What is the Ordnung (Guidelines for Daily Living) about for the Amish?

Why don’t the Amish drive cars, have phones, indoor plumbing, etc… Many of us English do not understand all of the rules for the Amish and wonder how they have come up with them. A lot of the ways the Amish live do not make a lot of sense to us English.  

The Ordnung is the unwritten set of rules and regulations that guide everyday Amish life.   Meaning “order”, or “discipline”, this German word takes on a deeper meaning in the Amish context.  The Ordnung provides the foundation for the Amish Christian community. An Amish person must follow these unwritten rules each day passing them down orally from generation to generation. Most of the Amish communities in Missouri have the same type of Ordnung.

The children are taught the Ordnung from birth which makes it become second nature to everyone in the Amish Community. The national average retention rate is only 80%. I have talked to many people that think the Amish in Missouri have a retention rate above 90%. Please note that this is an estimate not a fact.

We will discuss this more tomorrow…