Amish government is ruled by the “Ordnung, a German word for order. The Ordnung is a set of rules for Amish. Every local church adheres to its own Ordnung. All of the Ordhung rules are supported by scripture.
In 1972, the United States Court began allowing Amish youth to stop formal education in an Amish schoolhouse at the age of fourteen. In the Amish government there is a local board of three to five fathers. They oversee things such as hiring a teacher and organizing the Amish schoolhouse. In addition, they handle the budget.
The Amish practice nonresistance. As a result, they will not perform any type of military service. Amish were harassed and attacked for refusing to fight in World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam wars. These attacks were because of their nonresistance. A three member National Amish Steering committee was formed. This committee is a type of Amish government. The committee was appointed to negotiate with the Selective Service. Proposed changes to the country’s draft law were discussed.
Politics, crime and taxes
Amish have chosen not to vote because of their pacifism society of nonviolence. They tend to only get involved in Amish government. Therefore, very few will vote in major elections. Amish tend to vote in local elections that involve issues such as zoning. They are not involved in state are national politics. They do follow our governmental laws even though they have their own set of laws. Crime within the Amish community and crime against the Amish community are rare. The Amish may ask for assistance from the local authorities. But they usually will not serve on any governmental committees. These plain people do pay real estate taxes, state and federal income taxes, county taxes and sales taxes. Self-employed Amish do not pay Social Security taxes. Although those who are employed by non-Amish employers must pay Social Security taxes.
