Editors
Editors
SIX AMISH AFFILIATIONS
Swartzentruber
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Church discipline:
Excommunicates anyone who leaves the Swartzentrubers or moves to a non-communing Swartzentruber faction
Technology:
Among the most restrictive: SMV emblems not permitted on carriages; no motors in the fields; dust collection systems not permitted in shops; may not hire drivers except in emergency situations, and others
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Theological beliefs:
Encourage ministers to quote rather than interpret the Bible; strong humility theology
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Community practices:
Pipe smoking accepted; distinctive dress style such as men’s hair completely covering the ears; bean soup served at church meal; retention of other traditionalist practices
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Shared identity:
Sided with Bishop Sam Yoder in Holmes County Amish division in the early 1900s
Kenton
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Church discipline:
Excommunicates those joining a district considered too technologically permissive or that teaches assurance of salvation
Technology:
Forbids pressurized lanterns and travel to work in automobiles
Theological beliefs:
Emphasizes Sermon on the Mount; moderately strong humility theology
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Community practices:
Smoking and bed courtship forbidden; highly traditional dress styles
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Shared identity:
Withdrew from larger Old Order settlements beginning in the 1950s; later separated from Andy Weaver affiliation; other church districts came over from the Swartzentruber Amish in recent years
Andy Weaver
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Church discipline:
Excommunicates and shuns any member who joins a non-Amish or New New Order congregation
Technology:
Considerable variation but rarely tolerates generators, milking machines, air compressors, mobile phones, or word processors
Theological beliefs:
Does not teach assurance of salvation; more likely than above affiliations to explain the new birth doctrine and quote Epistles of Paul
Community practices:
Varies considerably among communities but moderately to highly traditional in dress and architectural styles
Shared identity:
Sided with Bishop Andy Weaver in strict shunning division in Holmes County in 1955
Old Order | Mainstream
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Church discipline:
Minority of congregations practice strict shunning, most do not shun members that leave the Amish as long as they join an Anabaptist church that practices non-conformity to the world
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Technology:
Few church districts forbid milking machines or generators; steel wheels on buggies increasingly uncommon; some permit word processors and mobile phones
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Theological beliefs:
Humility theology not connected with living conservative lifestyle but encourages members to lay down individual preferences to keep the mainstream Old Orders together as one group; tend to steer away from the assurance of salvation but considerable variation regarding evangelical emphases
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Community practices:
More accommodating to society than traditionalist groups: tolerates higher lifestyles and amenities such as flower gardens, paved driveways, hunting trips, educational vacations, etc.
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Shared identity:
Broad Amish identity; tend to see themselves within the narratives of the largest and oldest communities
New Order | Traditional
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Church Discipline:
Disciplines members primarily for moral failings, rarely for joining a different Anabaptist church community
Technology:
Usage of “Non-electric” districts similar to majority of mainstream Old Order districts; “Traditional Electric” districts permit electricity from public utility lines and tractors in field (and often on the road) but not mobile phones or computers
Theological beliefs:
Emphasizes doctrine of new birth; teaches assurance of salvation; promotes humanitarian outreach to local community
Community practices:
Community work bees; organized youth activities with parental oversight; hands-off courtship; women wear cape on dress every day and dress length generally longer than among Old Order women; tobacco and alcohol forbidden
Shared identity:
Traditional electric—moral emphasis that separates them from mainstream Old Orders since late 1950s; Non-electric—moral/spiritual emphasis that separates them from mainstream Old Orders since late 1960s
New New Order
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Church Discipline:
Rarely discipline for joining a different church
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Technology:
Most permissive of all Amish groups; permit tractors in the field and on the road, electricity from public utility line, computers, and smartphones with internet access
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Theological beliefs:
Evangelical and missionary emphasis; teach assurance of salvation; stronger sense of unity with other church groups
Community practices:
Similar to New Order practices except that leadership role is less pronounced and activities tend to include church groups with whom they hold values in common
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Shared identity:
Separated from Non-electric New Orders in late 1970s; later joined by “New Order” side of Tobe division from the 1960s
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Information taken from the following article:
Petrovich, Christopher. 2017. "More Than Forty Affiliations? Charting the Fault Lines." Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies 5(1):120-42.