A new Ohio State University study of Amish communities in the United States and Ontario, Canada, shows explosive growth taking place in the insular Christian sect. On average, a new Amish community is founded every three and a half weeks.
The Amish do not proselytize, so the growth comes from having a lot of children and few members leaving their community.
"They're doubling their population about every 21 to 22 years, primarily because they produce large families and the vast majority of daughters and sons remain in the community as adults baptized into the faith, starting their own families and sustaining their religious beliefs and practices," said Joseph Donnermeyer, professor of rural sociology in Ohio State's School of Environment and Natural Resources, who led the census project.
The census estimates that there are 251,000 Amish in the United States and Ontario, Canada. They are dispersed among 456 settlements, up from 179 settlements in a 1990 census. Read more
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