# Can someone become Amish? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 16, 2008, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-become-amish/477355 "2008-12-16T04:20:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-become-amish/477355/1 "2008-12-16T04:20:14Z")
Do they accept outsiders into their faith? I was posting over in the “should I become a muslim” thread, and it occured to me that if I WAS going to join a religion, that would be a pretty cool one. No stress of modern life. Healthy outdoor work, food that you know how it was grown and prepared, etc. What would it take? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-become-amish/477355/2 "2008-12-16T04:56:17Z")
It happens, but it’s rare. Here’s an interview with an Amish man from Lancaster County that asks the question of why more people don’t convert to the Amish faith, and also why the Amish aren’t more aggressive in trying to get converts: [http://amishamerica.typepad.com/amish\_america/joining\_the\_amish/](http://amishamerica.typepad.com/amish_america/joining_the_amish/) > [@](#): > > **A lot of people express admiration for what they perceive as the ‘Amish’ way of life. Some even express a desire to join. Yet in reality, outsiders rarely convert to the faith. Why do you think this is the case? And if the Amish feel that Amish living is the best way to pursue the Christian ideal, why do you think the Amish aren’t more aggressive in pursuing outsiders with the goal of sharing the community?** > > The first thing is obviously the huge cultural gap and the differing worldviews. > > The next is I am not so sure at all that the Amish feel that Amish living is the best way to pursue the Christian ideal. Or certainly not in a comparative sense or in a rational weighing of pros and cons. If the Amish feel it is the best way it is not meant in a superior way meaning all the rest are inferior but rather it is perhaps the best way for the Amish themselves since the way of life is seen as a calling or a gift from above. It is not a bed of roses but rather entails sacrifice. > > As to why the Amish are not more aggressive in pursuing outsiders I think there are two primary reasons. > The first is the martyr heritage which has caused Amish to be somewhat reserved and shy and suspicious of outsiders. > > The second is somewhat ironically the nearly complete loss of the one true church concept that was prevalent in Anabaptism in Europe. > > The Amish today know that salvation means believing in the Lord and following his commandments. > > If we love the Lord and accept Him as our Savior we will have eternal life, whatever denomination we are. > > Let me just say this yet. If the whole world were Amish it would be a boring and bland place indeed. > > However if the Amish were gone from the landscape a solid and I would like to think vibrant color would be missing from the American mosaic. > > Furthermore, sharing the community can be achieved by means other than converting to the Amish. I was inspired by the words in Pauline Stevick’s book called Beyond the Plain and Simple. > It was written as follows: > We realize that not everyone is cut out to be one of the Plain People. > Many have not the opportunity. > But here is a challenge. > > If you admire our faith—strengthen yours. > > If you admire our sense of commitment—deepen yours. > > If you admire our community spirit—build one. > > If you admire the simple life—cut back. > > If you admire quality merchandise or land stewardship, then make quality. > > If you admire deep character and enduring values—live them. > This I think captures the true essence of evangelism which is spreading the Good News. It also distinguishes from proselytization which is merely winning converts. > > In other words, if people generally bloom where they are planted, then it would be a much better world than if everybody would be Amish. > > And also, spiritually at least, the Amish simply do not have that marketing mentality or that urge to promote what they have to offer, in short to sell themselves, that seems to be so prevalent in American society including some churches. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-become-amish/477355/3 "2008-12-16T05:01:19Z")
First cut answer: Of course. They don’t encourage conversion, but they do welcome it when it occurs. But turning Amish is not merely adopting a parallel of their lifestyle. It’s entering into a community that explicitly eschews most modern conveniences because they cannot be built or repaired by the average Amish man. There is a coherent philosophy behind what they do and why, one that can on the one hand accept a Medevac helicopeter flying a critically-injured person to a hospital and on the other eschewing most electrical equipment. It is a commitment to self-reliance and simplicity, hard work and “life in the slow lane,” on the one hand, but on the other there is a very strong sense of community among the Amish. You are obliged to pitch in and help your neighbor whenever he may need it – and he, to do likewise for you. So you need to convince the Amish _community_ of your understanding and commitment to Amish ways, and have them accept you as a part of themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-become-amish/477355/4 "2008-12-16T05:05:52Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > First cut answer: Of course. They don’t encourage conversion, but they do welcome it when it occurs. Something is certainly going on. According to this [recent news article:](http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j5w4SzHSj_zHes5UQYnwJgVmP84wD951VUCO2) > [@](#): > > The Amish population has nearly doubled in the U.S. over the last 15 years, growing to 227,000 this year, according to estimates from Elizabethtown College’s Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies. That’s mighty fast! ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-become-amish/477355/5 "2008-12-16T05:43:38Z")
