we will see later (a description of the life and customs of the ladies is in the second article).
The Amish are not at all ascetics; they fully accept games, decorating things, Tasty food. Even their attitude towards sex is not as strange as in ordinary Christianity - they do not treat it as a sin. Morality is completely present here. And the foundations of morality are simplicity and modesty. Again, our observation shows the unity of everyday life and psychology in the life of the Amish. Moderation is a virtue for them, but not an ideal, but rather a norm, an everyday occurrence. Women's clothing expresses this well - dresses of different colors, but all plain, long and without cutouts. The furnishings of the rooms are simple and uncomplicated, but they make a very pleasant impression due to their comfort and neatness.

Amish motivations

Why do the Amish live this way and not otherwise? The simplest answer is because we are used to it. Of course, habit is always present in everything. A student, moving from class to another, gets used to new teachers and classmates. A lot of examples can be given. But habits, and even more so rules and principles of life, can be consciously developed! Those who talk about the natural, spontaneous development of society should not forget about this. Civilization is not nature, and society largely lives according to developed principles, voiced ideas, turned into commandments. Only among the Amish these principles are more meaningful, more reasonable and natural. They are not just protest, they are positive. By rejecting violence and politics, the Amish placed themselves outside the society of their time. Rejecting modern technology, they place themselves outside of all civilization. But the refusal did not occur through cutting off, not through impoverishment, but through the preservation and strengthening of one’s own, built on different principles. Amish society is a living alternative society, the goal of which is not protest, but a full, friendly life. This is not paradise; in the everyday life of the Amish there is a lot of work, sometimes difficult (but not “work” for strangers). Heavy, but at the same time more natural and joyful life, something we are all familiar with. And let’s not forget about the closeness to nature, which may not be recognized by the Amish, but is beautifully visible to us from the outside. This is such an anachronism, from the point of view of the majority - stupid archaism that has no future, sectarian quirks. But look at the photographs of children playing, look at the pictures of everyday life ordinary people, not striving for the stars. Personally, I get the feeling that I’m in a fairy tale, and I become kindly envious. There are also disadvantages in Amish society, and we will talk about them later. But we simply must study such a unique society of people who consciously live differently from everyone else. If, of course, we want to understand ourselves better and see our possible future. To illustrate, it is an everyday parable, a story about tourists visiting the Amish. The story is taken from the Amish website (let me explain: the websites are not made by the Amish themselves, but by their friends and well-wishers, so this is more of a website about the Amish).
“So let me tell you a story. Several years ago, a group of 52 people came by bus to see how the Amish lived. A meeting was arranged for them with an Amish man who answered their questions. The first question was, “What does it mean to be Amish?”
Amish thought for a moment and then he asked his own question. “Which of you has a TV in the house?” Fifty-two hands went up. “Now tell me, how many of you think that perhaps you would be better off without TV?” Again fifty-two hands went up. "OK. Now, how many of you are going to go home and get rid of the TV?” Not a single hand went up.
“Now I’ll tell you what it means to be Amish. In our church, if we see that it is harmful to our soul, we will do without it. And the rest of the world doesn’t know what to do in this case. We believe that posing for photographs is part of a global misconception aimed at glorifying our bodies. The Bible tells us that inner man It has higher value. And facial features should not influence our attitude towards a person, their assessment. We are dust and to dust we will return. Why take pictures and decorate the walls of the clay house in which we live with photographs? Let us be careful not to exalt ourselves by becoming an idol.”
The ideas of the Amish not only lay at the origins of their society, but also continue to guide the thoughts of today's Amish who are trying to differentiate themselves from modern America, and thus with the modern civilized world as a whole.

