Anabaptist vs. Mennonite vs. Amish: What’s the Difference?
A side-by-side guide to the historic Anabaptist family of churches
All Amish are Mennonite. All Mennonites are Anabaptist. But not all Anabaptists are Amish—or even Mennonite. Here’s the family tree, the splits, and the differences that still matter today.
Quick answer
Anabaptism is the 16th-century movement that began on January 21, 1525, in Zollikon, Switzerland. Mennonites and Amish are two of its modern descendants.
The Mennonites took their name from Menno Simons, a Dutch Anabaptist leader who joined the movement in 1536. The Amish split from the Swiss Mennonites in 1693 under Jakob Ammann over stricter church discipline (the Meidung, or shunning) and stricter separation from worldly culture.
All three groups share the core Anabaptist convictions: believer’s baptism, nonresistance, refusal of the oath, and the gathered church. They differ mostly in dress, technology, language, and the strictness of church discipline.
Side-by-side comparison
The table below compares Anabaptism (the movement), Mennonites (the largest descendant), and the Amish (the most visible descendant). Where you see “Yes” in all three columns, you’re looking at a shared Anabaptist conviction. Where you see “Varies,” you’re looking at the cultural diversity that separates plain Old Order communities from highly assimilated mainline congregations.
| Anabaptism (movement) | Mennonites | Amish | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Origin | Zollikon, Switzerland — January 21, 1525, when Conrad Grebel baptized George Blaurock. | Netherlands and northern Germany — 1530s onward, named after Menno Simons (1496–1561), a Dutch Catholic priest who joined the movement in 1536. | Alsace and Switzerland — 1693, when Jakob Ammann led a split from the Swiss Mennonites over stricter church discipline. |
| Relationship | The parent movement. "Anabaptist" is the umbrella term. | A direct descendant of Anabaptism — the largest historic branch. | A descendant of the Mennonites (and therefore of Anabaptism). All Amish are Anabaptist; almost all are historically "Mennonite" before the 1693 split. |
| Population today | ~2.6 million worldwide (all groups combined). | ~2.1 million in roughly 80 countries. | ~380,000, almost entirely in the U.S. and Canada. |
| Believer's baptism | Yes — defining conviction since 1525. | Yes. | Yes. |
| Nonresistance / pacifism | Yes — defining conviction since the Schleitheim Confession (1527). | Yes (with some accommodation in the most assimilated Mennonite groups). | Yes — strictly observed. |
| Refusal of the oath | Yes — Schleitheim article 7. | Yes (most groups). | Yes — strictly observed. |
| Plain dress | Varies. The original Anabaptists dressed like ordinary 16th-century townspeople. | Spectrum — from "plain" Old Order Mennonites who dress distinctively, to mainline Mennonites who dress like ordinary Christians. | Yes — distinctive plain dress is mandatory and centrally important. |
| Technology | Varies widely. Most Anabaptists today use modern technology freely. | Spectrum — from horse-and-buggy Old Order Mennonites to mainline Mennonites who use modern technology like any other Christian. | Selective and conservative — generally no electricity from the public grid in the home, no automobile ownership, limited phone use. |
| Language | Whatever the local language is. | Mostly the local language; some Old Order groups use Pennsylvania Dutch or Plautdietsch (Mennonite Low German). | Pennsylvania Dutch (a dialect of German) at home, English in public, Luther's German in worship. |
| Church discipline (the Ban) | Yes — Schleitheim article 2. | Yes, but practice varies in severity. | Yes — Meidung (shunning) is strictly observed; this was the central issue in the 1693 split. |
| Higher education | Varies. | Yes — Mennonites operate colleges and seminaries (e.g., Goshen College, Bluffton, EMU; conservative Anabaptists operate Sattler College). | No formal education beyond eighth grade, by long-standing tradition (upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in Wisconsin v. Yoder, 1972). |
| Worship style | Originally simple, congregational, often a cappella. | Spectrum — from a cappella four-part hymnody (still common in conservative Mennonite groups) to instrumental contemporary worship in mainline Mennonite churches. | Slow, unaccompanied congregational singing in High German, in private homes (not church buildings) on a rotating schedule. |
The Anabaptist family tree
Anabaptism began in 1525, gave rise to several major branches over the next two centuries, and continues to grow today. Here is the simplified line of descent:
1527 — The Schleitheim Confession codifies the Anabaptist core.