As a child I read a very interesting series of children’s books about Amish people (I believe it was the “Ellie’s people” series.) One of the books concerned a man who fell in love with an Amish girl and went through the process of converting. What I got from it was that most conversions would probably be the result of a marriage. From what I understand, family is the end-all-and-be-all of Amish life. To join the church without a family in it would be almost unsustainable. How are you supposed to have a farm alone? You just wouldn’t be able to fit into the social world at all. And since people get married pretty young, you’d have a much harder time finding someone to marry as an older adult. Maybe you could do it if you were already married and both wanted to convert, but you’d still be missing the extended family that is such an important part of Amish people’s life. I believe there is a year long trial period, with intense religious instruction. Remember the Amish are first and foremost religious. And their religious services are not fun. It’s an all-day thing on wooden benches. And they expect you to actually want to be there for the religious content, not just be willing to sit through it. How many would-be converts convert because they truly become convinced that the Amish have figured out spirituality? Anyway, the impression I got is that they are welcoming to converts, but also find it kind of amusing and usually doubt that the convert can make it. ---
**Author:** ![SandyHook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@SandyHook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandyHook)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-become-amish/477355/6 "2008-12-16T06:04:30Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Something is certainly going on. According to this [recent news article:](http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j5w4SzHSj_zHes5UQYnwJgVmP84wD951VUCO2) > That’s mighty fast! They bred by the heaps and gobs. I could see my Brother-in-law joining them. He’s deeply religious. For the last 20 years he, as a UPS driver, has delivered to a bunch of them in Adams county Ohio and has gotten to know them very well. Well enough that some of them have gone bow hunting for elk with him. He has talked about going to work for one family that has contracts with Wal-mart after he retires. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-become-amish/477355/7 "2008-12-17T00:50:52Z")
> [@SandyHook](#): > > They bred by the heaps and gobs. > > Well enough that some of them have gone bow hunting for elk with him. It is still quite funny that Amish hunters allegedly use compound bows, a modern, synthetic creation younger than the atom bomb, completely and utterly impossible to make or even mend on a luddite farm. At the same time, thousands of non-Amish people embrace the home-made wooden bow and arrows, and hunt successfully with them. Not like the knowledge was lost or anything. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-become-amish/477355/8 "2008-12-17T01:10:15Z")
I had heard that this was one of the unspoken advantages of “rumspinga” (when Amish youth are sent out into the world to be tempted, before, hopefully, returning to the Amish community). There is an unspoken hope that they will find a boyfriend/girlfriend who will agree to return with them, and become Amish, hence increasing the Amish gene-pool. ---
**Author:** ![Lawn\_Gnome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lawn\_Gnome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lawn_Gnome)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-become-amish/477355/9 "2008-12-17T06:20:49Z")
I think you can “become” Amish just by practicing a simpler way of life. It’s really just a life style, I don’t think you HAVE to be in an Amish community. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-become-amish/477355/10 "2008-12-17T12:57:19Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > It is still quite funny that Amish hunters allegedly use compound bows, a modern, synthetic creation younger than the atom bomb, completely and utterly impossible to make or even mend on a luddite farm. At the same time, thousands of non-Amish people embrace the home-made wooden bow and arrows, and hunt successfully with them. Not like the knowledge was lost or anything. I’m reading “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” and the author has friends that are Amish. She explained it thusly: It isn’t that they are against modern conveniences, it is that they carefully evaluate new technology to determine if it will help them or hurt them in the long run. Her Amish friends had a dairy, they used a milking machine. Evidently, the benefits of the machine outweighed the negative attributes. A compound bow still requires you to hunt, probably pretty similarly to regular bow hunting. Maybe the animal can suffer less, maybe you are a bit of a better shot, but you still have to take the time to hunt. If everyone analyzed what went into their bodies, homes and brains as closely, we would be in much better stead. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-become-amish/477355/11 "2008-12-17T13:13:05Z")
The Amish are not anti-technology. What they are is pro-community. They look at various technological ideas and make a decision as the whether or not it will strengthen community ties and, in most cases, they decide the answer is no. So they choose community over technology.