My story will be about the country of the Amish. We were warned and asked not to take pictures of our faces, so I found a few pictures on the Internet, and still took the rest myself. Who are the Amish?
Amish are a Christian denomination of Mennonite origin. The founder is Jacob Ammann, a priest from Switzerland who emigrated to Alsace (Germany) in the second half of the 17th century.
Amish family Their church doctrine can be characterized as the most conservative version of Mennoniteism. The main feature of their doctrine is a stricter adherence to the Holy Scriptures. IN early XVIII century, part of the Amish moved to the United States (Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana), where Quaker William Penn (Pennsylvania), who proclaimed freedom of religion, provided the Amish and Mennonites with refuge in the southeastern part of the state.
All 12,500 Lancaster County Amish are descendants of a couple dozen families that emigrated from Europe in the early 18th century. Therefore, looking at the mailboxes in front of the houses there, you see the same names everywhere - Ash, Lapp, Scholtzfus, Fischer...
Amish. For the entire progressive community, they were “discovered” by a couple of hippies who went on romantic trips. Of course - suddenly, in the midst of the 21st century, in the heart of the most progressive country, one stumbles upon a tribe that fundamentally refuses electricity and higher education, its own transport (horses do not count), cameras, cinema and other rapidly gushing benefits of scientific- technical progress. Like the Old Believers, several centuries ago they recognized the European Church as a champion of sin and preferred to isolate themselves in the harsh achievement of heaven by a commune living an honest life before God. The Amish do not build churches, but pray with their fellow tribesmen, each in turn, and place benches in the front room.
At first, when you see the beards of men, you perceive the Amish as Orthodox Jews, but the Amish have nothing to do with Jews. You can’t take pictures, there are no photos on the walls, but there are so-called “family lists” (I don’t even know what to call it).
Here are two from the same family. One list of parents, the other - a modern family - name, month and year of birth. Notice the names - Jewish? Or biblical?
As an example, we visited one Amish house. The furnishings in the house were very simple - I didn’t notice any decorations, but everything was stamped with care and love.
The house was lit by gas jets (other houses also use kerosene). In the kitchen I saw a refrigerator - gas. In general, the kitchen turned out to be the largest room in the house.
And, as I understand, this is not just a place where they cook and eat, but a kind of center of the whole family life: Rebecca said that this is where they usually read, sew, and when the children were little, they played and did their homework there. The house also has its own water supply, powered by a windmill. Their women do not know cosmetics, jewelry, even buttons (and of course, this is also an option for decoration!), The style of the dress has been stable for the last two hundred years.
Actually, the style. Dresses should be plain, without buttons (if you need to attach something, only with a pin), one style and two or three - no more, so that everyone is equal and does not stand out and do not feel that one is richer than the other. Plain dresses - blue, purple or dark gray, made of thin fabric similar to wool, but with a mandatory apron: married woman it is black, the unmarried woman’s is white.
Even Wedding Dress it is sewn in a plain color, without decoration, in the same style, so that you can wear it to work tomorrow. The appearance of Amish women on the streets after dark for no particular reason is considered promiscuity.
Men do not shave their beards (mustaches are prohibited by law, they are mustacheless) and do not know how to hold a weapon in their hands. They do not serve in the army or only in units where they do not hold weapons in their hands. They are never in their American history didn't fight.
Most of them wear clothes and hats of certain colors and styles, ride in ancient horse-drawn carriages, use only steel wheels (no shock absorbers to feel the ground), and plow the ground with a horse-drawn plow.
Amish men's hats
On the right is a tall hat - for the holiday, and on the left are lower hats, which young men (of marriageable age) who may already be getting married have the right to wear
The trousers are supported by suspenders, there are no buttons on the trousers, they are replaced by a system of hooks, loops and ties, as worn by sailors.
But the Amish work hard - excuse me, by the sweat of their brow they earn their bread (as well as meat and dairy products and all sorts of vegetables and fruits) in the lap of nature, give birth to ten children (abortion and condoms are prohibited), on Sundays they go to each other’s guests for Protestant services - singing chorales, reading the Bible or for a common cheerful meal.
