Amish and Mennonites are Christians sharing common ancestral and cultural roots. Most of their religious beliefs are the same though the practices and their living styles differ. Mennonites are known to be more open to modern technology and education than Amish people. This article attempts to highlight the differences between the two groups that are breakaway factions of the same Roman Catholic Church.
Mennonites
In 18th century Europe, reformation of faith took place, and Protestant Christians came to be known as Anabaptists. These were the reformers who disapproved infant baptism and stressed on adult baptism when a person confesses on his faith. Menno Simons, a Catholic priest from Holland joined this movement. His writings and teachings were so impressive that Anabaptists who were influenced by his sayings were later referred to as Mennonites.
Amish
There was a split within a group of Anabaptists in Switzerland in the end of the 17th century that was led by Jacob Amman. The followers of this splinter group were labeled Amish. Most of the Amish population comes from Germany, France, and Switzerland.
Amish were originally Mennonites. In fact, the belief of the Amish that a man who has sinned should be boycotted or shunned by the community until he repents for his wrong doing led to Amish getting away from Mennonites. However, Amish were not spared by the majority Mennonites and were persecuted wherever they went. Scores of Amish were killed by Catholics that made them run away to mountains of Switzerland. It was here that Amish people developed a style of living based upon farming and worshipping in homes instead of churches.
Because of shared ancestral roots, both Amish and Mennonites share nearly all their beliefs regarding baptism and most doctrines enshrined in Bible.
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What is the difference between ? • Despite shared roots, Amish and Mennonites differ in their practices as Amish dress differently, use simpler technologies and worship differently. • Mennonites are far less conservative than Amish. • Amish depend upon farming as their occupation till now while Mennonites get modern education for their kids who go into different occupations and services. • Mennonites get on with the outside world and modern technology easily, while Amish feel that influences from the outside world will be detrimental to their pure faith. • Amish still wear plain dresses as against Mennonites who wear more modern clothes. • Amish still stay away from using electricity and use horse carriages for their transportation while Mennonites have adopted all modern means of transportation.
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