Where Christianity intersects with politics, culture, and entertainment.
At their afternoon meeting in a bare farmhouse room, in a circle with infants on their laps and toddlers tugging at their skirts, the women of this breakaway Amish settlement have some most un-Amish matters to discuss. Who will make the weekly van ride to visit their nine menfolk in prison, awaiting sentencing for a…
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In the stern, self-regulating world of the Amish, those who act out time and again by wearing the wrong clothing, going to movies or otherwise flouting the church's doctrine can find themselves utterly alone. Fellow Amish in rare instances won't break bread with them at the same table, won't work with them and won't worship…
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The Amish are one of the fastest-growing religious groups in North America, according to a new census by researchers at Ohio State University. The study, released July 27 at the annual meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, suggests a new community sprouting every three and a half weeks. Nearly 250,000 Amish live in the U.S.…
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The religious beliefs of victims of alleged beard- and hair-cutting attacks in Ohio Amish country are what matters in the case, not those of the defendants, a federal judge ruled Thursday in rejecting the defendants' challenges of the federal hate crimes law. The defendants, who include 16 members of an eastern Ohio breakaway Amish group,…
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Nothing is sacred about your religion when it comes to getting a state identification card without a photo. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation offers ID cards for those with religious objections to being photographed, including the Amish and certain Mennonite groups. But in order to get a nonphoto ID for religious reasons, applicants must answer…
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The Obama administration has developed a keen interest in the Amish folks of Lancaster County, Pa., due to their lifestyle and not their carbon footprint. The cattle on their dairy farms produce milk and manure. It is claimed that great piles of manure are the source of pollutants from Lancaster County to the Chesapeake Bay…
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