1528 — The Hutterites form in Moravia under Jakob Hutter, practicing community of goods.
1536 — Menno Simons joins the movement; the Dutch and North-German Anabaptists become known as Mennonites.
1693 — Jakob Ammann splits from the Swiss Mennonites; his followers become the Amish.
1708 — Alexander Mack founds the Schwarzenau Brethren (later the Brethren in Christ and the Church of the Brethren).
1920 — Eberhard Arnold founds the Bruderhof, recovering communal Anabaptism in the 20th century.
Read the full story in Dean Taylor’s free Radical Reformation History course, or jump to the complete list of modern Anabaptist groups.
Are Mennonites Anabaptist?
Yes. Mennonites are the largest single branch of the Anabaptist movement, taking their name from Menno Simons (1496–1561), a Dutch Catholic priest who joined the Anabaptists in 1536 after his brother (an Anabaptist) was killed. Menno became the leading post-Münster voice for peaceful, biblical Anabaptism, and the Dutch and North-German Anabaptist churches eventually adopted his name.
Today there are roughly 2.1 million Mennonites in about 80 countries, organized into dozens of distinct conferences. The Mennonite spectrum runs from Old Order communities (horse-and-buggy, plain dress, German dialect at home) to highly assimilated mainline groups (no plain dress, English-language worship, professional employment).
Conservative Mennonite groups today (Conservative Mennonite Conference, Beachy Amish-Mennonites, Eastern Pennsylvania Mennonite Church, Charity Christian Fellowship, and others) typically hold to historic Anabaptist convictions on baptism, nonresistance, the oath, plain dress, and head covering. Mainline Mennonite groups (Mennonite Church USA, Mennonite Church Canada) have moved closer to mainline Protestantism on many of these questions.
The Historic Faith’s teaching draws from the conservative-Anabaptist mainstream and connects it back to the Ante-Nicene fathers. Watch “Our beliefs convinced us to join the Mennonites” →
Are Amish Anabaptist?
Yes. The Amish are a branch of the Anabaptist movement, descending from a 1693 split within the Swiss Mennonite community. Their founder, Jakob Ammann (c. 1644 – c. 1730), was a Swiss Mennonite elder serving in Alsace. He insisted that the church practice strict Meidung (shunning of excommunicated members) and stricter plain dress. When the broader Swiss Mennonite community would not adopt his standards, Ammann led a separation.
Today there are roughly 380,000 Amish, almost entirely in the United States and Canada, organized into hundreds of local affiliations (Old Order, New Order, Beachy, Swartzentruber, etc.). The Amish are the most visible Anabaptist group because of their plain dress, Pennsylvania Dutch language, horse-and-buggy transportation, and selective rejection of modern technology.
Doctrinally the Amish stand squarely in the Anabaptist tradition: they hold the Schleitheim Confession (1527) and the Dordrecht Confession (1632) as their primary doctrinal documents, baptize on profession of faith, refuse military service and the oath, practice church discipline, and worship in private homes (not church buildings).
For the contemporary Amish situation see Hope for the Wondering Amish and Elizabeth Vendley’s journey from Roman Catholic to Amish.
Where Mennonites and Amish actually differ
The differences between Mennonites and Amish are mostly cultural rather than doctrinal. Here are the four areas where the divergence is sharpest:
1. Plain dress and personal appearance
The Amish maintain distinctive plain dress as a matter of strict church order: men wear plain shirts, suspenders, and broadfall trousers; married men grow untrimmed beards; women wear long dresses, aprons, and head coverings. Old Order Mennonites maintain similar standards, but the Mennonite spectrum runs all the way to mainline Mennonites who dress like ordinary contemporary Christians.
2. Technology
The Amish famously practice selective rejection of technology: no electricity from the public grid in the home, no automobile ownership, limited telephone use, and no television, radio, or internet in the home. Mennonites, by contrast, use modern technology freely—with Old Order Mennonites accepting limited use of telephones, electricity, and even some vehicles, and mainline Mennonites using technology like any other Christians.
3. Education
The Amish discontinue formal schooling at the eighth grade, a practice protected by the U.S. Supreme Court in Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972). Mennonites operate K–12 schools, colleges, and seminaries; Sattler College in Boston (where The Historic Faith’s Dean Taylor serves as president) is a fully accredited Anabaptist liberal-arts college.
