Search

This paper examines the effort to standardize science education in light of ethnographic research done within an Amish Mennonite community and its alternative school. Describes Amish Mennonite communities and their schools, discusses their views of science and technology, and examines their reactions to the national science education rationales. (SM)

Examines the legal reasoning behind the Yoder and Mozert court cases, which objected to mandatory secondary education and to a required reading series, respectively, discussing why one was granted and the other rejected; asserting that the two cases are essentially similar, turning on the notion of mere exposure as harm; and discussing how the courts might best incorporate the voices of children into legal proceedings concerning their educational futures. (SM)

Discusses language maintenance and language shift among historical German-speaking North American Amish and Mennonite communities. Supports the view that individual communities may actively direct language change. (Author/VWL)

Public health officials promoted COVID-19 vaccines to limit burdens placed on the U.S. healthcare system and end the pandemic. People in some closed religious communities refused to vaccinate and likely acquired temporary immunity through infection. This paper compares the death rates in Amish, Old Order Mennonites, and conservative Mennonite groups to a rate estimated for the U.S. population. Approximately two-thirds of the U.S. population was immunized against COVID-19, while few in the Amish/Mennonite community were. We find divergent patterns. Once vaccines became available, excess deaths declined in the general population and remained elevated among Amish and Mennonites. Vaccination campaigns must consider and value the cultural beliefs of closed religious communities to be effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amish and Mennonite (Plain) communities have increased prevalence of many recessively inherited disorders due to founder variants that can be identified using next-generation sequencing (NGS). We assessed newborn screening (NBS) utilization, prior genetic testing, and perceptions of genetic testing among Wisconsin Plain communities to guide implementation and utilization of a population-specific NGS gene panel testing. A mailed paper survey (N = 959) of demographics, NBS utilization, prior genetic testing, and preferences for categorical genetic disorder and defined clinical context testing was developed. Overall response rate was 39% (N = 378; 183 Amish, 193 Mennonite; 2 not Amish/Mennonite). Mennonites were more likely to respond in favor of carrier screening for metabolic disorders and other surgical conditions and less likely to respond in favor of asymptomatic testing for neurologic disorders and lethal disorders compared to Amish. Reported utilization of NBS was positively associated with stated interest in genetic testing for an asymptomatic child. Reported prior genetic testing was positively associated with stated interest in carrier screening and negatively associated with testing a symptomatic child. Although Plain community members share many common outward characteristics, our survey responses suggest diversity in their views of genetic testing and support laboratory methods that can be flexible to varied needs of individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dairying among Wisconsin's Amish and Old Order Mennonite farmers expanded through 2017, and by early 2018 Amish farms contained 12.9 percent of the state's total dairy herds of cows, goats, and sheep. Old Order Mennonite herds comprised 5.0 percent. Faced with a variety of challenges, Wisconsin lost 198 Amish herds between April 2018 and July 2020, yet its number of Old Order Mennonite herds grew. Together, these groups operated over half of the dairy farms within 59 of Wisconsin's towns in 2020. The paper examines the spatial patterns of expansion and contraction of Old Order dairying between 2012 and 2020, noting and explaining differences between the Amish and Mennonite farmers, as well as among the three conferences of Old Order Mennonites. Losses among the Amish were the greatest for can milk producers, yet 19 percent of Wisconsin's Amish dairy herds were on certified organic farms in 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sociologists define power as one party's capacity to influence another's action. Thus, power is a relational property of interpersonal interaction. However, its dynamics embed within institutions such as the church and the state. This paper explores power dynamics using a case study of the conflict between an Old Order Amish church and the civil law of Ohio. The church excommunicated a member for violating community rules. The member countered by suing the church in state court. We trace power within and across these spheres of influence, showing how each party defined the situation according to institutional vectors of power. While one might expect the state to possess greater power in this situation, we demonstrate that ultimately neither party had total power, and both lost to some extent. This case study identifies the importance of viewing power as interactional, dynamic, and contextual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Religion & Tolerance / Religija & Tolerancija is the property of Center for the Empirical Researches of Religion and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Described are the history of three German-heritage groups settled in Pennsylvania: the Solitary of Ephrata Commune, the Amish, and the Harmony Society. Suggested are pastoral, agrarian, and commercial agricultural analogs to life-support strategies of these groups respectively. Faustian agriculture emphasizing the connection of agriculture to society is discussed. (YP)

