The Riddle of Amish Culture Read online

  NEGOTIATING WITH MODERNITY

  If the Amish were only waging a war against progress, they would likely be relics in a cultural museum. In addition to resistance, they have also been willing to negotiate. They have struck compromises that have led to many changes. On some issues—education, for example—they have stubbornly refused to concede to modern ways. But on many other fronts, Lancaster’s Amish have been willing to change dramatically. Seeking a balance between strict isolation and wholesale accommodation to the larger society, they have struck compromises that blend aspects of both cultures. Concessions are traded back and forth in a social bargaining process until a compromise of sorts is reached. When the negotiable items are values, ideas, beliefs, and ways of thinking—cultural phenomena—we can call the process cultural bargaining. When patterns of social organization are on the negotiating table, the exchange involves structural bargaining. Over the years the bargaining sessions have created many of the perplexing puzzles of Amish society that appear silly to outsiders—using telephones but not in the house, riding in cars but not owning them, and using rollerblades but not bicycles.

  Children wash the family carriage. They develop a distinctive ethnic identity at a young age.

  The negotiating metaphor implies a dynamic process of give-and-take both within Amish society and between the Amish and the larger world. This has indeed been the case, for sometimes the Amish have acquiesced to the demands of modernity, whereas in other instances modern society has bent the rules or made special ones for the Amish. This way of viewing their struggle identifies the negotiable issues as well as the nonnegotiable ones that form the lines of resistance. The concept of negotiation captures the dynamic interaction between Amish society and the larger society and solves many of the baffling puzzles, the cultural compromises that have been hammered out at the bargaining table.33 These cultural “settlements” have both safeguarded Amish society and spawned the many intriguing riddles of Amish life.

  THE ULTIMATE STRATEGY

  What happens when resistance and negotiation fail? The Old Order Amish experienced three internal divisions in Lancaster County after the Civil War: in 1877, 1910, and 1966. In one sense, the three schisms represent a failure of Amish policies. The refusal of Amish leaders to bargain prompted progressive factions to leave the Amish family on all three occasions. The expulsion of detractors is the ultimate strategy for the preservation of Amish culture. By unloading the activists, the elders were able to slow the drift toward mainstream society.

  The first of three divisions erupted in 1877. Following Amish divisions in the Midwest, two progressive factions withdrew from the main Lancaster body and formed independent congregations.34 Within five years each group built a meetinghouse for its worship services. Sometime after this division, the traditional Amish became known as the Old Order, or House Amish, because they continued to worship in their homes. The splinter groups, labeled Amish-Mennonite, or “Meetinghouse Amish,” held their worship services in church buildings and eventually became full-fledged Mennonites.

  The second rupture occurred in 1910, as cars, telephones, and electricity were beginning to revolutionize the social landscape of rural America. Disturbed by a strict interpretation of shunning, a liberal faction formed an independent group eventually known as the Peachey church.35 Although very similar to the Old Order Amish in dress and outlook, the group embraced Protestant religious practices such as Sunday school and tolerated technological innovations—telephones, electricity, tractors, and, eventually, cars. Today this group is affiliated with the Beachy Amish Church and has six congregations in Lancaster County.

  FIGURE 1.5 Divisions in the Lancaster Settlement

  The third breach came in 1966 when a group of about one hundred progressive-minded families left the fold over differences related to the use of modern farm machinery.36 This faction subsequently splintered into several Amish-related groups that vary in dress, in the use of cars, tractors, and electricity; and in other matters. The various pockets of progressive Amish groups in the Lancaster area have fewer than a thousand members.

  The three divisions—1877, 1910, and 1966—are crucial benchmarks in Amish history. Memories of the schisms, alive in the minds of leaders, function as turning points in Amish oral history. The residual effects of these schisms touch the decision-making process in the Amish community even today. The three divisions released social steam in periods of rapid change as the church grappled with technological innovations. Interestingly, no divisions have led to more conservative Amish factions in Lancaster County.

  In retrospect, the expulsion of dissidents served useful social functions over the years. The offshoots of 1877, 1910, and 1966 provide negative reference groups for the Old Order Amish—living demonstrations of the corrosive effects of worldliness. Through their ownership of cars and use of electricity, the progressive groups have displayed the folly of worldliness to several generations of Amish. By extracting the progressives, the Old Order Amish were able to tighten their grip on traditional practices—the ban on electricity, cars, and tractors—because they no longer had to placate the liberal agitators. Thus the divisions left the Old Order Amish as the sole guardians of tradition, a role they gladly assumed.

  Safeguarding their religious traditions and rituals is a major concern of Old Order leaders because the larger culture poses a direct threat to their religious identity and community. Expressions of modernity—“worldliness,” as the Amish would say—ranging from cars to television, are viewed as vices that, if not deflected, will eventually demolish their religious community. As social engineers of sorts, they have masterminded an effective program of cultural survival without the benefits of higher education, computerized technology, or the advice of professional consultants. How have they accomplished such a feat?

  CHAPTER 2

  The Quiltwork of Amish Culture

  I completely abandoned myself to the Lord.

