Amish Beliefs

Amish & Jewish Ultra-Orthodox Women: Comparing Attitudes Towards TV, Radio, Magazines & The Internet

Amish & Jewish Ultra-Orthodox Women: Comparing Attitudes Towards TV, Radio, Magazines & The Internet

On January 8, the first day of the so-called Spring Semester at The Ohio State University, the Department of Near Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures sponsored a very interesting and special presentation by Professor Rivka Neriya-Ben Shahar on “Old Order and Jewish Ultra-Orthodox Women’s Responses to the Media.” Her lecture was built from a comparison of two very distinctive groups by lifestyle and…

Do Amish Believe They’re The Only True Christians?

Do Amish Believe They’re The Only True Christians?

I recently sat down with my friend Ben Riehl for a couple of extended conversations on a wide range of topics (more to come). Ben is Old Order Amish, living in Lancaster County. You might remember Ben from previous posts on Amish auctions and how he chooses a horse. So in this clip, a YouTube viewer asked: “Do you know if the Amish believe they…

A Swartzentruber Amish Barn-Raising (11 Photos)

A Swartzentruber Amish Barn-Raising (11 Photos)

Jim Halverson checks in with a photo set from a Swartzentruber Amish barn-raising. This took place back in the summer as should be obvious from these photos. If you missed it, we recently took a closer look at the Amish barn-raising via Burton Buller’s excellent film The Amish Barn-Raising Day. In it, we see footage of two separate barn-raisings (in Ohio and in Pennsylvania), done…

10 “Exceptions” To Amish Rules

10 “Exceptions” To Amish Rules

 On certain things, essentially all Amish agree. Things like wearing plain clothing, not fighting in wars, or closing businesses on Sunday. These are universal across all Amish groups – part of a widely-shared culture, tradition, and belief system. Outlined in each church’s Ordnung are more specific rules and understandings, which will vary. There can be a lot of overlap, as well as variation, on…

Commenter: “Amish are NOT Christian”

Commenter: “Amish are NOT Christian”

From time to time I draw attention to the more eyebrow-raising comments we get here on the site, or on the YouTube channel. They might contain very strong and certain claims about the Amish, or shine a light on popular misconceptions. For example, there was “Utterly NOT an Amish Home!“, or “Why are the Amish using plastic packaging? I am so disappointed.” Today’s entry is…

Six Reasons Why People Fail To Join The Amish

Six Reasons Why People Fail To Join The Amish

After 15+ years of writing a blog on the Amish, from time to time I still hear from people who wish to become Amish. I usually advise people to take a look at what is attracting them to want to join the Amish. Often, I suspect, the real reasons have little to do with the Amish at all (more on that below). Often it seems…

5 Reasons People Leave the Amish

5 Reasons People Leave the Amish

In this video I share five reasons people either a) decide not to join the Amish (that is, decide not to be baptized), or b) leave the Amish church after joining. I call it “leaving” in either case (and explain that at the beginning), even though the consequences are different. Not everyone who is born Amish decides to be baptized in the faith. And those…

Amish Cook: Giving Thanks

With an eye to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, Amish Cook Gloria Yoder devotes this week’s column to the idea of giving thanks. An excerpt: No human being (or at least not me) is naturally filled with thankfulness. There’s a person I know who has gone through more pain than any human could ever tell and more surgeries than I can count, and that individual is…

3 Reasons Why Amish Don’t Want You To Join Them

3 Reasons Why Amish Don’t Want You To Join Them

In this video I explain why Amish don’t want – or maybe the better word is “need” – outsiders to join them. The Amish are not a group which seeks converts. That said, some churches are more seeker-friendly. For anyone considering joining the Amish, it’s always good to know what you are getting into. Most people who express that interest (online at least) are not…

Do the Amish vote? (Video)

Do the Amish vote? (Video)

So this is a question that comes up every two-to-four years (not surprisingly, more frequently during presidential election years). I’ve covered it a lot here before (see this article: Do Amish vote? for one example), but a viewer on the YouTube channel requested a video on it. So here you have it. In the video I discuss: Do Amish vote in elections? Why do relatively…