Florida State University Libraries Honors Theses The Division of Undergraduate Studies 2015 Rentention Rates in American Anabaptists Morgan Cairns Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERITY COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES BIOCULTURAL COMPONENTS INFLUENCING HIGH BIRTH AND RENTENTION RATES IN AMERICAN ANABAPTISTS By MORGAN CAIRNS A Thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation with Honors in the Major Bachelor of Science: Spring, 2015 2 The members of the Defense Committee approve the thesis of Morgan Cairns defended on April 6, 2015. Dr. Glen Doran Thesis Director Dr. Kimberly Hughes Outside Committee Member Dr. Geoffrey Thomas Committee Member 3 Table of Contents Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………4 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………5 History……………………………………………………………………………………6 “Little Community” and the “English”…………………………………………………..11 Why Not Mennonites?.......................................................................................................12 Differences Between the Hutterites and the Amish……………………………………...13 Reproductive Practices…………………………………………………………………...18 Biological Obstacles……………………………………………………………………..20 Member Empowerment and Low Social Tension……………………………………….24 Why Not Leave?................................................................................................................27 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….29 Citations………………………………………………………………………………….31 List of Figures Figure 1: Map shows Hutterite migrations through Europe and displays average population rates in each area……………………………………………………………..10 Figure 2: Abbreviated timeline of major Anabaptist events from their conception to their migration to North America……………………………………………………………...11 Figure 3: Map showing the general spread colonies from the three different Leuts over America and Canada in 2003……………………………………………….....................15 Figure 4: Map shows the spread and size of Amish districts across the United States….17 List of Tables Table 1: Summation of the differences between Hutterites and Amish………………....17 Table 2: Chart outlining some of the most common recessive disorders in the Amish.....21 4 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my honors thesis committee (Dr. Glen Doran, Dr. Geoffrey Thomas, and Dr. Kimberly Hughes) for supporting the direction and providing guidance throughout my research. Also, Dr. Carole Ober whose work on Hutterites genetics first inspired this topic. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge Dr. Max E. Stanton and Dr. Rod Janzen for their ethnographic work on the Hutterites that was largely inspirational to the direction of this research. 5 INTRODUCTION The Anabaptists of America are a collection of religious groups that date back to sixteenth century Europe. Although, they have since branched into three distinct groups before migrating to North America, Amish, Hutterites, and Mennonites, the religions still share many similarities because of their shared history and beliefs. When the Anabaptist groups came to America, they all had low founding populations, but over the past 200 years, they have grown exponentially. Biological research has repeatedly shown that because of the low founding populations of these groups and the low introduction of new members, the health risks associated with inbreeding are a constant struggle. These circumstances result in a higher chance of recessive diseases being expressed and higher rate of miscarriages compared to the average American family. Contrary to the biological expectations, the Anabaptists continue display exponential population growth. The Amish, with a population of over 30,000 migrating to America in the eighteenth century, are expected to reach near a million members by 2050 with a new community being built every 3.5 weeks (Donnermeyer, Anderson, and Cooksey 2013). The Hutterites have increased their population hundredfold, during their 140 years in North America, from 400 to 49,000. As humans, we have the unique advantage of not only using biology to overcome our obstacles but also culture. This study examines the cultural elements contributing to population growth and retention within the Hutterities and the Amish, including their shared history, beliefs, and social dynamics. Specifically, this discussion will focus on 6 their member empowerment and low social tension techniques, reproductive practices, as well as some of the challenges individuals face if they decide to leave their communities. HISTORY The term Anabaptist comes from the Greek word for re-baptizer. This was significant of the Anabaptists stance against infant baptism during the sixteenth century Reformation. In both Catholic and Protestant dominated areas of Europe, infant baptism was a legal requirement and symbolic of entrance into society. Anabaptists did not believe that children should be baptized into a faith without their consent and would often re-baptize their followers after they joined the church, called a “believer’s” baptism. Anabaptists shared some similarities with both Protestantism and Catholicism. Like Protestantism, the Anabaptists lessened the number of sacraments from seven to two and also did not acknowledge the hierarchy within the Catholic Church. But like Catholics, the Anabaptists believed that a person needed more than a relationship with God and recognized the importance of service. Catholics also acknowledge Jesus’ teachings of living without personal property though they only apply it to their leaders like priests and nuns that live in simple housing offered by the church they service. The communal way of life appealed to many, especially during the Reformation when the tension between Catholic and Protestant states was mounting. The three main areas with Anabaptist populations became Switzerland, Austria, and Moravia in today’s Czech Republic. As the Catholic Church and Martin Luther began to notice its spread, they instructed the state to take violent action against the group, which lead to persecution in the form of imprisonment, torture, and killings (Janzen and Stanton 2010). 7 An Austrian Anabaptist leader by the name of Jakob Hutter led groups in Moravia when persecution in the area became too extreme (Miller and Stephenson 1980). After seeing a vision of several suns, with one shining brighter than the others, he deemed that his group was the one chosen by God. He excommunicated the other competing groups of Anabaptists in Eastern Europe and deemed his people “Hutterites” (Packull 1995). Jakob Hutter believed that the End Times were near and a model community must be set up immediately to appease God. In 1536, while attempting to assist persecuted members in Austria escape to Moravia, Hutter was captured, tortured, and burned at the stake (Stayer 1991). Menno Simons was a Catholic priest who, in 1540 at the age of forty, left the church and joined the Anabaptist movement. He was largely influenced by his brother who was an Anabaptist that was killed when he was attacked by persecutors and refused to fight back due to the Anabaptists’ beliefs on pacifism. Simons worked with Dutch Anabaptists and became hugely influential in standardizing Anabaptist beliefs in many different areas. When a large debate about shunning arose between leaders of the movement, Simons took an extreme stance and, in the process, created his own branch called Mennonites (Urry 1983). At the end of the seventeenth century, one Swiss Mennonite group was headed by Jakob Ammann. Ammann began to believe that the Mennonites were not following Menno Simons teachings properly and began to forge a new path. His group began to be called Amish Mennonites. Characteristically, they were more conservative and believed in more rigid shunning of members. 8 Anabaptist groups took refuge in Moravia and Slovakia. The nobility there was Catholic but welcomed them when they saw their expert farming style and how it could benefit the economy. Soon, three separate communities of Anabaptists were created and thrived for a short while (Janzen and Stanton 2010). The three groups were persecuted throughout Europe, but from this time, the most important literature of the Anabaptist churches was written. The major hymnbook that is still used today in Amish services was completed in the sixteenth century. Books like The Bloody Theater and Martyrs Mirrors told first-hand accounts of violent crimes against the Amish including many deaths in the name of martyrdom (Nolt 1992). These stories became greatly influential in how the Amish view their own religion and are still told today. The Amish began migrating to Pennsylvania in the eighteenth century. In 1873, the first five hundred Amish migrated, but only two hundred members participated in communal living and developed a district. The Amish took advantage of the cheap, farmable land in Pennsylvania, buying enough land for themselves as well as their children. The early Hutterites experienced a period of great success the hundred years after their first leader was executed. Rising to 40,000 members in Moravia, communities held about 500 people from various social classes, including many different kinds of craftsman. John Hostetler wrote that the level of industry among these groups was “practically unknown before the Industrial Revolution” (Hostetler 1974). The Hutterites became models of economic success and created an educational system that both prepared children to apprentice