- Home
- /
- Blog
- /
- The 4 Core Values of the Amish Culture
Amish Heritage And Village News
Want to learn more about Amish traditions, culture, and heritage? Want to see how The Amish Village changes over the seasons? We pack our blog with helpful articles all about the Amish culture and some news about The Amish Village.
September 27th, 2021
The core Amish values are to lead a simple life of faith. The Amish believe that their religious faith and the way they choose to live are interdependent. These core beliefs lead to a very strong set of values of faith, family, community, and a simple unworldly life. In this blog post, we will explore these four core values of the Amish lifestyle.
Faith
Faith is the cornerstone of Amish life. Religious customs are endowed with the values of humility and simplicity and putting God and community ahead of the individual. Their religious beliefs call them to live a life of faith, discipline, dedication, and humility. Amish attend church every other Sunday in a church members’ home. The service acts as a renewal of faith and an affirmation of community. The Amish community governs itself strictly and baptized members are morally committed to church rules. For them, life is a spiritual activity, and they demonstrate their religious beliefs daily through their own actions of discipleship, plainness, nonresistance, forgiveness, and non-violence.
Family
Family is the heart of the community and is a very important social unit in the Amish culture. Amish place great value on time spent together as a family and their connection with each other. They run family businesses together, eat meals together, attend church services, barn-raisings, and other community events together. It’s not unusual for an Amish family to have seven to ten children. You’ll often see young children helping at market stands, picking corn, or tending to animals. Amish families approach life as a unit and children learn a strong work ethic from the very beginning.
The dedication to family continues with older family members. Wisdom from older Amish is valued by the young and often multiple generations live together to either help care for aging family members and/or help with the rearing of children. These large multi-generational family units contribute to the strength and growth of the extended family and ultimately to their community.
Community
The spirit of the Amish lifestyle is exhibited through their strong sense of dedication and love for their church communities. They believe that community is at the heart of their life and faith and that the way to salvation is to live as a loving community separate from the world.
Since the Amish separate themselves from the rest of society, their communities are a unique support system. Community members will freely give of their time and their skills to help one another. A good example of community support is an Amish barn raising. The community comes together to help a family build a barn. The effort often involves several men who build the barn, as well as many women who feed the workers. These barns are a steadfast reminder of Amish tradition, community, and craft coming together to work as one.
Whether it’s raising a barn, offering wisdom to fellow community members, consoling a family that is suffering a loss, or providing financial assistance, the members of the community support each other. Dependence on the church community is very strong, and church members are urged to help each other in everyday life and in times of difficulty or disaster.
Simplicity
The most obvious trait of the Amish community is that they choose to lead a simple life. But the reason they do this is because they believe simplicity is a symbol of humility. They take seriously the Biblical commands to separate themselves from worldly things.
Often the first thing that identifies the Amish is the way they dress. Amish fashion styles are simple, practical, and modest. Clothing is generally made at home using plain fabrics. Their choice of clothing shows their commitment to the principles of the Amish church – to live simply.
Despite the many advancements in our society, the Amish do not typically utilize modern or worldly things like electricity, technology, vehicles, and other modern conveniences that many of us depend on for our daily lives. They believe worldliness can keep them from being close to God which could present influences that may be destructive to their communities and their way of life. By living simply and restricting access to unnecessary items, such as fancy clothes, TV, or iPhones, the Amish feel they can keep the modern world from intruding into their lives and allow them to remain focused on their faith and family.
By following the four principle values of faith, family, community, and living a simple and modest life, the Amish live out their own religious beliefs and lead a unique life in their own spiritual way. For an authentic look at Amish culture, check out our various tour options.
FAQs
By following the four principle values of faith, family, community, and living a simple and modest life, the Amish live out their own religious beliefs and lead a unique life in their own spiritual way.
What are the 4 core values of the Amish? ›
Beliefs and way of life. Humility, family, community, and separation from the world are the mainstays of the Amish.
What are the Amish rules and culture? ›
As part of their Ordnung, Old Order Amish forbid owning automobiles; tapping electricity from public utility lines; owning televisions, radios, or personal computers; attending high school or college; joining the military; and initiating divorce. All Amish groups expect men and women to wear prescribed clothing.
What is the Amish core value of yielding oneself to a higher authority? ›
Roughly translated, Gelassenheit means yielding oneself to a higher authority. The Amish speak of “giving themselves up” to the church. Gelassenheit carries many meanings—self-surrender, submission, yielding to the will of God and to others, contentment, and a calm spirit.
What are three ways in which the Amish demonstrate a folk culture? ›
The Amish have achieved and maintained self-sufficiency in three important areas of life: religion, education, and socialization patterns. First, the Amish share the right of every American to practice their religion.
Do Amish believe in Jesus? ›
The Amish are orthodox, believing in the Holy Trinity and the deity of Jesus Christ. They believe in one God eternally, existing as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They believe that Jesus Christ is the only son of God and died on the cross for the sins of the world.
What are 5 practices all Amish have in common? ›
A: Yes, most Amish groups share certain practices: use of horse and buggy for local transportation, rejection of electricity from public utility lines, prohibition against televisions and computers, some type of distinctive dress, beards for men, ending of formal education at the eighth grade, meeting in homes for ...
What age do Amish get married? ›
Dating among the Amish typically begins around age 16 with most Amish couples marrying between the ages of 20 and 22. To find a prospective date, the young adults socialize at functions such as frolics, church, or home visits. One of the most popular activities is the Sunday night singing.
Can Amish drink alcohol? ›
The Amish people generally do not drink alcohol, including beer and hard liquor, as they view it as a worldly temptation that can lead to drunkenness and other harmful behavior. However, there may be variations in beliefs and practices between different communities and families.
Is Amish a religion or culture? ›
They are a distinctive Christian subculture that traces its roots to the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Scholars define the Old Order Amish by two distinctive features: 1) the use of horse-and-buggy transportation, and 2) the use of Pennsylvania German dialect in church services and daily conversation.
You can begin wherever you are.” Yes, it is possible for outsiders, through conversion and convincement, to join the Amish community, but we must quickly add that it seldom happens.
What are Amish bedroom rules? ›
Each person sleeps on their side of the bed, with a board in between them to prevent any physical contact. The couple is allowed to talk to each other during the night, but they're not allowed to touch each other.
What are the norms of Amish culture? ›
Faith-based Amish traditions include wearing plain clothing, living in a simple manner and helping a neighbor in need. Church buildings with pews are traded for services in community homes, choirs for solemn hymns without music and professional pastors for community leaders.
Do Amish people have their teeth removed? ›
Summary: The Amish typically have their teeth pulled out by unlicensed dentists instead of incurring the high cost of dentistry. They perceive dentures as more cost effective and easier to maintain oral health.
When an Amish person turns 18? ›
As far as Amish teens, they do get a chance to explore the outside world - from the time they're 16 until baptism in the church at ages 18 to 22 - in a practice called "Rumspringa." "They are in limbo between the authority of their parents and that of the church," Kraybill said. "They can do what they want on weekends.
What are the Amish's main beliefs? ›
As a Christian church they follow the basic tenets of Christian faith; however, they emphasize adult baptism, simplicity, community, separation from popular culture, the separation of church and state, and pacifism. Their roots reach back to the Anabaptist movement in 1525 at the time of the Protestant Reformation.
What do the Amish believe about marriage? ›
The bishop speaks blessings on the couple and sometimes gives them a bible as a symbol of their union. After that, they take their vows in front of the congregation. The woman vows to be faithful and to submit to the man, while the man vows to love, honor, and protect the woman. There are no Amish wedding rings.
