The Amish Religion

http://www.800padutch.com/amish.shtml

The Amish group in America is a protestant group with over 200,000 members who descended from European Anabaptists who came to America more than two centuries ago to flee persecution. The Amish are best known for their 19 century way of life and they believed that violent crime conflicted with their calm existence. Their old fashion values don’t correspond to the 21st century lifestyle choices. They consider their religious faith and their traditions are interdependent. The Amish church originated from Switzerland and the people immigrated to Pennsylvania and are known today as Pennsylvania Dutch. The Amish people live among non-Amish in modern rural America. Whilst the Amish are more cut off in some parts, other villages interact daily with the modern world. They also interact with their English neighbours but directly with millions of visitors from American and around the world.
Amish people reject what we, the modern world, the unfamiliar. They want a way of life where their children are appreciated as a blessing, rather than being seen as a burden. In modern America, children are cherished but are expensive.
The Amish are very private people who consider God to have called them to a simpler life, consisting of discipline, dedication, faith and humility. They are bonded together by their confidence in God and believing that God remains aware of their lives, families and communities. They accept that religious faith should be practiced, not shown, and rendered into day to day life rather than decided on complex rituals.
The Amish church service is an act of worship, a conservation of tradition, a regeneration of faith and an confirmation of community. The communities are separated into church regions geographically, which allows services to be held in church members’ residences as opposed to chosen church buildings. Their services are held every other Sunday.
The family is considered imperative in the social unit amongst the Amish; families with seven to ten children are not uncommon. The high birth rate provides Amish growth, as does the fact that four out of five children decide to become baptised and stay in the church. Jobs, friendship, and business chances offer incentives to stay. In Amish family life, there are several generations regularly living under the same roof, and this provides a sense of continuity and contribution in family life. When children become teenagers, they take part in traditional recreation, where others engage in more experienced activities before deciding whether or not they would like to be baptised as adults in the church. In their society, the Amish do not believe in social security and stay away from the use of nursing homes.