The author discusses his experience of attending public school as an Amish child during the time when America was at war with Germany. Offered are five suggestions for the public school teacher who has Amish children in the classroom. (JM)

The following paper was originally intended to publish as part of "Humanistic Leadership in Different Cultures: Defining the Field by Pushing Boundaries" guest edited by Pingping Fu, Ernst Von Kimakowitz, Michal Lemanski and Leigh Anne Liu. The publisher would like to inform readers that a special issue paper has been mistakenly published as part of a regular issue. This error was introduced as part of the editorial process, and the publisher sincerely apologizes for this error. [Extracted from the article]

The article comments on the study conducted by economist Julia Erickson regarding the non-usage of contraception among few population groups and availability of accurate data on marriage and fertility for the same. Ericksen and colleagues studied the fertility patterns and trends among the old order Amish. Some of the concepts of the study have been criticized. Most demographers hold the concept that a woman cannot give birth to a live child within the first eight months of her marriage in the absence of pre-nuptial conceptions and hence suggested the calculation of conception rates rather than birth rates. As against the concept that fertility decreases with the duration of marriage, the author suggests that some kind of family limitation is practiced which reduces fertility. Also the hypothesis that natural fertility decreases with age is not always true. In some populations fertility declines at a faster rate. Practice of family limitations may be held responsible for this. It is almost impossible to show the beginnings of family limitation from a simple comparison of figures between different populations.

