Christian
Amish (Old Order)
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Old Order Amish communities maintain high behavioural conformity through the Ordnung (community rules), Meidung (shunning) of baptised members who leave, and minimal engagement with outside media and education.
CLCI radar
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High Control
BITE breakdown
Behavior Control8/10
Information Control6/10
Thought Control6/10
Emotional Control7/10
Modifiers (-1)
−1 because Rumspringa provides a structured opportunity for informed consent before adult baptism.
Profile facts
Founded
1693
Members
≈383,000 (2024, Young Center for Anabaptist & Pietist Studies)
Active in
USA (PA, OH, IN, …), Canada
In context
The Old Order Amish of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and elsewhere live according to district-specific Ordnung covering dress, technology use, transport, and many daily practices. Adult baptism (typically 18–22) is preceded by Rumspringa, but those who baptise and later leave face Meidung — formal shunning that includes refusal of family contact and shared meals. Education ends after eighth grade (legally protected by Wisconsin v. Yoder, 1972). Control here is sincere and culturally embedded.
History
The Amish trace to a 1693 Swiss split led by Jakob Ammann from the broader Mennonite Anabaptist movement. Persecution drove migration to Pennsylvania starting in the 1720s. Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) secured the right to end formal schooling at age 14, a key plank of community continuity.
Key control doctrines
- Ordnung — community-specific rules covering dress, technology, transport
- Meidung — formal shunning of baptised members who leave
- Adult baptism after Rumspringa as binding lifelong commitment
- Gelassenheit — yielding personal will to community
Recovery resources
- Tears of Eden — Christian spiritual-abuse-survivor support and clinician referral.
- Recovering Grace — Originally IBLP-focused; archive includes broader fundamentalist Christian high-control material.
- Reclamation Collective — Religious-trauma-aware therapist network; relevant for post-exit identity-rebuilding.
- ICSA (International Cultic Studies Association) — General referral and cult-aware therapist directory.
- Freedom of Mind Resource Center — Steven Hassan's organisation; BITE-model resources and family-side exit guidance.
See the full curated list at /resources.
Notable public ex-members
- Saloma Miller Furlong
- Torah Bontrager
- Emma Gingerich
Legal cases & controversies
- Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) — schooling exemption
- Bergholz beard-cutting attacks (2011) — multiple federal hate-crime convictions
Evidence by BITE axis
Behavior Control
- Marriage choices restricted to within community
Information Control
- Schooling limited to eighth grade
- Heavy gender role differentiation
- Minimal access to news, internet, and outside religious viewpoints
- Limited recourse to civil law in internal disputes
- Ordnung — community-specific rules covering dress, technology, transport
- Adult baptism after Rumspringa as binding lifelong commitment
- Gelassenheit — yielding personal will to community
- −1 because Rumspringa provides a structured opportunity for informed consent before adult baptism
Emotional Control
- Meidung (shunning) of baptised members who leave
- Meidung — formal shunning of baptised members who leave
Lifton's 8 criteria of thought reform
Robert Jay Lifton's 1961 framework, complementary to BITE. Criteria this group exhibits according to the cited sources.
- Dispensing of ExistenceThe group claims authority to decide who counts as a real human / saved / worthy.
Timeline
- 1693Jakob Ammann splits from Swiss Mennonites; Amish movement begins
- 1720s+Migration to Pennsylvania
- 1972Wisconsin v. Yoder secures right to limit schooling
- 2011Bergholz beard-cutting attacks bring attention to internal authority
Evidence matrix
Structured sources cross-linked to the claims they document. Tiered per the source hierarchy. For free-text citations see the Sources section below.
