The Amish

Can you name these states?

THE AMISH

A gentle people living a simple life

Where do the Amish Live?

First . . .

• Read the article

• Answer the questions on the back

• Discuss the answers with a partner

Who are the Amish?• Christian denomination

• Known for their simple living, plain dress and for resisting modern conveniences like technology.

• Communities are usually entirely self-sufficient and separated from the outside world.

• The Amish way of life originated in Switzerland, but these days exists only in the U.S. (mainly Pennsylvania) and some parts of Canada.

Typical Amish clothing/dress

The Amish church’s rules

►The rules of the Amish church=the Ordnung►Strict and must be obeyed by all.

►These rules cover aspects day-to-day living.

►Don’t follow the rules or repent = excommunicated/shunned from the church/community.

These rules include:– No powerline electricity– Limiting the use of phones– Not owning or using motor vehicles– Wearing a specific style of dress– Not buying insurance– Not receiving any form of government welfare– Not serving in the military– Marrying partners from within their own community– Only being schooled up until 8th Grade – Using corporal punishment to discipline children– Practising manual labour, mostly in rural chores

Amish forms of transportation

The “clash of cultures” between the Amish and the “outside world” can make for some

unusual observations.

Video: Introduction

• Inside the Amish Church (start 2:00)

Weird Al Yankovic: “Amish Paradise”

Rumspringa

Rumspringa: What is it?

• 14 to 16 years old

• Choose whether to leave the community or be baptized in the Amish church

• Some go to live in the “English world” to see what it’s like

• 90% return to the Amish community

Rumspringa

• Documentary: Devil’s Playground

• National Geographic show: Amish: Out of Order

• Amish in the City

The Amish in popular culture• Perhaps the most commonly known

of these is the film Witness

• It is about a police investigation into a murder which an Amish boy witnessed, and the clash of cultures which ensues between the detective and the boy’s community.

• The film won an Oscar for its screenplay in 1985.

Other films…• For Richer or Poorer, starring

Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley.

• It is a comedy about a rich city couple who “hide out” amongst an Amish community after being caught by the government cheating on their taxes.

The Amish in the News

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA

Sights in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Buggy Rides

Amish Restaurants

Hershey Park