Why do the North American Amish maintain high fertility when surrounding populations have nearly all completed the demographic transition? Using the same theoretical predictors and methods as a 1996 Population Studies paper, we explore fertility changes, specifically changes in mean parity, between 1988 and 2015 among one sizeable Amish population in Ohio. Findings suggest that wealth flow shifts (as measured by a decline in farming families) and institutional changes (reflected in Amish denominational gradations) help to explain a decline in mean parity from 5.3 to 4.85, while ideological pronatalism (represented by higher fertility among church leaders) helps to explain why fertility has not been more responsive to structural incentives to limit family size. While this restudy confirms the trend of a slow decline in Amish fertility, it also invites a more methodologically expansive inquiry into Amish fertility patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People who identify as members of religious communities, such as the Amish and Low German Mennonites, face challenges obtaining quality health care and engagement in research due in part to stereotypes that are conveyed through media and popular discourses. There is also a growing concern that even when these groups are engaged in research, the guiding frameworks of the research fail to consider the sociocultural or historical relations of power, further skewing power imbalances inherent in the research relationship. This paper aims at discussing the uses of cultural safety in the context of health research and knowledge translation with groups of people that are associated with a specific religion. Research with the Amish and Low German Mennonites is provided as examples to illustrate the use of cultural safety in this context. From these examples, we discuss how the use of cultural safety, grounded in critical theoretical perspectives, offers new insight into health research with populations that are traditionally labeled as minority, vulnerable, or marginalized, especially when a dominant characteristic is a unique religious perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Amish community is a boon to social science analysis. They are so similar in many ways to the outside world; they live as part of it. And yet they are also quite different. These similari-ties and especially differences provide a contrast that can be studied. The present paper looks at this religious group of people through the eyeglasses of history, law, philosophy, culture and economics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Because they are a closed founder population, the Old Order Amish (OOA) of Lancaster County have been the subject of many medical genetics studies. We constructed four versions of Anabaptist Genealogy Database (AGDB) using three sources of genealogies and multiple updates. In addition, we developed PedHunter, a suite of query software that can solve pedigree-related problems automatically and systematically. Methods: We report on how we have used new features in PedHunter to quantify the number and expected genetic contribution of founders to the OOA. The queries and utility of PedHunter programs are illustrated by examples using AGDB in this paper. For example, we calculated the number of founders expected to be contributing genetic material to the present-day living OOA and estimated the mean relative founder representation for each founder. New features in PedHunter also include pedigree trimming and pedigree renumbering, which should prove useful for studying large pedigrees. Results: With PedHunter version 2.0 querying AGDB version 4.0, we identified 34,160 presumed living OOA individuals and connected them into a 14-generation pedigree descending from 554 founders (332 females and 222 males) after trimming. From the analysis of cumulative mean relative founder representation, 128 founders (78 females and 50 males) accounted for over 95% of the mean relative founder contribution among living OOA descendants. Discussion/Conclusions: The OOA are a closed founder population in which a modest number of founders account for the genetic variation present in the current OOA population. Improvements to the PedHunter software will be useful in future studies of both the OOA and other populations with large and computerized genealogies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 1693 and 1700 a schism unfolded between the Anabaptists in Switzerland over the matter of biblical inerrancy and its implications for church discipline. The majority of Anabaptists sided with the Mennonite pastor Hans Reist, while a sizeable minority sided with Reist's erstwhile colleague Jakob Ammann. This split, known as the Amish Division, separated the Mennonites from Ammann's followers, who became known as the Amish. This paper will show that the split ultimately boiled down to the issue of whose interpretation of a cluster of texts--Matt 9:11, Matt 15:11, Matt 18:15-20, and 1 Cor 5:6-11--proved consistent with inerrancy. This article delineates the interpretations of both Reist and Ammann. The article concludes by using the Reist-Ammann disagreement to assess two exegetical methods frequently used by evangelicals, namely harmonization and subordination of less clear texts to more clear texts, in reconciling passages that appear opposed to one another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses proportional hazards techniques and population data from a directory of the Old Order Amish of the Lancaster, PA settlement. It examines the effect of death of the immediately prior sibling on the risk of childbearing for up to 11 children. Prior research typically has pooled data for maternal cohorts. In contrast, separate models are estimated for each maternal cohort. The results are based on all reported first marriages of Amish women born between 1884–1973 (N = 4066). Hazard models run separately for children of each birth order reveal that net of maternal age and length of the prior birth interval (and other statistical and design controls), the death of the prior sib significantly increases the risk of a subsequent birth for the lower birth orders. Separate models by maternal cohort show that sib death increases the risk primarily for later cohorts. The pattern of effects from child mortality and other variables suggests changes in fertility behavior among the Amish, who have strong, traditional norms opposing contraception and favoring large families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a paper on model for estimating fecundability and sterility. The paper presents a new method for estimating fecundability and sterility simultaneously, based on a multistate hazards model. The most important features of the model are: one, the presence of distinct sterile and nonsterile states; two, a clear distinction between preexisting sterility and sterility that begins after initiation of follow-up; and three, a log-normally distributed hazard of conception among nonsterile couples. These features allow the investigators to address several important biological questions about fecundability and sterility. Application of the model to data on first birth intervals from Taiwan, Sri Lanka, and the Amish shows that heterogeneity in fecundability is statistically significant at most ages, but that preexisting sterility and new sterility are unimportant before age 40. These results suggest that sterility may not be an important determinant of natural fertility until later reproductive ages.

The Old order Amish of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, can be classified as one of the oldest alternative communities in the United States. In this paper, we wish to examine ways in which the productive role of Amish women helps maintain Old Order Amish society, and the way these roles vary with woman's position in the life cycle. The contribution of women to production varies greatly between societies (Sanday, 1976). Furthermore, this contribution is not always recognized. Recently writers have argued that housewives not only perform private services for their husbands, but that their work helps maintain industrial capitalism (Malos, 1978). We believe our findings are informative not only with references to Amish society but that they are helpful in providing clues about women's roles in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though often perceived as static, Amish identity is subject to change. The mid-twentieth century was a period of notable change. The recent experience of World War II, American religious revival movements, and economic pressures all placed pressure upon Amish communities to adapt. This paper highlights the experience of the Amish community of Partridge, Kansas, where these pressures and widespread interest in mission work eventually led to a church division in the 1950s. This paper explores the contributing factors to that split and examines the reactions on both sides to the division.

