The Amish Subsistence

Abstract

The primary mode of subsistence of the Amish culture is Horticulturists. The occupation desired by most Amish is farming. All family members are incorporated into an agricultural lifestyle. Beginning at an early age, the young assists in farm and household chores. This paper discusses the Amish community and their lifestyle.

The Amish Subsistence

Introduction

The Amish are a religious and ethnic group, who descend from German and Swiss immigrants and are predominantly German-speaking, living in 22 settlements in the U.S. (primarily in Ohio and Pennsylvania) and Canada (in Ontario). They live isolated from the outside world, and are staunch defenders of pacifism. In addition, they are simple living and strongly oppose the use of modern technology. The Amish seem to be living in the eighteenth century to date, with their rejection of current clothes, cars, televisions, telephones, hair dryers, or even gas and electricity (they use oil extensively to light their candles) . They believe that these manifestations of modern life are evil and threaten their way of life. But not all Amish are so stringent. The Amish lifestyle is determined in each community so that what is allowed in one may be prohibited in another. The religious leaders of each community determine their customs interpreting the Bible literally and based on a set of unwritten rules. Fundamentalist Amish reject any kind of demonstration of modern technology. However, in some communities more flexible, church leaders meet to discuss the admission of certain elements. The shape of the braces, the use of buttons or the number of folds that must have the coping of women may be cause for discrepancies between the different communities.

The Amish community is a strict religious sect that believes in the New Testament, pacifism and a simple life. They are a group of American Protestant Mennonite origin. The Amish live and work in farms of their own communities, maintained a way of life distinctive and conservative agricultural despite the influences of modern industrial society. They live in 22 settlements in the U.S. and Ontario, Canada. Among its principles are not using gas, electricity, running water or with any kind of modern devices (telephone, radio, TV.) They speak three languages: a dialect of German, High German and English (Smith, 1981).

Discussion

The Amish Community

This research paper is an attempt to characterize, the concept of culture, the Amish community by various references, which define the concept of culture. Thus, to be part a community requires that its members share common references to claim to have the same culture, such as knowledge and expertise practices, values, traditions, language, language, events, places and finally intellectual works. These are the criteria that allow the individual to create an identity and to recognize the other. The origin of Amish dates back to the Reformation in the sixteenth century where they advocated freedom individual in the exercise of worship rather than the sacraments of the church. The Anabaptists first appeared in 1525 in Zurich, they decided to live in sidelines of the company in what they called ...