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Do you know why the Amish girl was excommunicated? Too Mennonite. Christopher Hitchens v Alister McGrath, Georgetown University Washington debate 2007
Our culture promotes individuality, while the Amish are deeply entrenched in community. To us, if someone stands out, it’s no big deal because diversity is respected and expected. To the Amish, there’s no room for deviation from the norm. It’s important to fit in, because that similarity of identity is what defines the society. If you don’t fit in, the consequences are psychologically tragic, you stand alone when all you’ve ever known is being part of the group. Jodi Picoult, Plain Truth
The automobile is considered a needless luxury. For two hundred and fifty years the Amish have never changed location, mode of living, manner of dress, or manner of occupation which is farming. Unusual Occupations, 1939
The fear of going to Hell and burning eternally is a fear unlike any fear I know about. Amish Exiles, exile
You leave the Amish, you’re on your own. ibid.
They are the plain people: the Amish. With communities in twenty-eight American states. ibid. commentary
Columbia [Missouri] is where exile Amish teens and young adults can find jobs, friends and a new home. ibid.
For some ex-Amish that close-knit community can be a poor replacement for their friends and family back home. ibid.
In the Amish culture allegations of abuse are dealt with by community leaders. ibid.
They still crave contact and yearn to be close to family. ibid.
Some move back, and some move on. ibid.
Rooted in the Protestant Reformation, the Amish church began in Europe and soon spread to North America. Today, Amish communities exist only in Canada and the United States. The Amish, caption, PBS 2012
Amish people do not want you to take their photograph up close. They believe it breaks the second of the ten commandments. ibid. coach driver
There are more than 250,000 Amish in the United States. ibid. caption
‘When a man is working the soil, he’s as close to God as he could get.’ ibid. Amish bloke
Amish families began settling in Pennsylvania in the early eighteenth century. They speak a German-based dialect known as Pennsylvania Dutch and refer to non-Amish as ‘English’. ibid. caption
The Amish are Anabaptists – Christians who practice [sic] adult baptism. ibid.
‘We don’t get attached to the things of this world. We do our best.’ ibid. Amish
63,222. In their late teens young Amish must decide if they want to be baptised and join the church. ibid. caption
The Amish do not have church buildings. Families take turns hosting Sunday worship in their homes. ibid.
The Amish have no trained clergy. Ministers must be male, are chosen by drawing lots and serve for life. ibid.
A church community is made up of twenty-five to thirty-five families. Each sets its own Ordnung and the rules can vary widely. One church may allow bicycles. A mile away, another church may prohibit them. ibid.
By 1910 most Amish communities had banned phones in the home, but permitted the use of public telephones. ibid.
By the 1920s most Amish were prohibited from owning or driving cars, but were allowed to travel as passengers. ibid.
By mid-century connection to the electrical grid was also banned. ibid.
On October 2 2006 a non-Amish man entered an Amish schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. The gunman shot ten Amish girls. Five died. ibid.
In 2007 Andy Miller and five other Amish men were cited for violating state building codes. They had refused to submit building plans or install smoke detectors in their homes. ibid.
By the 1950s, many Amish parents had stopped sending their children to high school. ibid.
Shunning usually involves cutting off regular contact with those who have been excommunicated. ibid.
Anabaptists who believed in strict shunning began the Amish church in 1693. ibid.
Fifty years ago nearly all Amish supported themselves by farming. Today fewer than half do. ibid.
Thousands of Amish families have left their home states in search of cheaper land and more space. ibid.
The family unit is not the most important social unit in Amish life; the Amish church is the most important social unit. David Weaver-Zercher, historian
The Amish see individuals as weak. Karen M Johnson-Weiner, anthropologist
Two years ago I filmed an extraordinary family going through a life-changing experience. When I first men Ephraim and Amanda they lived in a culture than shunned the modern world. They were Amish. An ultra-conservative American church where cars, electricity and modern clothing are totally forbidden. The Amish look like they are from another century. Leaving Amish Paradise, BBC 2012
Cut off from the world they had been born into. ibid.
He wants to save souls. ibid.
They have complex problems and deep divisions. ibid.
They face being shunned by their friends and family. ibid.
A growing exodus ... for more evangelical Christianity. ibid.
They live right alongside the modern world. ibid.
The buggy is fundamental to the Amish way of life. ibid.
Even Ex-Amish risk permanent shunning by family and community for appearing on camera. Amish: Out of Order I, National Geographic 2012
The Amish only go to school through the eighth grade. ibid.
When you leave the Amish, you leave empty-handed and all alone. ibid.
Most Amish refuse to be photographed or videotaped. Amish: Out of Order II: Culture Clash, caption
‘We’ll never be the same as other people.’ ibid. Mose
Some buggies are like pimped out. Amish: Out of Order III: Can’t Go Home Again, ex-Amish chick
‘The Amish believe that if you die before you’re right with God, you’ll go to Hell.’ ibid. Mose
Ever since I can remember the Amish preachers have taught about eternal suffering in Hell. ibid.
Community is everything, and the threat of Hell is immense. ibid.
Family is the black cloud which hangs over our heads. Amish: Out of Order IV: Mending Fences, Mose
Everyone is scared of being shunned. ibid.
The rules of shunning vary from community to community. ibid.
English – that’s what Amish call everyone who’s not Amish. ibid.
There’s nothing more lonely than leaving the Amish. ibid.
‘The Amish believe everything is a sign from God.’ Amish: Out of Order V: 9 to 5 Amish, Mose
These kids have been judged. Shunned by their families. No longer accepted because of that one choice they made in their life. Our struggle unites us as a new family determined to find our place in the world. Amish: Out of Order VI: Change of Faith
Baptism is one of the most defining elements in Amish culture. ibid.
‘I have specifically been called to be this evangelist and … evangelise the Amish people.’ ibid. Evangelist bloke
‘A Mennonite guy came by the car dealership where I work: he wanted my help to evangelise ex-Amish kids.’ ibid. Mose
Pentecostals believe the spirit actually enters and you – things like speaking in tongues. ibid.
They are shunned, scorned or made examples of. ibid.
They practise charismatic faith healing with uses fundamentals from the Bible. ibid.