Agriculture is one of the most hazardous industries in the United States. It is crucial to analyze the previously collected farm fatality data in Pennsylvania involving youth to identify fatality sources and to delineate prevention strategies to mitigate future occurrences. The Penn State Farm and Agricultural Injury Database was updated to include the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) for source and event or exposure. Occupational and nonoccupational incidents were compared based on age groups, religious sect, source of injury, and the injury event or exposure. A total of 82 fatalities to youth under 20 years were identified. Youth under 5 years old had the highest fatality rate of 87.1 fatalities per 100,000 farm household youth per year. The percentages of occupational and nonoccupational fatalities were 30.5% and 62.2%, respectively. Three primary sources accounted for 76% of the 82 farm fatalities: vehicles, machinery, and structures and surfaces. The majority of fatally injured youth (78%) were Anabaptist. The Anabaptist youth were 7 times more likely to be involved in occupational incidents than the non-Anabaptist youth. Youth <10 years of age who were not alone at the time of the fatal incident accounted for about half of the deaths, indicating the peril of adults attempting to supervise youth in the workplace. This fatal injury analysis to youth has identified common fatality injury patterns and risk factors to youth. The data can be used to identify intervention strategies for youth and underserved populations (Anabaptists) and can be used to help motivate adults and parents to adopt safety practices to prevent future injury occurrences. This paper also helps to illustrate the value of state-based monitoring of farm injury to youth using methods available to many states and territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This exhaustive review of Amish mental health conditions research suggests that studies are well-executed by methodological protocols but that (1) findings are inconsistent or limited in generalizability, (2) instrument validity remains contested, and (3) study investigation into Amish cultural-religious dynamics is limited. We present a case study from a sizeable Amish settlement finds that documents how competing ideologies – notably old Amish religious theology, the scientific-psychological, and the Evangelical Protestant – have generated Amish-internal controversies over defining and treating mental health conditions, suggesting that Amish mental health conditions research may produce inconsistent findings if not accounting for internal cultural-religious dynamics. Future research should include pre-study investigations into the targeted population's cultural and religious dynamics, consist of more nuanced case reports from therapists and psychiatrists, and include replication studies at different times and places, with deliberate attention to contextual factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on topics including human movements, transportation and economic systems.