They are prohibited from serving in the army, taking photographs, driving cars and flying airplanes, owning computers, televisions, radios, wearing wristwatches and wedding rings.
In religiously tolerant America, a special type of passport was developed for them - without a photograph: but they don’t need to leave America and they don’t have anything to travel with - an airplane is prohibited for them, the most they allow themselves is a scooter, and then they can go no faster than one horse!
Schools are a special topic. The school consists of one classroom (room), where children from 7 to 15 years old study, all together. And they are taught by a teacher of about 15 years old, who has just graduated from it herself.
In their own schools, they study only those subjects and only to the extent that will be useful to them on the farms: botany, zoology, arithmetic, basic geometry. Of the books, not counting children's books, in the Soviet propaganda style, they kept only the Bible. Among the paintings are wall calendars and a newspaper that they themselves print about the weather, harvest, milk yield, sowing or harvest.
Loom You cannot become Amish by the dictates of your heart. They can only be born. And, of course, to stay, because humane Anabaptists give all members of the commune once in their lives, in their youth, a choice: either finally accept baptism, or go into exile. Big world. Before that, they are allowed to try to live in the world, to see what it is like there. The most fantastic thing is that from 75 to 95 percent, having seen America, return back to the laborious, but well-fed Amish shelter. Only in adulthood do they take a deliberate step - baptism.
A "juicer" driven by a water pump. On the one hand, where should they go with their education, life ideas and communal experience? On the other hand, they will never abandon their homes, they will not kick them out, they will lift them up with the whole world, put them on their feet, will not let them perish, etc. Naturally, this is a Protestant paradise. They have no divorces (which is understandable), which is why young men are allowed to communicate quite freely with girls of marriageable age. Freely means talking, joking, walking together on a Sunday, but it’s not at all what you thought. This cannot happen before the wedding, but if a misfortune happens, then marriage is inevitable, period. For all their closeness, they communicate well with their non-Amish neighbors, and sometimes, with a lack of land and constant population growth (and there are two hundred thousand of them, by the way!), they are hired as workers - to the delight of the employer, for whom it is more honest, hardworking and You won't find a more modest worker than an Amish. – They eat nourishingly and nutritiously (like the long-time descendants of the Swiss), drink little (once), do not steal, do not swear, and love life, people, the economy - with a simple, healthy love. They pay their taxes honestly, so they don’t go to prison.
Cemeteries have identical tombstones with the date of birth and death. There are no more improved monuments, all mortals are the same!
Coffin The coffin stands in the house of the deceased for three days, half closed, so that anyone who wants to say goodbye has time to arrive, and the speed of movement does not exceed the speed of one horse! Oops, you can't take pictures...
What faces! There is no trace of sadness, anger, or discontent on them. While they were describing to us the beauty of the local hostel, we, of course, unanimously felt sorry for the poor Amish women with their three dresses, a dozen children and daily work to the point of exhaustion. Well, men, in general, too...
And the books!.. The Bible is a most beautiful text, but you will never read a single secular line in your life?! Can't hear secular music?! Can't see the Impressionists? And not even know that you can want to see and hear all this...
Caps for married women in the shape of a heart In general, filled with horror and compassion for these holy creatures, we went to the market to get to know them. And I was shocked to the roots of my soul by their shining, blinding, fantastic beauty of these very young women in heart-shaped caps and tightly closed old woman’s dresses.
How they smile while serving a tourist. What kind of eyes they have when they look at us, modern, stylish, bright, not a bit like them - without a shadow of envy or indignation, but simply with interest and affection. A few minutes of communication literally changed my ideas about female beauty. The aura of love for their neighbor that they emit really makes them look better than royal robes.
An integral part of the interior of an Amish house is a blanket made of scraps - called a quilt, as well as wooden things - chests, chairs, beds, rocking chairs.
A simple children's toy Children's toys are simple, homemade: rag dolls, wooden trains, cubes.
Even their chickens are strange, environmentally friendly. Not for a second, of course, would I want to live in this paradise, but the fact that it is possible, real, happy and inspired does not give me any doubt. Even with all its artificiality, inexperience and favorable historical circumstances.

