Front Matter

No abstract available.

How to Avoid "Unenlightened Sorrow": A Statistical Analysis of Plain Remarriage

This article is a basic quantitative analysis of widowhood and remarriage trends among several Plain churches. When compared to past studies of similar topics, a remarkable consistency of findings across both time and sect can be identified. Bereaved Plain spouses have largely experienced widowhood along separate gender-specific paths, in data sets ranging from 1730 to 2019 and from relatively liberal to traditional communities. Positing that much of Amish and Amish Mennonite society is designed to socialize and retain children, this article offers opportunities for deeper study of the parental roles undergirding that society. The primary research suggestions include spousal function in the context of family life, the various factors influencing the health of bereaved spouses, and the "marriage squeeze" present in many churches. The central data sets used in this study were collected from the 2019 edition of the Amish Mennonite Directory and the 2015 Church Directory of the Lancaster County Amish and Outlying Daughter Settlements. These reference books were sampled on a one-in-five and one-in-three basis, respectively. The resultant widowhood cases were contextualized by widowhood cases from studies by Elmer Lewis Smith and researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Editors' Introduction

No abstract available.

Profound Encounters: The Love Feast and the Old German Baptist Brethren

The author uses an autoethnographic and narrative approach, based in a postpositivist research framework, to describe and explore the love feast as it is observed among the Old German Baptist Brethren. The "love feast occasion" constitutes a site of prime spiritual and communal significance for members of the group, who represent the largest Plain or Old Order expression of the Schwarzenau Brethren. The occasion, taking place over a full weekend of services, communal meals, informal time for fellowship and "Youngfolks" activities is hosted annually by each district or congregation (as well as being held at the group's Annual Meeting at Pentecost). Its essential feature is a lengthy service held on the Saturday evening that reenacts the central events of Jesus's last meal with his disciples in Jerusalem, prior to His betrayal and death. Discrete but interlinked elements of this highly ritualized service involve preparation, footwashing, a communal fellowship meal, an exchange of the holy kiss and sharing in the bread and wine of Communion. The deeply symbolic and highly ritualized event constitutes an occurrence in which members see themselves as renewing their connection with God, their mystical relationship with fellow members and with the central emphases of Brethren teaching.

Pandemic Among the Amish: A Look at the Effects of COVID-19 on Amish Communities in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in the First Four Months

March 2020 will be remembered as one of the most unusual months in living memory. When COVID-19 spread across the country, its reach and impact affected every region and every person in some way. The "new normal" forced much of the world to face a new reality of stay-at-home orders, food shortages, and rising death rates. Initially, the pandemic hit congested urban centers hardest, but the effects of the coronavirus were also felt among the rural Amish communities of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. This study offers a preliminary look at how the pandemic affected these communities, focusing on the following themes: sources of news and information; effects of government mandates; and impact of the virus on the day-to-day lives of the Amish during the first four months of the pandemic, from late March 2020 through late July 2020. Findings suggest that the Amish experienced a mix of fear and hope, skepticism and optimism, but also a resolve in their faith, which they felt assured would carry them through the uncertainties of the coming months.

The Influence of Reproductive History on Post-Reproductive Mortality: A Case Study of Amish Women

The reproductive choices women make affect their health outcomes; however, the relevance of reproductive history on post-reproductive mortality varies according to the population under study. We examine whether the number of children a woman gives birth to, short birth intervals, late childbearing, having twins, and having children who die young have an influence on maternal mortality among the Amish. We use information from Amish directories to examine reproductive patterns of 228 women in this high fertility group. Our results indicate the patterns typically found for maternal mortality in the general population do not hold in our sample of Amish women. We suggest the mediating role of family and community is integral to understanding the maternal health patterns within the Amish community.

Johnson-Weiner, The Lives of Amish Women

No abstract available.

Attitudes and Beliefs of COVID-19 and Vaccine Uptake among Amish Women

The Amish, a Christian religious group living in rural areas with distinct beliefs about remaining separate from the outside world, have communities in 31 states and four Canadian provinces with just over 600 settlements. Their access to health care and technology is often limited. Several studies have noted low vaccination rates for preventable diseases among the Amish, often due to lack of knowledge about efficacy and safety of vaccines. To gain an understanding of beliefs surrounding COVID-19 and attitudes toward vaccine uptake, we surveyed 863 Amish and Mennonite women throughout Ohio who participated in rural mobile health clinics between 2015 and 2019 at two time periods: before and after the 2020 election. We received 372 completed surveys, 252 of which were completed by respondents who identified themselves as Amish. While 100% of the Amish respondents had heard of COVID-19 and 90% reported knowing someone who had contracted the disease, a mere 1.7% (4) indicated a willingness to get vaccinated. In terms of COVID-19 diagnosis, post-election participants were two times more likely to report having a positive test than pre-election respondents (p = .011). Qualitative analyses revealed significant differences in keywords used to describe COVID-19. Post-election respondents were less likely to use words like "evil" and "bad" and associate COVID-19 with the flu. A notable shift in vaccine hesitancy among Amish participants centered on the perceived politicization of the pandemic and safety/efficacy of the vaccines. Public health efforts should center on raising awareness of the severity of COVID-19 and the benefits of vaccine uptake for distinctive subcultures like the Amish.

Attitudes Toward the Amish: Contact, Social Dominance, and Beliefs in Equality

This study measured prejudice toward the Amish among the non-Amish using the Attitude Toward Amish scale. A sample of university students in the state of Indiana (N = 107) responded to an online survey instrument that was designed to replicate a previous study on what factors predict prejudice toward the Amish. The findings support some but not all of the predictors of anti-Amish prejudice found in the prior study. This study also measured knowledge of anti-Amish abusive behavior carried out by nonAmish. It was discovered that, as contact with the Amish increased, the odds of a respondent either hearing about or directly knowing of such conduct increased. The full findings are discussed, along with study strengths and weaknesses, potential application of the findings, and future research.

Front Matter

No abstract available.