Sources
- Donald B. Kraybill, 'The Riddle of Amish Culture' (2001) search ↗
- Steven Nolt, 'A History of the Amish' (2015) search ↗
- Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972) search ↗
- Saloma Miller Furlong, 'Why I Left the Amish' (2011) search ↗
- OLD ORDER AMISH SETTLEMENT: DIFFUSION AND GROWTH — Annals of the Association of American Geographers (1978) — https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1467-8306.1978.tb01194.x open ↗
- Church Discipline - Amish Studies — https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/religion/church-discipline open ↗
- Frequently Asked Questions - Amish Studies — https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/frequently-asked-questions open ↗
- An Analysis of Factors Related to Parity among the Amish in Northeast Ohio — https://www.academia.edu/75522812 open ↗
- The persistently high fertility of a North American population: A 25-year restudy of parity among the Ohio Amish — Population Studies (2021) — https://doi.org/10.1080%2F00324728.2021.1883725 open ↗
- Puppies 'Viewed as Livestock' in Amish Community, Says Rescue Advocate — https://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=7187712&page=1 open ↗
- Genetic Disorders Hit Amish Hard — http://www.cbsnews.com/news/genetic-disorders-hit-amish-hard/ open ↗
- Amish Population Trends 1992–2013 — http://www2.etown.edu/amishstudies/Population_Trends_1992_2013.asp open ↗
- Amish Population Change Summary 1992–2008 — http://www2.etown.edu/amishstudies/PDF/Statistics/Population_Change_Summary_1992_2008.pdf open ↗
- Amish Population Change, 2010–2015 (Alphabetical Order) — https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/files/2016/06/Population_Change_2010-2015.pdf open ↗
- Amish Population Profile, 2020 — https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/statistics/statistics-population-2020/ open ↗
- Population Trends 1992–2008 — http://www2.etown.edu/amishstudies/Population_Trends_1992_2008.asp open ↗
- Fertility patterns and trends among the Old Order Amish — Population Studies (1979) — https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2173531 open ↗
- Amish Population Profile, 2024 — https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/amish-population-profile-2024/ open ↗
- Indiana's Amish Population — http://www.incontext.indiana.edu/2012/nov-dec/article2.asp open ↗
- Amish Population Profile 2016 — https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/statistics/amish-population-profile-2015/ open ↗
- Amish Population by State — http://www2.etown.edu/amishstudies/Population_by_State_2009.asp open ↗
- Amish Population in the United States and Canada by State and County, September 18, 2021 by Edsel Burdge, Jr., Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown Colleg — http://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/files/2021/08/Amish-Pop-2021_by-state-and-county.pdf open ↗
- Amish Population Profile, 2023 — https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/statistics/population-2023/ open ↗
- Amish Population Profile, 2024 — https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/population-2024/ open ↗
- Amish Population Change 1992–2013 (Alphabetical Order) — https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/files/2015/08/Population_Change_1992-2013.pdf open ↗
- Amish Population Change, 2000-2021 — https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/files/2021/08/Population_Change_2000-2021.pdf open ↗
- 1st Amish settlement west of Ontario prepares for Prairie winter in quiet Manitoba town — https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/amish-in-manitoba-1.4937694 open ↗
- Understanding Amish Migrations to New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Manitoba — The Journal of Plain Anabaptist Communities (2021) — https://doi.org/10.18061%2Fjpac.v1i2.7944 open ↗
- Amish scout new community in P.E.I. — http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/amish-scout-new-community-in-p-e-i-1.2802434 open ↗
- The Amish Settlement in Honduras, 1968–1978 — https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/amishstudies/vol4/iss1/2 open ↗
- The Amish Settlement in Honduras, 1968-1978: A (Half) Failed Attempt to Develop an Amish Understanding of Mission — Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies (2016) — https://doi.org/10.18061%2F1811%2F78020 open ↗
- Amish Population Profile, 2018 — https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/statistics/amish-population-profile-2018/ open ↗
- Religious Seekers' Attraction to the Plain Mennonites and Amish — https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-015-0222-5 open ↗
- Religious Seekers’ Attraction to the Plain Mennonites and Amish — Review of Religious Research (2016) — https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs13644-015-0222-5 open ↗
- Ellis-van Creveld syndrome and the Amish — Nature Genetics (2000) — https://doi.org/10.1038%2F73389 open ↗
- Mutation of HERC2 causes developmental delay with Angelman-like features — Journal of Medical Genetics (2012) — https://doi.org/10.1136%2Fjmedgenet-2012-101367 open ↗
- Pediatric medicine and the genetic disorders of the Amish and Mennonite people of Pennsylvania — http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/104542765/abstract open ↗
- Pediatric medicine and the genetic disorders of the Amish and Mennonite people of Pennsylvania — American Journal of Medical Genetics Part C: Seminars in Medical Genetics (2003) — https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fajmg.c.20002 open ↗
- GEOGRAPHIC MODELS OF OLD ORDER AMISH SETTLEMENTS∗ — The Professional Geographer (1969) — https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.0033-0124.1969.00238.x open ↗
- Medical genetic studies in the Amish: Historical perspective — American Journal of Medical Genetics Part C: Seminars in Medical Genetics (2003) — https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fajmg.c.20001 open ↗