And for the rest of America, the Amish are such a popular romantic brand, “strangers among us” - they are watched, their products, fortunately natural and delicious, sell out with a bang. I tried the cheeses and honey – it was truly delicious.
They grow tobacco, although they themselves do not smoke. In response, the Amish, without fear of globalization, calmly and without looking around, are building their earthly New Jerusalem. And their biggest problem is this moment – high percent related marriages. But when total number two hundred thousand... I hope the problem can be solved. Let them live as a feast for us.
The star on the house speaks of the hospitality of the owners. You can knock on a house like this and spend the night
Then we visited a fair where we bought some products (not cheap), but environmentally friendly. I was interested and listened with curiosity about the lives of “strange”, in my opinion, people.

The Amish are a movement of followers of the Mennonite ideologist from Switzerland Jacob Ammann, which appeared in Europe at the end of the 17th century. Due to persecution, many Amish were forced to immigrate to America. To this day, they jealously guard their traditions, strikingly different from modern Americans.

Following the letter of scripture

The Amish take everything the Bible says literally. If it is written “be fruitful and multiply,” then so be it. This is why the Amish population in America doubles every 20 years. While among the general population of the United States the average birth rate does not exceed two children per family, the Amish have 6-7 offspring. Today there are approximately 200,000 Amish people living in North America.

Considering that all North American Amish prefer to find partners within their community, they are faced with the problem of inbreeding - inbreeding, which gives rise to a lot of genetic abnormalities and high level mortality among newborns. Understanding the dangers of endogamy, the Amish prohibit marriage between first cousins, but unions between second cousins ​​are still allowed.

Without leaving home

Traditionally, Amish communities do not build places of worship and conduct all services at home, following the scripture, where the church is defined not as a building, but as a gathering of people. During the liturgy, which lasts 3 hours, men and women stand separately to listen to the sermon and sing chants in the Pennsylvania dialect of German.

If there are a lot of people in the house where the service is being held, the pastor has to move from room to room to get around all the parishioners. By the way, Amish pastors do not undergo special training, as is customary in other churches, but are determined by lot.

Ban on civilization

The Amish are an extremely closed community. They do not recognize technological progress, effectively isolating themselves from the benefits of civilization. The Ordnung (Amish code of life) prohibits the use of mains electricity, telephones and computers. In the most conservative communities, refrigerators and bathrooms are prohibited.

The Amish are not allowed to drive, much less own, a car, but they can take the bus or train. Traditional look Amish transport is a horse-drawn carriage, but the maximum travel distance should not exceed 40 kilometers, since the animal cannot be overloaded.

Amish clothing is also strictly regulated. Only simple clothes made from natural materials - no sneakers, jeans, belts, gloves, ties, pockets or even buttons (they are replaced by fasteners or pins).

Only what is necessary

The Amish also reject traditional school education, since, in their opinion, it is overloaded with completely unnecessary disciplines. Their children attend small community schools where they learn only reading, writing and arithmetic.

After finishing 8th grade, boys and girls receive vocational training primarily in the field of agriculture, but also various kinds crafts. The Amish only keep what helps them survive. Everything else is from the evil one.

Selective violence

The Amish reject any cooperation with the outside American community: they refuse to serve in the army or carry out any orders from the authorities or police. Interpreting Christ's sermons in their own way, they do not allow themselves to be drawn into the judicial system, viewing it as manifestations of violence and aggression.

However, in some cases, violence within the community is even encouraged. When children show disobedience by making antics, swearing or outbursts of anger, they are inevitably subject to corporal punishment.

Main advantage

Amish men follow a strict rule. As soon as they get married, they are obliged to grow a beard - only a beard, but not a mustache. For them, the beard is a sacred attribute, and forcibly cutting it off, which can happen during a quarrel between representatives of different families, is equated to sacrilege. Such a crime is punishable by a prison term.

The fact is that, according to American law, cutting off the beard of the Amish is tantamount to a crime against religious freedom, and here community representatives are ready to cooperate with the authorities. For example, in 2013, a jury in Ohio sentenced the mastermind of a beard-cutting attack to 15 years in prison, and his 15 accomplices received sentences ranging from one to seven years.

