The Amish and the State - Softcover

Kraybill

Softcover

ISBN 10: 080184469X ISBN 13: 9780801844690

Publisher: John Hopkins University Press, 1993

Synopsis

The opportunity to practice their faith "unmolested and undisturbed" brought the Amish to North America as early as 1737. And for many generations, their conflicts with the government were limited to Amish objections to participation in American wars. But as the government's regulatory power grew in the 20th century, clashes between the Amish and the state escalated dramatically. Apart from the early years of persecution in Europe, the middle of the 20th century has brought more conflict with government than any other period in the 300 years of Amish history. This book brings together legal scholars and social scientists to explore the series of conflicts between a traditional religious minority and the modern state. In the process, the authors trace the preservation - and the erosion - of religious liberty in American life. Kraybill begins with an overview of the Amish in North America and describes the "negotiation model" used throughout the book to interpret a variety of legal conflicts. Subsequent chapters deal with specific aspects of religious freedom over which the Amish and the state have clashed. Focusing on the period from 1925 to 1975, in both the United States and Canada, the authors examine conflicts over military service and conscription, Social Security and taxes, education, health care, land use and zoning, regulation of slow-moving vehicles, and other first amendment issues. In the concluding chapter, constitutional expert, William Ball, who defended the Amish before the Supreme Court in 1972 in the landmark "Wisconsin v. Yoder" case, assesses the Amish contribution to preserving religious liberty in the United States.

About this title

Review

"An excellent reference work on the subject of religious freedom in twentieth-century America and how negotiation has been used to maintain Amish distinctive practices and identity." -- James A. Jolly, Journal of Church and State.

"[Reveals] how the legal battles fought by the Amish have safeguarded the rights of other American citizens to exercise their faith according to conviction." -- Washington Post Book World

About the Author

Donald B. Kraybill is Distinguished College Professor and Senior Fellow in the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania. Widely recognized for his work on Anabaptist groups, he has authored and edited many books, including The Riddle of Amish Culture and The Amish and the State, both available from Johns Hopkins.

Edition details

• Publisher: John Hopkins University Press
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 080184469X
• ISBN 13: 9780801844690
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 328