Background: The Amish are a growing population who live a traditional, rural way of life, which makes them less accepting of modernism. Most Amish live in poverty and are detached from modern health care.
Some Amish people have become quite wealthy. Often this is due to successful businesses including woodworking and construction. It's harder to tell who the Amish millionaires are, however, since status symbols are less visible (to the non-Amish eye, at least).
Health among the Amish is characterized by higher incidences of particular genetic disorders, especially among the Old Order Amish. These disorders include dwarfism, Angelman syndrome, and various metabolic disorders, such as Tay-Sachs disease, as well as an unusual distribution of blood types.
Over the decades, most Americans have caught up in overall life expectancy, but the Amish still have a significant edge in late-life health, with lower rates of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and more.
Farming is the occupation desired by most Amish. All family members are integrated into an agricultural way of life. Beginning at an early age, the young assist in farm and household chores. The Amish keep their farms small enough to be handled by the family unit.
As part of their Ordnung, Old Order Amish forbid owning automobiles; tapping electricity from public utility lines; owning televisions, radios, or personal computers; attending high school or college; joining the military; and initiating divorce. All Amish groups expect men and women to wear prescribed clothing.
Some of the world's richest soil is found here. Though their farmland is exceptionally valuable, Amish families typically carry little debt and get around by horse and buggy. About the only time the Amish use credit is when they buy a farm. For that, they turn to a mortgage banker like Bill O'Brien.
In the Amish community, divorce is forbidden and not sanctioned in the Amish church. If a member of the community violates this, they are violating their vows that they took during their Amish baptism, which takes place between the ages of 18 and 22 years old, according to National Geographic.
The Amish religion does not restrict people from seeking modern medical care. For the most part, Amish use local doctors and dentists and will go to specialists and hospitals as determined.
Birth control and abortion are forbidden by religious doctrine, even when pregnancy is life threatening. The Amish church has no rule against immunization, but only 16-26% of Amish children have received immunizations against the common childhood diseases.
'” People with the mutation live to be 85 on average, significantly longer than their predicted average lifespan of 71 for Amish in general, which hasn't changed much over the last century. The age range of Amish in the study was 18 to 85 with the average age of carriers 44 and the unaffected 46 years old.
The Amish use electricity? It's not that the Amish aren't allowed to use electricity, it's that they believe too much reliance on electricity or access to public power grids will tie them too closely to the rest of the world and hurt their well-preserved culture.
Second, the Amish have had a 72-year life expectancy not only for the past few decades, as have most Americans, but for the last 300 years—since they settled in the United States in the 1700s, when most people living in America were dying in their 40s.
Try purchasing common household items in bulk such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, toilet paper, flour, sugar, coffee and more. The more you make buying in bulk a habit, the more items you will end up finding available in bulk. Finances are a large focus of the Amish way of life.
While they do grow a large portion of the food they consume, Amish also purchase food and other products in a variety of venues, including salvage stores, Amish-run dry goods shops, and even large supermarkets such as Wal-Mart.
Many of the Amish who choose not to farm go into skilled trades like furniture building, construction, and metal parts manufacturing, Wesner said. These products are often sold to those outside the Amish community.
Each person sleeps on their side of the bed, with a board in between them to prevent any physical contact. The couple is allowed to talk to each other during the night, but they're not allowed to touch each other.
Some families do their pre- and post-natal care in a hospital but choose a traditional midwife for the actual birth, whether it happens at home or a birthing center.
Do the Amish celebrate Christmas? Yes, they do, although their customs are much simpler than our “English” customs. They are oriented toward the family and the religious meaning of the holiday.
The Amish Community and Dating
Dating among the Amish typically begins around age 16 with most Amish couples marrying between the ages of 20 and 22.
Ever wanted to not just slow down, but jump off the grid? A family leaves behind the trappings of the 21st century to lead a simple, pious life in rural Tasmania.
Amish women are esteemed in Amish society for the contribution they make to home and community. They are mothers, managers of the household, and play an important role in maintaining communal ties.
“We're not supposed to have computers; we're not supposed to have cellphones,” he said. “We're allowed to have a phone, but not in the house. But to do business, you need a computer, or access to one, and that phone moves into the house.
The Amish reportedly reject insurance similarly to their rejection of technology. But many Amish roofers do purchase comp coverage according to The Philadelphia Inquirer and some homeowners hire them for the quality of their work rather than for lower bids.
You can live by yourself or with an Amish family. Some Amish families will take in such guests; some won't.