The Amish Community: 10 Interesting Things You Probably Didn’t Know

2. Ordnung

Each Amish community has its own set of rules called Ordnung (which means “order” in the German language). It contains both civil and religious rules. Because this community is committed to a strictly literal interpretation of the Bible, these principles are developed in order to keep Amish people in line with the rules therein.

Amish communities lack a centralized government, so each group develops its own set of rules. There are two different types of Ordnung — those unwritten and passed verbally within each group and those established by conferences held in the early history of the religion (these are usually written down rules).