What is the reason for the Amish migration from Europe in the 18th Century?
Same reason that all discenter churches fled Europe. Civil and religious authorities were threatened by the rapid spread of Anabaptist groups. Over several decades, nearly 2,500 Anabaptists burned at the stake, drowned in rivers, starved in prisons, or lost their heads to the executioner’s sword. The harsh persecution pushed many Anabaptists underground and into rural hideaways. The Amish are a Christian church that traces its roots to the Protestant Reformation in sixteenth-century Europe. Amish people accept basic Christian beliefs but also have some special interpretations and emphases that have emerged throughout their history. They migrated from Europe to North America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. No Amish remain in Europe. Today they live in nearly 400 different geographical settlements in 27 states and the Canadian province of Ontario. Their population (adults and children) totals approximately 231,000. Their unique practices make them one of America’s most intere
