Introducing the Amish FAQ

Have a question on Amish culture, beliefs, or other topic? The new Amish FAQ resource will give you concise answers to over 300 of them (323 to be precise). You may have already noticed the link in the main menu, where it’s been up for the past week.

question-mark-blueI mentioned back in December that I was working on this new resource covering frequently-asked questions on the Amish.

I expected to be done sooner, but the project grew as I went along and more questions shouted out to be included.

Questions include:

You’ll find all questions listed on the FAQ main page. Click the question link to go right to the answer.

rollerblades-lancaster-boy
How do Amish get from here to there?

These aren’t exhaustive answers, but I try to address the meat of each topic in 3-5 sentences or fewer. Answers are based on a number of sources including both Amish and academic writings.

If there’s a general topics you’re interested in, answers are also organized on 41 category pages. Here are some sample categories:

You’ll find resources at the end of each category for further reading. If you can’t find your question, you can suggest it here or on the main FAQ page.

I hope this resource is helpful if you have a general question on the Amish. If you find it useful, feel free to share it with others. And thanks, as always, for reading!

Image credit: Lancaster Amish boy on rollerblades: ShipshewanaIndiana

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    29 Comments

    1. Al in Ky

      Thanks, Erik, for all your work on this. I can’t even guess how many hours it took to develop all of it. It is an easy-to-use guide which I will use to learn more about Amish faith and life, and am sure I will refer it to others who want to learn more.

      1. Thanks, Al! Well, like most projects like this, it took longer than I expected. I kept coming up with new questions, but you have to draw the line somewhere. That said, I plan to add more questions as they come up, so the open invitation to suggest them stands.

        I’m glad you found it easy to use, I tried to link everything together well so it’d be easy to click around and find what you’re looking for.

    2. Harriet

      Congrats Erik! This is what is known as a true labor of love!! Thank-you for doing this. It is really very interesting.

      1. Thank you, Harriet! I enjoyed creating it.

    3. Christy

      What a wonderful resource!! Much appreciated Erik.

    4. Margaret

      Love, love, love this, Erik! Thank you! I so appreciate all your work with this!

    5. Jamie

      Eric, you did a great thing here! The info provided will help those wanting to learn and have more of an understanding of the Amish. Also the question and answer guide is very user friendly. Thank you for your time and great effort with this as it is much appreciated!

    6. Margaret, Christy, Jamie, thanks a bunch! I’m happy you like it. Jamie it is nice to hear you find it user-friendly, that’s what I was going for.

    7. Alice Mary

      I’m definitely going to be using this terrific resource a lot!

      Thank you, Erik, for all your hard work compiling it. I’ll be sure others (at the library) know about it, too. It’ll be my “go-to” resource for the questions I get from family, friends, co-workers.

      What else do you have up your sleeve these days?

      Alice Mary

      1. Super Alice Mary, thanks in advance for sharing it!

        As for what I have going on, thanks for asking. I have actually been doing a lot of behind-the-scenes things on the site to get it running better. So, not a lot immediately obvious, but hopefully will make for a better overall experience here.

        And, I will be finishing the (overdue) 50 Fascinating Amish Facts book as well. Was supposed to be last year, but life intervened. I’m excited to get it done and available. If you like what we have in the FAQ, you should like the book 🙂

    8. Tom Geist

      I guess it's all right...

      Hi Erik,

      I guess it is alright…it will have to do.

      LOL Just kidding, this is awesome! Thanks for doing the heavy lifting!

      Tom in Lincoln

      1. Thanks Tom, so that’s a C+ then? Appreciate it 🙂

    9. Slightly-handled-Order-man

      This is great. All I can do is echo what everyone else has said.

    10. Sandy

      Lodging

      We are planning a trip to pinecraft,fl. Do you know of any bed and breakfast inns in the area. We,d like to get a feel for how the amish live. I request this with all respect and not just tourist curiosity. I Truely admire what I have read of the amish. Sandy

      1. Pinecraft information

        Sandy I don’t have that info myself but we have a couple of pretty extensive posts on Pinecraft that might be a place to look. You might try posting your question at one of these below, it will have a better chance of being seen by people who know more specifically about Pinecraft.

        I can say that the busy season in Pinecraft is the winter months, so that might work in your favor if you’re wanting to go in spring/summer. Hope you find something.

        https://amishamerica.com/florida-amish/
        https://amishamerica.com/visiting-pinecraft/

    11. Kate

      Great!

