Old Order Amish (in the United States) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Old Order Amish (in the United States) - Essay Example In fact the history of the community can be traced back in 1700. According to a relevant report â€Å"the first Amish, so named for Jakob Ammann, arrived in Lancaster County and nearby Berks and Chester counties in the early 1700s to take part in William Penn’s "Holy Experiment" of religious freedom; originally called Anabaptists, they came to America from Europe to escape religious persecution by both Protestants and Catholics; the county is now home to three Anabaptist groups called the Amish, Mennonite and Brethren† [2]. The conflict with other religious ‘teams’ like Protestants and Catholics has been intensive since the appearance of the particular religion. These conflicts have led the community to follow a particular code of life away from the centres of ‘civilization’ as the big cities around the world can be characterized. At a next level, in order to keep their traditions, the members of the community followed a particular ‘codeà ¢â‚¬â„¢ that differentiates them from other religious ‘teams’. It should be noticed here that because of the many particular characteristics that the way of life of this community presents, it is rather difficult to proceed to a completed presentation of their intervention in modern social ethics. However, it could be possible to investigate their role in the development of particular ideas and styles of life. The settlements of Amish across USA are many. However, â€Å"the leading settlement of the community in Pennsylvania is in Lancaster County; in the Lancaster Plain near Intercourse and Bird in Hand live the House Amish, who, objecting to churches as worldly, worship in houses or barns† (Klees, 1950, 37). The existence of a central point of reference of the community’s life is important for the reservation of the community’s beliefs as they are presented mainly in the