Over the years, as Amish churches have divided many times over doctrinal disputes, subgroups have developed.
Other affiliations are the result of splits over major questions, such as shunning, and reflect Ordnungen that are either more conservative or more progressive than the Old Order mainstream.
[2] Petrovich proposes that Amish affiliations be sorted along the following variables: (1) Shared identity arising from historic breaches in fellowship (2) Disciplinary procedures (3) Technology allowances and prohibitions (4) Theological beliefs (5) Community practices From these criteria, he identifies six Amish religious affiliations: (1) Swartzentruber (2) Kenton (3) Andy Weaver (4) Old Order-mainstream (5) New Order-traditional (6) New New Order[2] Kraybill et al.'s original scheme critiqued by Petrovich is provided in "Amish affiliations Ranked by Number and Church Districts, 2011":[1] The table below indicates the use of certain technologies by different Amish affiliations.
According to sociologist Julia Erickson, of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Amish are among the fastest-growing populations in the world.
They practice shunning of excommunicated members, and emphasize that a person can only hope to be saved and that it is a form of pride to claim the assurance of salvation.
Almost all Old Order Amish do not build church houses but meet for service in private homes every other Sunday.
Yoder went back to the Kishacoquillas Valley in Pennsylvania in 1881 to assist a conservative Amish group.
Other differences include the fact that they do not place screens on their doors or windows, men only wear white shirts, curtains are not used in homes, buggy tops must be white, men's hair must be shoulder length, no lawn mowers are allowed and houses must not have projecting roofs.
As of 2000, the Nebraska Amish had 14 districts, 775 members, a total population of 1,744 mostly in northeastern Mifflin County, Pennsylvania.
Many other common devices and technologies are also disallowed for being too worldly, including buttons, Velcro and bicycles.
Swartzentruber Amish use reflective tape on the back of their buggies, in place of bright triangular slow moving signs for road travel, which they regard as too worldly.
There have been several court cases across the country where the state and county challenged the local Swartzentruber group to use the regulation orange triangle.
So far, even as far as the federal Supreme Court, the Amish have prevailed, although statistics suggest that in areas where these groups exist, accidents involving buggies are more prevalent.
Characteristic of the Swiss Amish is the use of open buggies only and the marking of graves with plain wooden stakes bearing only the initials of the deceased.
[10] In Holmes County, Ohio, the Andy Weaver Amish were formed in 1952 over the issue of shunning.
Eventually, they returned to the main Old Order body, but retaining some distinctive pattern of dress and buggy style.
[20] In the spring of 1942, Troyer bishop, Abe Troyer moved to close the door between sects by excommunicating those who joined another sect of Amish outside of the fellowship and when the dust settled, the excommunicated families, led by Tobe Hochstetler, were called the Tobe church.
New Order Amish split from the Old Order Amish in the 1960s for a variety of reasons, which included a desire for "clean" youth courting standards, meaning they do not condone tobacco, alcohol, or the practice of bundling, or non-sexually lying in bed together, during courtship.
[21] They also wished to incorporate more evangelical elements into the church, including Sunday school and mission work.
New Order Amish may be more lenient in the practice of shunning and may be more permissive of photography than lower-order groups.
New Order Amish communities can be found in around a dozen states, with the largest population in the Holmes County, Ohio settlement.
[22]: 422 The Beachy Amish Mennonite constituency is a loose association of Anabaptist churches without a central governing body.
The Beachy church arose from a 1927 division in the (Casselman) River Old Order Amish congregation in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
[23] Bishop Moses M. Beachy led the congregation during that time and his name became associated with the faction.
Most Beachy churches today more closely resemble the Conservative Mennonites rather than the Old Order Amish.
The practices and lifestyle still similar to the Old Order Amish include: Practices that distinguish the Beachy church from the Old Order Amish include: In 2006, there were 11,487 Beachy members in 207 churches,[26] with the highest representation in Pennsylvania, Indiana and Ohio.
[27] International Beachy churches or mission work can be found in El Salvador, Belize, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Ireland, Ukraine, Romania, Kenya, Australia, and Canada.
In 2017 the Kauffman Amish Mennonites had some 2,000 baptized members and lived mainly in Missouri and Arkansas.
These are groups that share many characteristics with the Amish, like driving horses for transportation, and plain dress.
These groups are composed of members from different backgrounds, mostly Amish, Old Order Mennonite, Old German Baptist as well as people from non-plain churches, so-called seekers.