Purpose — To demonstrate the linkage between Porter's cluster theory and supply chain management, and provide evidence of their potential joint positive impact on competitiveness and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach — The paper examines the linkage between cluster theory and supply chain management using data from a case study of the Amish furniture industry in Homes County, Ohio, USA. Findings — Using the Amish furniture industry and a representative furniture firm as examples, the paper shows the positive impact of operating within an integrated supply chain in a geographically concentrated cluster. Research limitations/implications — Use of a single case study approach limits the generalizability of the findings; the paper recommends further study of linkages in other industries and locations. Practical implications — The study suggests that firms build competitive advantage by initially focusing primarily on local resources when selecting supply chain partners, rather than looking only for low cost advantage through distant sourcing. Originality/value — This paper adds to the literature on business linkages by proposing an expanded definition of clusters as geographical concentrations of competing supply networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional Amish culture is an enduring culture that is characterized and driven by a simplicity that is sharply contrasted with the complex daily lives of contemporary mainstream Americans. Yet, Amish culture is not static; rather it is a dynamic culture that has realized change primarily driven by increased interaction with the non-Amish who have become interested in Amish-made products. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how quilts, a symbol of traditional Amish culture, have become a catalyst that has contributed to both change as well as perseverance in Amish culture. This research is based on a year of ethnographic participant observation in an Old Order Amish settlement. The commercialization of Amish quilts has created an important economic connection to the complex outside world and as a result has contributed to both enduring and changing cultural meaning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Amish community was established in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana. They form a distinct and biologically isolated community by virtue of their strong cultural and religious beliefs. This paper outlines aspects of the Amish culture and reviews some of the recent genetic studies that have been undertaken in this community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Horse-drawn buggies are rarely used in modern society except among certain religious groups. Northeastern Indiana has one of the largest populations of one such group: the Amish. Although there are papers written about the incidence of buggy crashes, no paper has specifically addressed the specific types of injuries sustained when buggies collide with motorized vehicles. This paper reviews the types of injuries sustained when such events occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars and activists have called for a recognition of a "third way" of farming which is beyond the binary between organic and conventional agriculture and instead represents a spectrum of practices. In this paper, we ask if the way Plain (conservative Amish and Mennonite) farmers manage antibiotic use and natural remedies is an example of these middle paths. Antibiotic use in managing herd health is a practice with significant environmental and health implications. Regulations and use patterns may enhance potential bifurcation between conventional and organic production in the US compared to the European context. The data for this study were collected through semi-structured interviews with 29 Plain dairy producers and nine veterinary health professionals in Michigan and Pennsylvania. Interviews focused on attitudes and behavior around herd health and possible connections to family healthcare management. Overall, our results indicate that the Plain farmers, especially the Amish, combined minimal antibiotics with a mixture of natural remedies. This indicates that delineations between organic and conventional agriculture and natural healthcare and mainstream healthcare may be more nuanced and complex than has been characterized in previous literature. • Amish and Mennonite dairy farmers offer an example of "middle paths" in managing antibiotic use. • Amish and Mennonite dairy farmers use a "third way" between organic and conventional management. • Amish and Mennonite dairy farmers combine antibiotics and natural remedies for animal health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patterns of language maintenance and shift among historical German-speaking North American Amish and Mennonite communities reveal ways in which these groups have utilized language to encode and mediate group identity. The Old Order Amish and the Old Order Mennonites have maintained German to resist secular authority, to remain separate from the dominant society, to preserve the traditions of their forefathers and, above all, to mark themselves as Old Order. More liberal groups have shifted to English to demonstrate a commitment to evangelism and a rejection of Old Order practice. This paper supports the view that individual communities may actively direct language change. Guided by an ideology that invests particular patterns of language use with religious significance, each Amish and Mennonite community determines its own linguistic fate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to calls for more theoretically informed attention to gender in sociological studies of religious phenomena (Avishai, Jafar, and Rinaldo 2015; Charlton 2015; Cornwall 2009), this paper conceptualizes religion as a gendered institution (Avishai 2016a) in an examination of religious exit from a conservative Christian group, namely, the Amish. The present study identifies gender variation in individuals' motivations for exit and considers how gendered religious ideologies, gendered placement in religious organizational structures, and gendered religious practices explain this variation. Based on analysis of qualitative interviews with fiftynine former Amish adults, I find that concerns about gender inequity motivated some respondents, almost entirely women, to leave. Men's and women's other motivations for exit appear more similar on the surface, but closer examination reveals variation by gender. Analysis reveals that the intersection of religion and gender in the Amish context differently shaped men's and women's religious realities and, therefore, colored in some way all of their reasons for leaving. These results suggest that most of the previous research on religious exit, which either overlooks gender entirely (e.g., Altemeyer and Hunsberger 1997; Kraybill, Johnson-Weiner, and Nolt 2013; Shaffir 1997; Smith 2011) or conceives of it narrowly, with little attention to gender theory (e.g., Cottee 2015; Hurst and McConnell 2010; Roozen 1980; Vargas 2012), has misrepresented gender variation in motivations for exit and failed to provide adequate explanation for differences identified. Considering the multiple dimensions through which the institutions of religion and gender intersect allows for a deeper understanding of religious phenomena and provides insights into the ways in which gender is produced and reproduced within religious groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the image of the Old Order Amish in both popular and academic work and addresses the question of how stereotypes about them are formed. Two kinds of stereotype are examined; the first pertaining to the Amish lifestyle in general, and the second dealing more specifically with their verbal behavior, in particular their relationship with the English language. In both areas, the tendency to over-exoticize and "over-distance" the Amish from the social mainstream is evident. However, the reality of Amish society, and the key to its overall success, is its ability to strike a balance between preservation of tradition and adaptation to the changing world which both surrounds and inextricably includes them. Central to a balanced view of Amish society and culture is a proper understanding of the degree to which, socially, technologically and linguistically, they assimilate as a minority group with the rest of North American society. The focus of this paper is a minority group within North American society which, despite its relatively small size, is quite well known, yet almost equally widely misunderstood. Specifically, the group referred to is the Old Order Amish, who today number approximately 125,000 to 150,000 in the United States and Canada.