  —Anabaptist martyr, 1527

  SACRED PATCHES

  Amish women are noted for their lovely quilts.1 They symbolize the complex patchwork of Amish culture—the beliefs, myths, and images that shape their world. Symbolic patches of soil, martyrdom, obedience, family, work, and community, stitched together by history, form a cultural quiltwork of Amish life. These patches of meaning, quilted into a single fabric, fill daily routines with significance. Religious threads hold the quiltwork together. Silent prayers before and after meals embroider each day with reverence. Daily behavior, from dressing to eating, is transformed into religious ritual with eternal significance. An Amish farmer’s description of springtime events shows how the patches are woven together in his mind:

  Spring is coming to the Pequea when:

  horses start to lose their hair

  first silo is about empty

  milkman is glad it didn’t snow much

  folks talking about high mule prices

  milk price is coming down

  alfalfa and rye fields greening up

  you should read John 14–15, Matt. 26–27 and

  practice pages 727, 481, 655, 284 in the Ausbund,

  you should help your wife move furniture and clean ceilings

  grease the harness and plow the garden2

  The Amish subscribe to basic Christian doctrines—the divinity of Christ, heaven and hell, the inspiration of Scripture, and the church as the body of Christ in the world today. Yet the practical expressions of Amish faith diverge from mainline Christian churches. Contemporary religious practice is often restricted to brief episodes of life—an hour on Sunday morning, a wedding, or a confirmation. Amish faith has not been separated from daily living; it penetrates their entire way of life. Amish beliefs, worship services, and religious rituals remain virtually untouched by modern influences. Basic Amish doctrines are found in the Dordrecht Confession of Faith, an Anabaptist statement written in 1632, some sixty years before the Amish emerged as a separate group.3 Nevertheless, the Amish emphasize the practice of faith more th
an doctrinal details.

  Although the Amish revise their practical definitions of worldliness in response to social change, their fundamental religious tenets have remained intact over the years. This chapter describes the religious values of Amish culture—the patches of meaning stitched together in their quiltwork. These resources provide the cultural capital that undergirds the operation of Amish society.

  Women enjoy the delights of community and artistic expression at a quilting bee.

  YIELDING THE RIGHT WAY

  The solution to the riddle of Amish culture is embedded in the German word Gelassenheit (Gay-la-sen-hite). Roughly translated, Gelassenheit means ‘submitting, yielding to a higher authority.’ Rarely used in speech, it is an abstract concept that carries a variety of specific meanings—self-surrender, resignation to God’s will, yielding to God and to others, self-denial, contentment, a calm spirit. Various words in the Amish vocabulary capture the meaning of Gelassenheit: obedience, humility, self-denial, submission, thrift, and simplicity. In short, Gelassenheit is a master cultural disposition, deeply bred into the Amish soul, that governs perceptions, emotions, behavior, and architecture.4

  In Pennsylvania German, the phrases uffgewwe (to give up) and unnergewwe (to give under) best capture the meaning of Gelassenheit. Members are asked to “give up” things and to “give themselves under” the authority of the church. One member said “to give yourself under the church means to yield, to submit.” Baptismal candidates and contrite church members before a confession sit in a bent posture with hand over face, signifying their willingness to “give up” and to “give themselves under” the authority of the church. One member, writing to another one facing excommunication, said, “My heart just bleeds for you, all cause you cannot give yourself up to church rules and those set above you in the church by God” (emphasis added).

  Gelassenheit stands in sharp contrast to the bold, aggressive individualism of modern culture. The meek spirit of Gelassenheit unfolds as individuals yield to higher authorities: the will of God, church, elders, parents, community, and tradition. Gelassenheit reveals that Amish culture is indeed a subculture whose core value collides with the heartbeat of modernity, individual achievement. Modern culture tends to produce individualists devoted to personal fulfillment. By contrast, the goal of Gelassenheit is a subdued, humble person who discovers fulfillment in the service of community. In return for giving themselves up for the sake of community, the Amish receive a durable and visible ethnic identity.

  The meaning of Gelassenheit penetrates many dimensions of Amish life—values, symbols, ritual, personality, and social organization. “The yielding and submitting,” said one member, “is at the core of our faith and relationship with God.” The faithful Christian yields to divine providence without trying to change or influence history. Gelassenheit is also a way of thinking about one’s relationship to others. It means serving and respecting others and obeying the consensus of the community. It entails a modest way of acting, talking, dressing, and walking. Finally, it is a way of structuring social life so that even organizations remain small, compact, and simple. Like a social equation, Gelassenheit spells out the individual’s subordinate relationship to the larger ethnic community. It regulates the tie between the individual and the community by transforming the energies of the individual into cultural capital. However, rather than pitting the individual against the community, the Amish tend to see the primary tension as being between two social systems: the church, which calls for obedience and self-denial; and the outside world, which exalts individual fame and achievement.5

  The early Anabaptists used the term Gelassenheit to convey the idea of yielding fully to God’s will with a dedicated heart—forsaking all selfishness.6 They believed that Christ called them to abandon self-interest and follow his example of suffering, meekness, humility, and service. True Christians, according to the Anabaptists, should not take revenge on their enemies but should turn the other cheek in the face of hostility. They should pray for their persecutors and love their enemies, as commanded by Christ. Self-will obstructs obedience to God’s will. Jesus’ words, “Not my will but thine be done,” became their script of faith. Hence, yielding to God’s will was the test of true faithfulness.

