Keywords
Old Order Amish; New Order Amish; Swartzentruber Amish; Amish-Mennonites; Ambassadors Amish-Mennonites; Old Order Mennonites; Conservative Mennonites; Intentional churches; Church districts; Settlements; Community migration
Abstract
This article examines the growth of Amish and plain Anabaptist communities and population in Kentucky, one of the few southern states with a sizeable plain Anabaptist presence across much of its rural areas. Within the Amish religious tradition, this study focuses on both the broadly defined Old Order Amish, namely, those who prohibit ownership of motor vehicles for transportation, and the Amish-Mennonites, those who allow ownership. We provide an overview of their community formation and present a county-based estimate of their population. There are now 53 Amish communities in Kentucky, and a population of nearly 10,000. Over half (27) of these communities were founded since the turn of the century. Non-Amish, plain Anabaptists constitute 33 congregations.
Recommended Citation
Donnermeyer, Joseph, and Cory Anderson. 2014. "The Growth of Amish and Plain Anabaptists in Kentucky." Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies 2(2):215-44.
ISSN
2471-6383
Notes
This profile of the Amish is the second in an anticipated series of articles whose intent is to provide regionally based spatial-demographic descriptions of Amish communities. The first described buggy-driving Amish churches in Iowa (Cooksey and Donnermeyer 2013).