Sociology The Amish culture During “the radical reformation” in sixteenth century Europe, Luther and Calvin were in favor of different ideas of individual freedom. Believers in Luther and Calvin’s reform took these ideas and came to their own conclusions. These ideas were much different than the accepted Roman Catholic and Protestant religions. Therefore most groups were persecuted and murdered. The Anabaptists, who were one of the larger groups, founded religious movements called “free churches” …showed first 75 words of 285 total…

…showed last 75 words of 285 total…other liberal groups. The Amish cannot marry outside of their religion and since the number of converts to their faith is less than ten percent the gene pool is very limited. The Amish in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania are descendants of about 200 Swiss who immigrated in the 1700’s. For twelve generations the gene pool has been closed. As a result the inbreeding makes most Amish host to several genetic disorders such as dwarfism and mental retardation.