http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/140830504

Survival and continuity in literature by and about Old Order Hutterite, Mennonite, and Amish groups

For this creative nonfiction, I have researched the literature by and about three Old Order utopian religious sects (Hutterites, Mennonites, Amish) to determine why they have survived for four centuries while many other religious and secular utopian groups have failed in the 18th, 19 th and 20th centuries such as the Ephrata Cloister, Shakers, Amana Society, Mormons, Oneida Community, New Harmony, Fouriest Society and Rajneeshpuram. In my comparative study, factors such as the composition of the groups, conduct, work ethic, lifestyles and religious practices determined the differences facilitating the survival of the Old Orders. Survival of the three Old Orders depends upon rigid adherence to the biblical blueprint for living provided by the New Testament including strict discipline, obedience to their Order's rules and regulations, surrender of self-will, humility, nonresistance and separation from the outside world. Although some of the alternate utopian communities in my study survived for a length of time, particularly the religious groups, they ultimately failed for reasons such as lack of commitment, absence of a central belief buttressed by a uniform governance, self-centered charismatic leaders, inability to provide economic support, poor work ethic, disparity of common goals and a decline in community membership. Coupled with economic conditions in America, utopian theory provides a background to elucidate the reasons people were attracted to these communities.

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