CULTURAL DIVERSITY: THE AMISH

UTOPIA MAY NOT MERELY BE A DREAM: A RECONSIDERATION OF THE AMISH’S SURVIVAL AND FLOURISH IN AMERICAN SOCIETY

The Amish as an ethnic-religious group of German descendants living in America have celebrated its three hundred years’ birthday. As the minority, the Amish coexist with America mainstream society. Moreover, they flourish the local agriculture and tourism as well as preserve their unique culture. The phenomenon arouses great interests among sociologists.This thesis aims at probing the causes behind the phenomenon from the aspects of religion and economy. It is religion and economy elements that work together to establish a favorable relationship between the Amish and the mainstream society of America. On the one hand, the Amish and the large Christian population in America stem from the same religion origin-Christianity. The same religion root bridges the gap between the mainstream culture and the minority group. On the other hand, as the prosperous agricultural and tourism economy of the Amish communities, American government has to be more cautious in legislation in order not to harm the interest of the Amish community.In this thesis I will discuss the history and origin of the Amish, the Amish community, the Amish in modern society and American government’s attitude toward the Amish. The focus of my study is on the research of the relationship between the Amish and American government.My thesis consists of five chapters: the first part gives a brief introduction of the thesis; the second part is a general notion from aspects of the Amish’s history and origin, and the organization and the operation of its communities; the third part is an analysis on the Amish in an attempt to search for the factors behind the Amish’s lifestyle and the reasons why the Amish can survive in modern society; the fourth part explores from the religious perspective the reasons why American government provides a favorable environment for the Amish; the fifth part comes to the conclusion that the religious and economic factors play important roles to the prosperity of Amish communities. The Amish embody some virtues that Americans cherish and to some extent Amish community serves as a Utopia in modern Americans’ mind. The way that the Amish coexist with American mainstream society might suggest a way to solve problems between the mainstream society and the minority communities. With the existence of the Amish, some people are left with a slim hope: maybe Utopia is not just a dream?