There's a board between us

As a rule, an Amish couple who is about to tie the knot does not have intimate relations before the wedding. Young people can lie in the same bed, but will be separated from each other by tucked blankets and a board fitted between them. Sometimes the mother of the bride can sew her child into a canvas bag, in which the girl will remain until the morning. And so on for a month.

Do what you want

Another interesting custom among the Amish - “rumspringa” (literally “fugitive”). In the period from 14 to 16 years, every teenager receives the right to independently explore the outside world, exposing himself to all its temptations. After all, the Amish accept conscious baptism only at the age of 16 and before that they are not considered full members of the religious community.

Rumspringa will not be condemned by his fellows for wearing youth clothing, not for driving a car, not for sexual promiscuity, not even for using drugs. Moreover, the teenager has the opportunity not to return to the community, but, as a rule, over 90% of runaways ultimately remain among the Amish.

Don't make an idol

Curiously, Amish children's dolls lack distinctive features– faces, hair, fingers and overall coloring. This is explained simply: the Amish believe that only God has the right to create images of people, even if it is a toy. Faceless dolls create uniformity, which prevents one toy from looking better than another, otherwise there is a desire for vanity.

This may explain the ban on posing for photographs. The Amish believe that such photography is tantamount to violating the commandment “thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.” However, the Amish allow photos or videos taken in a relaxed manner. Therefore, in the Amish passport we will either not see photographs at all, or there he will be depicted in natural environment, say, against the backdrop of nature.

One of the most famous groups The world's religious minorities, the Amish are famous for their traditional way of life. They live much simpler than the vast majority of people, often relying solely on agriculture and fishing. There are many legends surrounding this group, which separated from the Mennonites several centuries ago, so let’s try to figure out what is actually true.

1. Origin of the Amish

2. Baptism and marriage

3. Nonviolence

4. Faceless dolls

5. Rumspringa

6. Amish in numbers

7. The role of women among the Amish

A woman in an Amish family is primarily a homemaker, whose responsibilities include cooking, housekeeping, and helping neighbors. “In public,” a woman, as a rule, follows the example of her husband.

8. Avoidance and Weaning

9. Cars

10. Famous beards

11. Women's dresses

12. Education

13. Preaching

And in continuation of the topic about another people with interesting story - .

Since my photos do not cause any reaction, which is very depressing... considering the rain outside the window... In short, I made a strong-willed decision - to stop doing unnecessary garbage, I will not post them anymore. Instead, we'll have to entertain you with local stories.

The other day, that is, last week, I had a chance to talk with the Amish.

For those who are not in the tank

The Amish are one of the branches of Mennonism. The name comes from Jacob Amman, a Mennonite leader in Alsace in the second half of the 17th century. The main feature of their doctrine is a stricter adherence to the Holy Scriptures. The Amish place great emphasis on the separation of church and state contained in Paul's letter to the Romans.

Amish leaders are not professional church ministers. They are chosen by lot and carry out their activities free of charge.

The Amish do not have houses of worship. Divine services are held on a rotating basis in the private homes of fellow believers. Services are held every other Sunday. On those Sundays when there are no services (Friendship Sundays), the Amish relax and visit friends. Each Amish congregation has two preachers. The bishop and deacon serve in two communities, holding services in them alternately on different Sundays. The Amish speak to each other in a dialect of German, but generally speak excellent English.

Women wear long, plain dresses, usually black, blue or green, but with an obligatory apron: black for a married woman, white for an unmarried woman. The dresses are not distinguished by a particular variety of colors and cuts - there are only two of them: a dress with a sewn-in skirt and a dress with an apron (similar to the Russian school uniform of the 70s - 80s). All girls and women wear caps - white or black, covering the back of their heads and tied with ribbons under the chin.

Men wear black and dark blue suits. The clothes are sewn so that there is not a single button. This is because buttons were considered a luxury item and were not used or used minimally, so that they were not visible on clothing. If there were several open buttons on a coat or jacket, then this clothing had to be taken off when entering the church, or rather, the house where they prayed. The trousers are supported by suspenders; There are no buttons on the trousers; they are replaced by a hook and loop system. Shirts in pure colors; white - for church services. A men's wardrobe is complemented by a black felt or straw hat. Children dress the same as adults; boys usually wear straw hats.