The persistence of ethnic settlement in rural regions of the United States is well documented. Yet, there has been little discussion of techniques which allow the identification of the geographic extent and concentration of distinctive ethnic populations. Amish-Mennonite settlement constitutes a unique component of the rural landscape. A wide range of visual clues alert the observer to their presence, but without painstaking field surveys it is difficult to establish their geographic extent. This paper examines four approaches to the identification of Amish-Mennonite settlement. These are county-based population data on religious affiliation, the location of Amish church districts and Mennonite churches, topographic maps, and surnames and cadastral maps. Topographic maps proved unsuitable, but each of the other approaches produced reasonable approximations of the areal extent of Amish-Mennonite settlement. Surnames and cadastral maps present good possibilities for the identification of other ethnic populations in rural regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we take the position that Old Order Amish culture is largely maintained by the ability of individual Amish families to establish their children on farms. In the past, the norms of family farming, hard work, and high fertility have been in balance with the ecological environment of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The implications for the Amish lifestyle of ever-increasing populations pressure and higher land prices are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with adding sociolinguistic detail toward an understanding of the maintenance processes of the German spoken by the Old Order Amish of Kalona, Iowa. Of particular interest are areas which will be referred to as stresses imposed on German language maintenance there. These stresses are conceived of in two ways: those which are obvious, such as English interference in Amish German phonology, morphology, vocabulary, and syntax; and those which are more subtle and which may thus affect Amish German language maintenance in ways which the Amish themselves have not yet perceived, including implications of inadequacy or inappropriateness of Amish German for handling some of the basic communicative and societal needs of the Amish. There are some societal changes among the Old Order Amish which may have an effect on their language choice. Linguistic boundary maintenance is certainly of great significance for all Old Order Amish, but societal boundary control is of even more importance for maintaining their life style. There are two factors that would cause the Amish to make a conscious shift to English. One is that the Amish have always been under stress because of their basic inability to use either standard English or standard German. Second, if the Old Order of Amish see English as a necessity for educating, socializing and thus keeping their children in Amish lifestyle, they will consciously choose English as method of preserving their world.

For the sociologist, adaptation refers to the cultural traits and complexes that represent a society's adjustment to its physical environment and enable it to survive. This paper is intended to present research findings among farm operators of the Amish religious community in Coles, Douglas, and Moultrie counties of east central Illinois regarding the group's adaptive responses to socio-economic trends of the larger society. The approach of the discussion is to view Amish farm management strategy as an adaptive device in relation to the ongoing problem of social and economic viability.

The conflict over educational policy between several religions societies and state departments of education has received widespread attention. Public school officials are inclined to view the problem administratively as one of law enforcement. The religions group views the problem in moral and religions terms. Lawyers interpret the conflict in legal categories. Citizens of the region often view the conflict as a contest between the older and newer sentiments of the community. Although the particulars of the conflict in the various states are important to any analysis, we have chosen to view the problem anthropologically, that is, in the context of the culture. Recognizing that there are many factors related to cohesion, such as theology, creativity in producing literature, or leadership, our concern here is the interplay of the indigenous socialization patterns with the non-indigenous in the strain for survival. How are the young prepared for adult responsibility in the two most self-contained surviving Anabaptist groups, the Hutterites and the Amish, and what aspects of secular education have they incorporated into their society, and with what success or failure? What is there about the internal structure of these groups that enables them to make adaptations without being absorbed into the dominant society? Of these two Germarde Anabaptist groups, one is strictly eommunal and the other familistic. We will compare the social structure, control over the socialization process, and assimilation patterns of the two "little" societies. The generalizations in this paper derive from field work on two research projects (Hostetler, 1965; 1969). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a survey of college courses taught on the Amish. It is based on a series of interviews with instructors at other institutions of higher learning whose courses focus on the Amish, an examination of their syllabi, and analysis of student writing from the course I teach at the University of Missouri-Columbia. The survey was designed to ascertain the goals of professors who teach a class about the Amish and how they best achieve their course objectives. Secondly, the survey explored what attracts college students to a course about the Amish, and what prior knowledge, and preconceptions they bring with them. My survey found that all professors relate themes and values about the Amish to the lives of college students, but there are subtle differences in how these connections are expressed by instructors in the classroom through various course activities. This paper should serve as a resource for people who want to incorporate information about the Amish in their college-level courses.

