The Amish form a North American Protestant group of Mennonite origin. The Amish maintain a limited-mechanical and agricultural way of life, ignoring modern industrial society That is, the Amish accept parts of the First or Mechanical Industrial Revolution beginning in the 13th century in Europe, but reject the Second or Thermodynamic Industrial Revolutionj, circa 1776, which produced steam and gasoline engines. And, especially, they reject the Third or Electrical Revolution circa 1890 which produced electric lights, motors, the telephone, etc. And, of course, rejecting the Industrial Revolutions that followed.

The name Amish derives from Jakob Amman (circa 1644-1730), a Swiss Mennonite bishop, who insisted that discipline within the church be maintained by excommunication. That is, avoidance (shunning) by the faithful of those excommunicated (under the ban). Forbidden: eating at the same table, buying and selling, and, in the case of a married person, marital relations. Subject to persecution by the Mennonites in Europe (form whom they split off), the Amish migrated in the 18th century to Pennsylvania, and became known as "The Pennsylvania Dutch", spreading into Ohio, other midwestern states, and Canada. A rural people, their skill in farming is exemplary.

The Old Order Amish are the most conservative,dressing in a severely plain style, using hooks and eyes instead of buttons, riding in horse-drawn buggies, and adult males are bearded. Religious services are held in homes; foot washing is practiced in connection with the communion service; discipline is enforced by shunning; and marriage with outsiders is condemned. Other Amish groups, such as the Conservative Mennonite Conference and the Beachy Amish Mennonite Churches, are milder in discipline and less set apart from the world. All share the practice of believer's, or adult, baptism and often refuse to take part in civil affairs, to vote, serve in the military, and so forth. The total membership of all groups is probably not more than 50,000.

(An excellent portrayal of this, as it has survived into our times, is given in the 1985 movie, The Witness, directed by Peter Weir, with Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis.)