Why the Amish reject modern technology is not about the machines themselves

Cultures · Published 29 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The Amish are often viewed as anti-technology, but their lifestyle is actually a deliberate strategy to protect community cohesion. By rejecting labor-saving devices like telephones or power-line electricity, they prevent the individualism and status-seeking that threaten their core values of humility, manual labor, and deep, face-to-face social connection.

The Amish movement emerged from a 1693 schism within Swiss and Alsatian Anabaptist circles, led by Jakob Ammann. Central to their identity is the Ordnung, an unwritten, evolving code of conduct that governs daily life. This set of rules, reviewed twice annually by baptized members, dictates everything from clothing styles to the use of technology. Rather than a static rejection of progress, the Ordnung serves as a flexible boundary that varies between church districts, allowing communities to adapt while maintaining their separation from the 'worldly' influence of non-Amish society.

The rejection of specific technologies is rooted in the concept of Gelassenheit—a profound submission to God's will and a reluctance to assert oneself. Innovations like electricity or automobiles are often avoided because they risk fostering competition for status or reducing the necessity for communal labor. For example, machines that automate barn chores were historically discouraged because they provided young farmhands with too much idle time. By prioritizing horse-drawn transport and manual work, the Amish intentionally cultivate a slower pace of life that keeps families and neighbors physically and socially interdependent.

This commitment to community is reinforced by their unique social structure. With no central governing authority, each district of 20 to 40 families operates autonomously. Membership is a voluntary, adult commitment, typically made through baptism between ages 16 and 23. While they are often misidentified in popular media alongside other groups like Old Colony Mennonites, the Amish remain a distinct ethnoreligious group. Today, with a population exceeding 400,000, they continue to navigate the tension between their traditional Anabaptist roots and the pressures of a modern, individualistic world, proving that their way of life is not a relic of the past, but a dynamic, ongoing choice.

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