In relationships with the worldly environment they behave withdrawn. They have preserved their way of life and appearance almost unchanged since the 17th century. The Amish live in a community, help each other, conduct subsistence farming, give birth to many children, do not use the products of civilization, such as electricity, motor transport (the Amish are allowed to ride in a car as a passenger, but not as a driver), they sew their own clothes, only buy the material in the store , do not go to public schools: they have their own, where education is eight years. The Amish pay taxes, but they don’t pay taxes to the National Insurance Fund, which means they don’t receive a pension: they take care of their elderly themselves. They also treat themselves, they probably have their own healers, because in eight classes you are unlikely to master the wisdom of medicine. But their health, presumably, is not bad: this is both natural selection and a healthy lifestyle. Prohibitions on the use of electricity, cars and other elements of civilization are dictated not by religious, but by moral beliefs of the Emish: it is not the use of technical goods itself that is condemned, but their possible moral consequences. The Amish do not like to be photographed, as they believe that their images can be used “for evil.”

It is extremely rare for the Amish to marry someone outside their community, and only for Mennonites is an exception made. As a result of cross-marriages within small communities, the Amish are susceptible to genetic degradation. If children do not like the life of their parents, they may well choose a different life. The basic law of the Amish is “heaven through hard work.”

At the beginning of the 18th century, some of the Amish moved to the United States (Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana), where Quaker William Penn, who proclaimed freedom of religion, provided the Amish and Mennonites with refuge in the southeastern part of the state. Main city districts and the center of the “Amish country” - Cross Keys ( modern name- Intercors).

Strict adherence to Mennonite traditionalism led to a split among the Amish. In 1865, ultra-conservative coreligionists broke away from the Amish. The most liberal groups merged in the 10-20s of the 20th century with the Mennonite Church in the USA and entered the Central Mennonite Conference (founded in 1899).

The Amish, who were not affiliated with the Mennonite Church, established the conservative Amish Mennonite Conference in 1910, which was renamed the Conservative Mennonite Church in 1954.

The number of Amish in the United States at the end of the 20th century. - 90-120 thousand people living mainly in Ohio. Amish and Mennonites in the United States are collectively called "Pennsylvania Dutch" ("Pennsylvania Dutch"). The Amish call the rest of the United States "English."

In 198, a film called “Witness” was released with Harrison Ford in leading role. Many people believe that best film it’s hard to find about the Amish, because the director showed the Amish community with great respect.

The Amish family I spoke with was impressive. Stately, thin, in old, slightly baggy clothes. The Amish are very tall: men are about two meters, women are about 1.80 meters. Men do not shave their beards and wear straw hats. So good and strong open people, real peasants. Large, strong, hard-working hands. For some reason I immediately thought that it was thanks to these people that the West was conquered. They speak English very clearly without an accent. Respect for elders is strictly observed; if the head of the family speaks, then everyone else remains silent.

This family came to Canada from the States to visit friends. However, the Americans got mad at them for something and gave them, in addition to their American passports, a paper indicating that they had no citizenship. So it turns out that in the States they are not very fond of them, and according to them, with Bush coming to power, everything only worsened and they began to gradually survive. In Canada, they are also unwelcome guests, given the good neighborly relations between Canada and the United States. In short, the Amish decided to tear their claws…. That's right, to Russia. They say, we have been told so much that Russians are evil, that they are bad, but we are convinced that this is all wrong. We have been to your country and really liked it there. So, they say, we want to get a residence permit, move to Russia (they are thinking about the Kaliningrad region), we are actively learning Russian (the daughters are already writing and chatting tolerably well, the adults are reading printed text and continue to actively croak). We wrote a letter to the Minister of Agriculture Gordeev and the governor of the Kaliningrad region with a request for assistance... In general, things are moving...