- Amish Have Lower Rates of Cancer, Ohio State Study Shows — http://www.internalmedicine.osu.edu/genetics/article.cfm?id=5307 open ↗
- Amish Reluctantly Accept Donations — https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/05/AR2006100501360.html open ↗
- Amish Studies – Beliefs — http://www2.etown.edu/amishstudies/Beliefs.asp open ↗
- How the Amish Drive Down Medical Costs — https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB114048909124578710 open ↗
- Transcultural Concepts in Nursing Care — Journal of Transcultural Nursing (2002) — https://doi.org/10.1177%2F10459602013003002 open ↗
- As U.S. struggles with health reform, the Amish go their own way — https://www.nbcnews.com/healthmain/u-s-struggles-health-reform-amish-go-their-own-way-8C11345954 open ↗
- U.S. Code collection — https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/1402- open ↗
- Elizabethtown College — http://www.etown.edu/YoungCenter.aspx?topic=About+Anabaptists+and+Pietists open ↗
- The Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies — https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/amishstudies/ open ↗
- Amish Studies — https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/ open ↗
- Mennonite Historical Library at Goshen College — https://www.goshen.edu/mhl/ open ↗
- Twelve largest settlements, 2017 — https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/statistics/largest-settlements/ open ↗
- Amish Population Change, 2012-2017 — https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/files/2017/08/Population_Change_2012-2017.pdf open ↗
- Amish Population Profile, 2022 – Amish Studies — https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/statistics/amish-population-profile-2022/ open ↗
- The persistently high fertility of a North American population: A 25-year restudy of parity among the Ohio Amish — https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8417155/ open ↗
- The persistently high fertility of a North American population: A 25-year restudy of parity among the Ohio Amish — Population Studies (2021) — https://dx.doi.org/10.1080%2F00324728.2021.1883725 open ↗
- Wisconsin Amish — http://people.uwec.edu/brownjo/wisconsin_amish.html open ↗
- Speaking in Tongues: Alternative Voices in Faith — https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=2935819&page=1 open ↗
- The Languages of the Amish of Allen County, Indiana: Multilingualism and Convergence — https://www.jstor.org/stable/30028275 open ↗
- Realignment and Division in the Amish Community of Allen County — https://kb.osu.edu/bitstream/handle/1811/54893/JAPAS_petrovich_vol1-issue1_pp167-195_rev.pdf?sequence=6 open ↗
- Amish Population Change, 1992–2017 — https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/files/2017/08/Population_Change_1992-2017.pdf open ↗
- What Kinds of Places Attract and Sustain Amish Populations? — https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ruso.12083 open ↗
- What Kinds of Places Attract and Sustain Amish Populations? — Rural Sociology (2015) — https://dx.doi.org/10.1111%2Fruso.12083 open ↗
- Anabaptists – Amish Studies — https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/religion/anabaptists/ open ↗
- Low cancer incidence rates in Ohio Amish. — https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19779840 open ↗
- Low cancer incidence rates in Ohio Amish — Cancer Causes & Control (2009) — https://dx.doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10552-009-9435-7 open ↗
- Encyclopedia of Medical Anthropology — http://case.edu/artsci/anth/documents/Amish.pdf open ↗
- Amish Population Profile 2025 — https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/amish-population-profile-2025/ open ↗
- lire en ligne — https://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2017/09/15/01003-20170915ARTFIG00062-le-monde-suspendu-des-amish.php open ↗
- Une secte antimalthusienne aux États-Unis: les Amish — Population (French Edition) (1971) — https://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1529461 open ↗
- Jacques Légeret, L’énigme amish. Vivre au xxie siècle comme au xviie — Archives de sciences sociales des religions (2018) — https://dx.doi.org/10.4000/assr.45044 open ↗
- Religious Seekers’ Attraction to the Plain Mennonites and Amish — Review of Religious Research (2016) — https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13644-015-0222-5 open ↗
- 26 U.S. Code § 1402 - Definitions — https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/1402 open ↗
- Application for Exemption From Social Security and Medicare Taxes and Waiver of Benefits — http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4029.pdf open ↗
- Social Security Ruling: SSR 1982-44 — https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/rulings/oasi/45/SSR82-44-oasi-45.html open ↗
- GOP courts Amish votes in swing states — https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna5613947 open ↗
- lire en ligne — https://www.lemonde.fr/mode/article/2013/11/22/la-mode-est-au-style-amish_3517957_1383317.html open ↗
- https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5455572 — https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5455572 open ↗
- A Strasburg, les Amish parlent alsacien — https://www.la-croix.com/Actualite/Monde/A-Strasburg-les-Amish-parlent-alsacien-2013-08-21-1000694 open ↗
- Dietary Intake, Food Processing, and Cooking Methods Among Amish and Non-Amish Adults Living in Ohio Appalachia: Relevance to Nutritional Risk Factors for Cancer — Nutrition and Cancer (2011) — https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01635581.2011.607547 open ↗
- lire en ligne — https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-8306.1978.tb01194.x open ↗
- lire en ligne — https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.0033-0124.1969.00238.x open ↗
- Amish Resources — https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/journey/amish.html open ↗
- Amish Studies – The Young Center: _Beliefs_. — https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/religion/beliefs/ open ↗
