Amish

The Amish (; ; ), formally the Old Order Amish, are an ethnoreligious group with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. Consisting of several Anabaptist Christian church fellowships, they are closely related to Mennonites, a separate Anabaptist denomination. The Amish are known for simple living, plain dress, Christian pacifism, and slowness to adopt many conveniences of modern technology, with a view neither to interrupt family time, nor replace face-to-face conversations whenever possible, and a view to maintain self-sufficiency. The Amish value rural life, manual labor, humility and ''Gelassenheit'' (submission to God's will). As they rarely accept converts, maintain a separate language and culture from surrounding populations, and hold their faith in common, they have been described by scholars as an ethnoreligious group, combining features of an ethnicity and a denomination.

The Amish church began with a schism in Switzerland within a group of Swiss and Alsatian Mennonite Anabaptists in 1693 led by Jakob Ammann. Those who followed Ammann became known as Amish. In the second half of the 19th century, the Amish divided into Old Order Amish and Amish Mennonites; the latter do not abstain from using motor cars, whereas the Old Order Amish retained much of their traditional culture. When people refer to the Amish today, they normally refer to the Old Order Amish, though there are other subgroups of Amish. In the early 18th century, many Amish and Mennonites immigrated to Pennsylvania for a variety of reasons.

Most Amish speak Pennsylvania Dutch, but Indiana's Swiss Amish also speak Alemannic dialects. , over 377,000 Old Order Amish lived in the United States, and about 6,000 lived in Canada: a population that is rapidly growing. Amish church groups seek to maintain a degree of separation from the non-Amish world. Non-Amish people are generally referred to as "English" by the Amish, and outside influences are often described as "worldly".

Amish church membership begins with adult baptism, usually between the ages of 16 and 23. Church districts have between 20 and 40 families, and worship services are held every other Sunday in a member's home or barn. The rules of the church, the ''Ordnung'', which differs to some extent between different districts, are reviewed twice a year by all members of the church. The ''Ordnung'' must be observed by every member and covers many aspects of day-to-day living, including prohibitions or limitations on the use of power-line electricity, telephones, and automobiles, as well as regulations on clothing. Generally, a heavy emphasis is placed on church and family relationships. The Amish typically operate their own one-room schools and discontinue formal education after grade eight (age 13 – 14). Most Amish do not buy commercial insurance or participate in Social Security. As present-day Anabaptists, Amish church members practice nonresistance and will not perform any type of military service. Provided by Wikipedia