  Thousands of Anabaptist martyrs yielded to the sword as the ultimate test of their willingness to mortify self and submit to God’s will. The blood of martyrs seared Gelassenheit into the sacred texts of Amish history. It is not surprising that such a bloody history would leave the indelible print of Gelassenheit on the quiltwork of Amish culture. What is surprising is that the imprint remains vivid, even centuries after the persecution.

  Yielding to the right way—God’s way—is the stance of Gelassenheit. Although the Amish rarely use the term in everyday speech, the principle of Gelassenheit orders their whole social system. All things being equal, the higher the cost of joining a group, the more attractive it becomes to its members. In other words, groups that demand very little will not be valued very highly by their members. Amish values of simplicity, humility, and austerity entail personal sacrifice. They provide the cultural capital to build commitment to community and mobilize social capital.

  FIGURE 2.1 The Dimensions of Gelassenheit

  The nonresistant stance of Gelassenheit forbids the use of force in human relations. Thus the Amish avoid serving in the military, holding political offices, filing lawsuits, serving on juries, working as police officers, and engaging in ruthless competition. Legal and personal confrontation is avoided whenever possible. Silence and avoidance are often used to manage conflict. Indeed silence is an important mode of communication in Amish life.7 A lowly spirit denies luxuries, worldly pleasures, and costly entertainment. Purging selfish desires means yielding to the Plain standards of Amish dress as well as to restrictions on transportation, technology, and home appliances. The submissive posture of Gelassenheit discourages higher education, abstract thinking, competition, professional occupations, and scientific pursuits.

  An Amish petition to state legislators concerning a new school law depicts the lowly tone of Gelassenheit: “We your humble subjects . . . do not blame our men of authority for bringing all this over us.... We admit, we ourselves are the fault of it. We beg your pardon for bringing all this before you, and worrying you, and bringing you a serious problem.”8 The yielded person submits to the authority of God-ordained leaders, engages in mutual aid activities, respects the wisdom of tradition, and washes the feet of others in a sacred rite of humility.

  Amish attempts to harness selfishness, pride, and power are not based on the premise that the material world or pleasure itself is evil. Smoking, for example, is a common practice among some men, though it is dwindling.9 Sexual relations within marriage are enjoyed. Good food is savored. Recreation, humor, and play, in the proper time and place, are welcomed. Evil, the Amish believe, is found in human desires for self-exaltation, not in the material world itself.

  THE PARADOX OF GELASSENHEIT

  Talk of self-denial defies modern culture, which is saturated with endless dreams of self-fulfillment. Although Gelassenheit seems repressive to Moderns, it is a redemptive paradox for the Amish. They believe that the followers of Christ and the martyrs of old were called to lose their lives in order to save them. The death of Christ redeemed the world, and the sacrifice of the martyrs fertilized the growth of the true church. The Amish believe that people who deny self and submit to divine precepts bring honor and glory to God. Members who yield to their neighbors are ultimately revering God. The person who forgoes personal advancement for the sake of family and community makes a redemptive sacrifice that transforms the church into the body of Christ. Gelassenheit is a social process that recycles individual energy for community purposes, a recycling empowered by the words of Jesus, the blood of the martyrs, and the blessing of ancestors. This deep conviction to yield self-interest for the sake of the community provides a powerful resource of cultural capital.

  Etched into Amish consci
ousness, Gelassenheit regulates the entire spectrum of life from body language to social organization, from personal speech to symbolism. The cultural grammar of Gelassenheit blends submission to God’s will, personal meekness, and small-scale organizations together in Amish life. All of life embodies religious meaning as people place themselves on the altar of community, a sacrifice that brings homage to God. The Amish are urged to “patiently bear the cross of Christ without complaining.”10 Bearing the cross of Christ is not an abstraction, but in the words of one leader, “We wear an untrimmed beard and ear-length hair because we are willing to bear the cross of Christ.”11 Dressing by church standards, raising a neighbor’s barn, cooking for the family, pulling weeds in the garden, forgoing electrical appliances, plowing with horses, and using a carriage are ritual offerings of sacrifice and service to the community—the incarnation of God’s will on earth.

  THE YIELDED SELF

  The size and prominence of mirrors in a society signal the cultural value attached to the self. Given concerns about pride and bloated selves, it is not surprising that the mirrors in Amish homes are typically smaller and fewer than those in non-Amish homes. While Moderns are preoccupied with “finding themselves,” the Amish are engaged in “losing themselves.”12 Either way, it is hard work. Uncomfortable to Moderns, who cherish individuality, losing the self in Amish culture brings dignity because its ultimate redemption is the gift of community.