Developing preservice teachers with a strong understanding of culturally relevant pedagogy should be a priority for all teacher education programs. Although much focus is placed on diversity in urban areas, diverse classrooms are found in all education settings. This paper demonstrates how a rural opportunity expanded the cultural awareness and culturally responsive teaching of four preservice special education teachers. Knowledge shared between teachers in an Old Order Mennonite community and these preservice teachers resulted in growth for all participants. Through immersion with the Mennonite community, four key themes emerged: (a) culturally relevant communication, (b) goal setting, (c) culturally sensitive curriculum materials, and (d) creation of a classroom to match the students' needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: An important measure of brain health is the integrity of white matter connectivity structures that link brain regions. Studies have found an association between poorer sleep quality and decreased white matter integrity. Stress is among the strongest predictors of sleep quality. This study aimed to evaluate the association between sleep quality and white matter and to test if the relationship persisted after accounting for stress. White matter microstructures were measured by diffusion tensor imaging in a population of Old Order Amish/Mennonite (N = 240). Sleep quality was determined by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Current stress levels were measured by the perceived stress scale. Exposure to lifetime stress was measured by the lifetime stressor inventory. Microstructures of four white matter tracts: left and right anterior limbs of internal capsule, left anterior corona radiata, and genu of corpus callosum were significantly correlated with sleep quality (all p ≤ 0.001). The current stress level was a significant predictor of sleep quality (p ≤ 0.001) while lifetime stress was not. PSQI remained significantly associated with white matter integrity in these frontal tracts (all p < 0.01) after accounting for current stress and lifetime stress, while current and lifetime stress were not significant predictors of white matter in any of the four models. Sleep quality did not have any substantial mediation role between stress and white matter integrity. Sleep quality was significantly associated with several frontal white matter tracts that connect brain structures important for sleep regulation regardless of current or past stress levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent scholarship finds linkages between religiosity and vaccination practices but neglects the role of religious, social structural influences. The relationship between religious beliefs and immunization in the context of closed religious communities remains understudied. We use a survey of Amish and Old Order Mennonite parents to explore relationships between religious belief, group closure, perceived vaccine effectiveness, and vaccine uptake. The results indicate higher group and individual closure levels are positively related to having unvaccinated children and vaccine hesitancy. Perceptions of vaccine effectiveness partially explain these associations. Healthcare providers should consider constructing culturally competent programs to reach closed communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eclectic collection of Christian traditions and communities that may be considered Free Church, and the decentralized structures of these Christian communities, result in Free Church worship practices that are difficult to predict. I then explore two movements that have shaped worship in Free Church traditions in recent decades, and consider four scholarly approaches to Free Church worship. When considering liturgical renewal in retrospect in Free Church traditions, it is crucial to recognize that significant work remains to be done in decolonizing Free Church worship in ways that empower all individuals in congregations to draw deeply on local culture in shaping local practice that can challenge oppressive structures. The overlapping traits that characterize the Free Church family of Christian traditions contribute to the unpredictable nature of Free Church worship, and the multiplicity of free-spirited ways that liturgical renewal can emerge and develop. [Extracted from the article]