      This in wonderful, Erik. Will Rebecca and Mark be commenting on these topics? I love having Amish people weigh in on these posts!

    12. Forest in North Carolina

      I’m a little late chiming in, but I wanted to express my appreciation to Erik for all the work he puts into this site. It is a tremendous resource and a great spot to point folks to who have an interest in Anabaptists in the USA. And I’m not giving him a plug just because he’s a fellow Tar Heel, altho that certainly helped….

      1. Forest, Kate, thanks a bunch. And Forest I’ll take a plug any way I can get one!

    13. Jack in TN

      Introducing the Amish FAQ

      Erik, your web site is awesome. I enjoy everything that you post. This recent post is the greatest and an excellent reference guide and published by a person who is a expert on the subject.

      1. Why thank you Jack! I’m glad for you showing up here to read and share with us. I’ve said it before, but the comments and contributions from readers make this twice as fun (even if they’re not always complimentary 😉 ). Much appreciated.

    14. Sharon Warner

      Budget

      Is there any chance of someone getting a copy of the Budget?

      1. Forest Hazel

        If you write to them, they will send you a sample copy for a small fee. You can Google the Name and get the address. I have been getting it for a while now.

    15. Slightly-handled-Order-man

      article request

      Maybe this is the wrong place to request an article, but perhaps its alright. I was wondering if Erik or the contributors could put together a post featuring popular summer recipes that the Amish enjoy which might be exclusive/common to the Amish.
      Thanks!

    16. Ricardo

      Amish Life Florida

      I am a sociologist & anthropologist. I live in the Tampa area, Florida. I am interested in the Amish communities as their social construct, simple way of life, since it appears to have produced a society with little to none crime and the current societal pains of what we understand as a “modern society.”

      I am also interested in other areas and I would like to learn more about the Amish communities.

      I would like to learn more about the Amish life and if a community in my state can be visited to see daily interactions.

      Can local Amish have/use green energy technologies? Allowed to…Photo-voltaic and wind, for instance.

      Do Amish grow organic food only?

      Are Amish okay with pesticides and other chemicals contaminating plants and vegetables?

      Are any Amish or communities VEGAN?

      Are Amish mainly concentrated in agriculture or what other type of occupations which are pursuit by the community as a whole or individuals?

      Thank you for your feedback beforehand,
      Ricardo

      1. Tom Geist

        Hi Ricardo,

        You might want to check out the Florida Amish page here to get an idea of where the people are at.

        https://amishamerica.com/florida-amish/

        Tom in Lincoln

        1. Ricardo

          Hello Tom G, I thank you for your feedback, I will check out the page and see if I get some of my questions answered; perhaps I pay a visit to the area as I see there is an Amish group in Sarasota near Tampa.
          Thank you!
          Ricardo

    17. Amish Girl-Rebecca

      Ricardo, Some Amish do use solar and wind energy. Some do raise organic produce. Others might use pesticides. While most of us have large family gardens, there are not nearly as many solely farming as we might have been 50 years ago. There are many more Amish today and not nearly as much land available at good prices. I don’t know of anyone who is VEGAN unless they would be because of health issues. We’re very GERMAN in that aspect, we love our meat and dairy products. So, as you see with over a quarter million people there’s no cut and dried answer for most of these questions. Some do, some don’t. And depending who you would ask, you might get a different answer.

      1. Ricardo

        Hello Rebecca, I thank you for your feedback. I am glad o hear that some Amish, perhaps all, experience some diversity to some extend regarding food, jobs, and GREEN energy.

        I find certain similarities with the primitive anarchist groups as they try to live a simple life and close to nature as well; perhaps what makes for differences between Amish and Primitive Anarchists is that Amish might be guided by biblical text and primitive anarchists appear guided by searching for basics at the beginning of humanity and within nature. Cooperation for instance, which is also a theme for the Amish.

        Primitive anarchists tend to be more pantheistic (Spinoza, Baruk) in the sense that they perceive nature as God while the Amish might find guidance via the bible and Jesus. Another writer wrote about cooperation and the simple life with regards to survival, his name was Peter Kropotkin, a Russian/German writer who wrote about mutual aid.

        One last question I had is regarding academic growth within the Amish community, are Amish persons able to pursuit subjects such as Philosophy or Theology, or even Sociology? I understand marrying at a young age must limit one’s ability to pursuit other endeavors beyond family building, which can take a life time.

        I thank you much for your feedback!
        Ricardo