Beware of the Amish Mafia?

Most people might be able to identify an Amish person as someone who drives a horse and buggy, but how much do we really know about this ethno-religious group?  Prof. Donald Kraybill, the Distinguished College Professor and Senior Fellow at the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College, helps to fill out our understanding of this fascinating community.  The conversation also includes various references to Mennonites, both the modern, mainstream version and the “horse and buggy” (or Old Order) Mennonite community.  (Note: While the term “horse and buggy” Mennonite may sound like a stereotypical reference term, Dr. Kraybill explains his use of this term.)

After sharing his (not-so-positive) thoughts on the TV series The Amish Mafia, Prof. Kraybill covers the historical background of the Amish and Old Order Mennonites, discussing their European (Swiss and German) roots in the Anabaptist movement and how they became differentiated in 1693.  We follow their progress of migration out of Europe and explore why there are few (if any) Amish and Old Order Mennonite settlements in Europe today.  Religious persecution pushed many of these religious adherents to the Americas in the early 18th century, with Pennsylvania’s attractive environment of religious freedom being a large attractor.  Even though we often associate central Pennsylvania with the Amish today, Don notes that there are Amish and “horse and buggy” Mennonite communities existing in 31 US states today.  Tony discovers that these groups are more widespread and numerous than he thought, with about 40 different Amish “tribes” in existence across the country.