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Adult baptism, pacifism, church, state separation
hallmarks of Anabaptists
Steve Young
Argus Leader, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Wednesday,
Novenber 17, 2003
South Dakota's Hutterites are part of the Anabaptist movement, which
came out of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century and emphasized
adult baptism, pacifism and the separation of church and state.
Following is a question-and-answer discussion about who they are
and how they differ from other Anabaptist groups.
Question: What groups came out of the Anabaptist
movement?
Answer: There are as many as 50 Anabaptist-affiliated
groups worldwide with slightly more than 1 million members. Half
of those live in the United States.
Q: What are the most common Anabaptist groups
in America?
A: The Hutterites, Mennonites, Amish and the Society
of Brothers are the most sizable.
Q: How do they differ?
A: The Hutterites differ from the others primarily
in their practice of communal ownership of property and communal
living.
The Mennonites take their name from Menno Simons, a Dutch priest
who joined the movement in 1536. While clinging to their Anabaptist
beliefs, they drive cars, work in a wide variety of occupations
and professions, and choose to live and dress like their neighbors.
The Amish, led by Jacob Ammann, began in 1693 with a group that
split from the Mennonites. The Amish have resisted many modern conveniences,
declining to own cars, radios, or televisions, and rejecting the
use of phones and electricity inside their homes. Today the Amish
are located primarily in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana.
Members of the Society of Brothers, or Brethren, are like the Amish
and Mennonites in that they don't live communally, but among other
people. They are more distinct in their appearance than Mennonites
- the bearded men and plainly dressed women often are mistaken for
Amish. And their homes have no pianos, guitars, radios, televisions,
stereos or VCRs. Alexander Mack Sr. is recognized as the Brethren's
first leader. They live in 16 states, primarily Indiana and Ohio.
Q: What are the population numbers for each group?
A: According to Donald Kraybill, senior fellow
at the Young Center for Anabaptist Studies at Elizabethtown (Pa.)
College, the Amish number about 180,000. There are 45,000 to 50,000
Hutterites in the United States and Canada, 24,000 Mennonites and
3,000 Brethren. |
