Are Amish marriages arranged? How do they find a spouse? (Video)

ByErik Wesner July 5, 2022July 7, 2022

A viewer recently asked if Amish marriages are arranged on the Amish America YouTube channel. Odds are you already know the answer to this one. But I can kind of see where the question might come from, when looking at this religious society, which certainly must appear “strict” to some, from the outside.

The question has a bit of an urban legend feel, but I felt it was worth answering. Some religious and cultural groups do and have practiced arranged marriage, after all. The Amish are not one of them, however.

I also used the opportunity to discuss how Amish young people meet prospective spouses, and how Amish think about the courting process. I hope you enjoy. Runtime: 3:54.

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31 Flavors of Amish

Byerik November 28, 2006January 29, 2011

1 Comment

Most Amish look alike to the man on the street. In reality the group is surprisingly diverse. Though tied by a set of core beliefs, the Amish have no national governing body, no pope nor patriarch. The individual congregation, guided by its bishop, decides its own rules and customs. This decentralized approach, along with a widely varying tolerance for progressive ideas, creates many different ‘flavors’…

Amish Culture

Do You Know These 10 PA Dutch Carpentry Words?

ByErik Wesner November 19, 2015January 6, 2016

19 Comments

Most Amish speak a dialect known as Pennsylvania German or Pennsylvania Dutch as their primary language. It’s generally not used as a written tongue, though that doesn’t mean it’s not written, in one form or another, from time to time. And so today we have a list of terms for you to guess (or if you know PA Dutch already, this should be pretty easy). Ohio…

Amish Culture

The Amish & E-bikes

ByErik Wesner August 18, 2021June 23, 2022

15 Comments

I don’t know if it was just coincidence, but two stories on the Amish and e-bikes came out last week on the same day – one on Amish in Ohio, and the other on Iowa (that can’t be coincidence, I’m thinking). If you’re not familiar, e-bikes are bicycles fitted with an electric motor which provide additional power when riding to provide an easier ride and…

Amish Culture

Are The Amish “Green”? (Video)

ByErik Wesner December 8, 2022January 16, 2023

4 Comments

In September I wrote about one person’s expression of disappointment on discovering the Amish using plastic packaging. You can read that post here if you missed it. In that post I looked at a couple of the misconceptions that might lead one to be disappointed in a cultural group’s choice of food packaging. These were the somewhat related ideas that a) Amish are “frozen in…

Amish Culture

Raised Amish, headed to Med school

Byerik January 14, 2008January 8, 2011

7 Comments

I quite liked this story on a Sugarcreek, Ohio man who was raised Amish and is now planning to attend medical school at Ohio State (no longer online). Obviously, it’s not typical for someone who only went through eight grades to have such high educational goals. In fact, Andy Yoder completed his GED and is now finishing his final semester at Goshen College in Indiana….

Amish Culture

Amish Cook’s Mom: Weddings Mean Work, Food, & Blessings

ByErik Wesner May 25, 2023June 5, 2023

In this week’s Amish Cook column, Gloria Yoder’s mother Dorcas Raber fills in, as she does from time to time. She shares an account of a recent wedding in her community – that of her niece Rhoda. She shares what kinds of foods they serve, what goes into wedding prep, and so on. An excerpt: Every one of their family pitched in to get ready…