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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Christianity > Protestantism & Protestant Churches > Other Protestant & Nonconformist Churches > General
In a book that highlights the existence and diversity of Amish
communities in New York State, Karen M. Johnson-Weiner draws on
twenty-five years of observation, participation, interviews, and
archival research to emphasize the contribution of the Amish to the
state's rich cultural heritage.While the Amish settlements in
Pennsylvania and Ohio are internationally known, the Amish
population in New York, the result of internal migration from those
more established settlements, is more fragmentary and less visible
to all but their nearest non-Amish neighbors. All of the Amish
currently living in New York are post-World War II migrants from
points to the south and west. Many came seeking cheap land, others
as a result of schism in their home communities.The Old Order Amish
of New York are relative newcomers who, while representing an old
or plain way of life, are bringing change to the state. So that
readers can better understand where the Amish come from and their
relationship to other Christian groups, New York Amish traces the
origins of the Amish in the religious confrontation and political
upheaval of the Protestant Reformation and describes contemporary
Amish lifestyles and religious practices.Johnson-Weiner welcomes
readers into the lives of Amish families in different regions of
New York State, including the oldest New York Amish community, the
settlement in the Conewango Valley, and the diverse settlements of
the Mohawk Valley and the St. Lawrence River Valley. The
congregations in these regions range from the most conservative to
the most progressive. Johnson-Weiner reveals how the Amish in
particular regions of New York realize their core values in
different ways; these variations shape not only their adjustment to
new environments but also the ways in which townships and counties
accommodate-and often benefit from-the presence of these thriving
faith communities.
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