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Population

The Demographic Foundations of Amish Society Joseph Donnermeyer*, Joseph Donnermeyer, Henry Troyer,

There is a rich history of population studies about the Amish, who may be described as a rural-located religious subculture. One of the earliest studies was published nearly 70 years ago by The Research Council of Eastern Mennonite College (Harrisonburg, Virginia). The author, Elmer Lewis Smith, conducted a meticulous examination of the Amish in the Lancaster County area in southeast Pennsylvania. The purpose of this paper is to review and synthesize the demographic literature about Amish population characteristics from the Journal of Plain Anabaptist Communities (https://plainanabaptistjournal.org) , Mennonite Quarterly Review (https://www.goshen.edu/community/mennonite-quarterly-review/), and other peer-reviewed journals and monographs. Examined is both change and continuity in total fertility, birthing intervals, marriage patterns, population and settlement (i.e., community) growth, and other selected factors. Several recommendations for future research on Amish and other plain Anabaptist groups is discussed.