- PMID 8296784 — https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8296784?dopt=Abstract open ↗
- Amish Studies: “Amish Population by State 2021” — https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/files/2022/07/Amish-Population-by-State-2021.pdf open ↗
- Amish Population Profile, 2017 — https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/statistics/amish-population-profile-2017/ open ↗
- Amish Population Profile, 2020 — https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/statistics/amish-population-profile-2020/ open ↗
- Amish Population Change 2009-2018 — https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/files/2018/08/Population_Change_2009-2018.pdf open ↗
- 9 Amish men ordered to jail after refusing to put reflective orange signs on buggies — http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/09/9-amish-men-ordered-to-jail-for-refusing-to-put-reflective-orange-signs-on-buggies/1?csp=34news open ↗
- Amish Schools in the United States and Canada — _Abstract — https://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED455996&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=eric_accno&accno=ED455996 open ↗
- Frequently Asked Questions — http://www2.etown.edu/amishstudies/FAQ.asp open ↗
- USA Internal Revenue Code. § 1402. Definitions. — http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode26/usc_sec_26_00001402----000-.html open ↗
- Amish Population by State (2011) — http://www2.etown.edu/amishstudies/Population_by_State_2011.asp open ↗
- Amish Population by State (2008) — http://www2.etown.edu/amishstudies/Population_by_State_2008.asp open ↗
- The Twelve Largest Amish Settlements (2008) — http://www2.etown.edu/amishstudies/Largest_Settlements_2008.asp open ↗
- Pediatric medicine and the genetic disorders of the Amish and Mennonite people of Pennsylvania — American Journal of Medical Genetics Part C: Seminars in Medical Genetics (2003) — https://dx.doi.org/10.1002%2Fajmg.c.20002 open ↗
- Amish Have Lower Rates Of Cancer, Ohio State Study Shows — http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/viewer/Pages/index.aspx?NewsID=5307 open ↗
- Amish Studies — http://www2.etown.edu/amishstudies/Index.asp open ↗
- Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) — CourtListener — https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/108530/wisconsin-v-yoder/ open ↗
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. Where a source includes its own URL, the open ↗ link opens it directly; otherwise search ↗runs a Google Scholar query for the cited title — useful for verifying academic sources. For news outlets, search the outlet's own archive.
Change history
Substantive edits logged per the score-updates policy.
- 2026-05-29Phase 1 Batch J: per-group recovery resources applied via programmatic palette (closest-fit by category + subCategory + score). Palette: Christian high-control.
- 2026-05-20Score band scheme migrated from 4 bands to 5 (Minimal 0–5 / Low 6–12 / Moderate 13–20 / High 21–30 / Extreme 31–40). No CLCI value changed; the new Minimal band was carved out of the bottom of the previous Low band.
Key terms in this profile
Relevant hubs
Curated entry points on CLCI Hub for situations connected to this group.
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Frequently asked questions
Q.Is Amish a cult?
CLCI Hub deliberately avoids the binary label "cult." Instead it places groups on a transparent 0–40 spectrum of documented control using Steven Hassan's BITE model (Behaviour, Information, Thought, Emotional). Amish scores 26 out of 40 — "High Control", at high confidence. The score describes documented control patterns, not a judgement of members' sincerity or beliefs; many members do not personally experience the patterns listed.
Q.What is Amish's CLCI score?
Amish scores 26 out of 40 on the Cult-Like Control Index, which falls in the "High" band. That total is the sum of four BITE axes — Behaviour 8, Information 6, Thought 6, Emotional 7 — plus a signed modifier of -1 for aggravating or mitigating factors.
Q.Why does Amish score 26 on the CLCI?
The score reflects publicly documented patterns including: Meidung (shunning) of baptised members who leave; Schooling limited to eighth grade; Heavy gender role differentiation; Minimal access to news, internet, and outside religious viewpoints. These map onto the BITE axes of behaviour, information, thought, and emotional control, and a signed modifier of -1 is applied for factors such as financial demands, leadership accountability, and exit costs. Every claim is backed by the citations in the Sources section on this page.
Q.How reliable is the Amish rating?
This profile is rated High confidence. High confidence means the score is backed by court records, academic work, and/or sustained investigative journalism. CLCI scores are not fixed — they are revised whenever new public evidence appears, and groups that reform can score lower over time.
Q.Where can I get help regarding Amish?
If you or someone you care about is affected by Amish, start with the Recovery resources listed on this page. General cult-aware support is available from the International Cultic Studies Association (icsahome.com) and the Freedom of Mind Resource Center (freedomofmind.com). CLCI Hub is an educational resource, not a crisis service — if anyone is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services.
Found something wrong on this profile?
We accept correction requests from anyone — current and former members, researchers, journalists, family members, and the listed organisation. Submissions are reviewed by an editor; we do not auto-publish.
Disclaimer. This profile is an educational summary based on publicly available reports. Many members of this group do not experience the patterns described. Individual congregations and chapters vary widely. If you or someone you know needs support, contact a licensed therapist or the International Cultic Studies Association.