The Amish and Mormons
The Amish and the Mormons have very many similarities and beliefs, on the other hand, they also have different differences. The Amish are a group of people who come from Switzerland, and are of the traditionalist Christian church fellowship. The Amish have similar characteristics as that of the Mennonite churches (Sharot, 169). They lead simple lives, and dress plainly, and they are very reluctant to adopt to the new technology. Thus they lead a very ancient type of life. Their way of life is very different as compared to that of other Christians in the world. The main reason as to why the Amish lead the type of lives that they lead is mainly because of their rejection of the new technology. On the other hand, the Mormons are a religious group which is majorly linked to Mormonism. They are the main branch of the Latter Day Saint movement Restoration Christianity, which was started by Joseph Smith in the year 1820 in Upstate New York. After the death of Smith in the year 1844, they followed Brigham Young to Utah Territory. The Mormons are currently the followers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Amish and the Mormons have similarities which often makes people to confuse them. Both the Amish and the Mormons use sacred clothes in order to remind them of their faith, and to maintain their religion. According to the Amish, the outer clothe that they wear helps in maintaining their religion. On the other hand, the Mormons believe that their inner clothes helps in reinforcing their religion (Sharot, 169). The faith of the Amish is mainly manifested in the types of plain religious inner clothes that they usually wear. This type of clothes helps in distinguishing people of different roles in the culture. On the other hand, they are allowed to wear anything under their clothes according to their own choices regardless of how unique or vibrant they might be. As for the Mormons, they wear a single piece of split undergarments for religious purposes and are commonly referred to as Temple garments. Both men and women are supposed to wear the clothes, and they should also be hidden, since no one is allowed to see another person’s religious clothes. This consequently allows them to be able to withhold their religious dictates. The Amish grow in numbers through multiplying in their numbers and not through evangelism, while on the other hand, the Mormons grow in numbers through preaching.
However, the Amish and the Mormons have a lot of differences which acts to distinguish them from each other. The Amish do not approach other people, and they therefore term people of a different religion as non-believers, thus they never want to be associated with them. On the other hand, the Mormons interact with other people, and also preach the gospel to them as a means of making them to join their denomination. This has consequently helped in increasing the number of Mormons all over the world as opposed to the Amish (Sharot, 170). The Amish believe, in order to maintain a strong bond with God, they need to lead very simple live. Thus they are not attracted by the modern technology, and hence they lead a very ancient type of life. The Mormons on the other hand, do not reject the modern technology, and they therefore use it and even further their studies in order to become good at preaching.
Work Cited
Sharot, Stephen. Comparative Perspectives on Judaisms and Jewish Identities. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2011. Internet resource.
