What Are Some of the Rules of the Amish People?
The Ordnung is an oral set of rules Amish people follow. It varies from community to community, with some Ordnungs being stricter than others. Major rules generally are expected to be followed by all Amish communities, although even those vary to some degree. The major rules outline the basics of the faith and help define what it is to be Amish. Major rules cover religious practices, marriage, raising of children, travel guidelines, and dress codes.
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Significance
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The Amish have a Christian faith with a very conservative lifestyle. Their movement was founded in 1650 as a reform group of the Mennonites, and even then called for a return to more traditional values and behavior.
The Amish follow the practice of adult baptism, typically occurring during the teenage years when the member makes a commitment to the faith and community for life.
Musical instruments are not permitted, but singing is encouraged.
Shunning is expulsion of a member from the community for going against religious guidelines -- anything from major moral offenses to using modern technology without permission from an Amish religious authority. Usually, repeated warnings are issued first. All communication with family and community is severed.
Identification
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Amish people are only to marry within the Amish community. Divorce is not allowed.
Amish children only attend school through the eighth grade, and then go on to assist the parent of the same gender. Boys learn farming, carpentry, or construction, while girls help with cooking, sewing, canning, watching younger children, and other household duties. A boy might get a job to bring in income for his family.
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Effects
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Amish people usually travel by horse and buggy, and they may not own or operate any motor vehicle. This explains why you might see Amish people riding in a train or as a passenger in a car, because this is not forbidden by the major rules. Some Ordnungs prohibit air travel.
Features
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A dress code directs boys and men to wear suspenders and distinctive broadfall pants, along with homemade shirts. Hats are to be worn outside of the home. Unmarried men stay clean-shaven, and after marriage, men wear a beard and keep their upper lip shaven. A girl or woman must wear a long dress and apron, and keep her hair covered with a bonnet or prayer cap at all times.
Types
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Rules which vary between communities may designate apparel, length of hair, farming methods, and the appropriate type of buggy. These rules may be detailed enough to address the width of a hat brim or the size of buggy wheels.
Function
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Amish people avoid any technology which might weaken the family and community. They consider electricity, telephones, television, and vehicles as possibilities for creating temptation, and which might encourage members to leave the community. Because of this, the majority of Amish communities do not allow any of this modern technology in their homes. The Amish view incoming telephone calls as unpredictable and disruptive to the family routine, but they may allow use of a telephone installed in a shanty shared by several farms. Some Amish allow electricity for cattle fences or milking equipment.
Some New Order Amish do allow ownership of cars, modern farming equipment, and telephones in homes.
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Resources
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