Amish

Going against the Catholic Church and newly formed Protestant branches, sixteenth‐century European Anabaptists argued that baptism should only be conferred on those who were willing to be obedient to God. The unorthodox practice of baptizing adults led to their persecution, a strict ethic of separatism, and their eventual exodus to North America. The Amish, followers of Jakob Amman and descendants of early Anabaptists, have successfully engineered social institutions and practices counter to larger trends since the industrial revolution. Their ability to resist modernity, however, is being tested as the Amish economy shifts away from agriculture. Off‐farm occupations give more exposure to outside influences. While researchers once assumed that the North American Amish would fail to thrive, few today question Amish survival. Rather, conjectures are made about the adaptability of the Amish as they inevitably face greater challenges in the future.