4. Church discipline
This is the original 1693 split. The Amish practice strict Meidung (shunning) of excommunicated members—refusing to eat with them or have ordinary social contact until they repent. Most Mennonite groups practice church discipline more leniently, with the conservative wing closer to Amish strictness and the mainline wing rarely practicing formal discipline at all.
The Historic Faith’s position
The Historic Faith stands within the conservative-Anabaptist mainstream. We hold the historic Anabaptist core—believer’s baptism, nonresistance, refusal of the oath, the gathered church, church discipline, separation from the world, and plain living—as live, binding convictions for the regenerate church today.
We are not Amish, and we are not mainline Mennonite. We work alongside conservative Anabaptists across multiple Mennonite, Beachy, and German Baptist Brethren conferences, and we trace our convictions back to the Ante-Nicene fathers—the Christians of the first three centuries who taught the same core convictions before the emperor Constantine fused church and empire in AD 313.
Read the full case: The Early Church Was Anabaptist — 30 direct quotes from the Ante-Nicene Fathers showing every Anabaptist conviction was already taught before Constantine →
Frequently asked questions
Are Mennonites Anabaptist?
Yes. Mennonites are the largest single branch of the Anabaptist movement, taking their name from Menno Simons (1496–1561), a Dutch Catholic priest who joined the Anabaptist movement in 1536. Every Mennonite group — from the most assimilated mainline conferences to the most plain Old Order communities — descends from the 16th-century Anabaptist movement and shares its core convictions of believer's baptism, nonresistance, and a gathered church.
Are Amish Anabaptist?
Yes. The Amish are a branch of the Anabaptist movement, descending from a 1693 split within the Swiss Mennonite community led by Jakob Ammann. All Amish are historically Mennonite as well — they share the same Swiss Anabaptist roots, the same core convictions (believer's baptism, nonresistance, refusal of the oath, the gathered church), and the same primary doctrinal documents (the Schleitheim Confession of 1527 and the Dordrecht Confession of 1632).
Are Mennonites and Amish the same?
Closely related but not the same. The Amish split from the Swiss Mennonites in 1693 under Jakob Ammann, who insisted on stricter church discipline (especially the Meidung, or shunning of excommunicated members) and stricter separation from worldly culture (plain dress, no modern technology). All Amish are Anabaptist and historically Mennonite, but most Mennonites today are not Amish.
What's the difference between Mennonites and Amish?
Doctrinally they agree on the Anabaptist essentials (believer's baptism, nonresistance, refusal of the oath, gathered church). The visible differences are cultural: the Amish maintain plain dress, Pennsylvania Dutch language, no electricity from the public grid, no car ownership, no formal education beyond eighth grade, and strict shunning. Most Mennonites today look like ordinary Christians — though plain "Old Order Mennonite" groups are similar in lifestyle to the Amish.
What's the difference between German Baptist and Amish?
Both are plain, Anabaptist-rooted groups, but they come from different streams. The German Baptist Brethren (historically called Dunkers or Tunkers) trace to Alexander Mack and a small group first baptized at Schwarzenau, Germany, in 1708 — a Brethren movement that blended Anabaptism with Radical Pietism, distinct from the Swiss Anabaptist line that produced the Amish (a 1693 split under Jakob Ammann). Both practice believer's baptism, nonresistance, plain dress, and separation from the world, but the Brethren baptize by trine immersion (three forward dips). On technology they differ: Old Order German Baptist Brethren generally own automobiles (typically black) and use electricity, while Old Order Amish do not.
Are Anabaptists Protestants?
Anabaptists emerged during the Reformation but are typically classified as the "Radical Reformation," distinct from the Magisterial Reformation of Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin. While Protestants generally retained infant baptism, state-church partnership, and just-war doctrine, Anabaptists rejected all three from 1525 onward. Many Anabaptists today consider themselves a third stream of Christianity — neither Catholic nor Protestant.
Why did the Amish split from the Mennonites?
In 1693, Jakob Ammann, a Swiss Mennonite elder in Alsace, insisted that the church practice strict Meidung (shunning) of excommunicated members — refusing to eat with them or have ordinary social contact — and that members maintain stricter plain dress and clearer separation from outsiders. When the broader Swiss Mennonite community would not adopt his standards, Ammann led a separation. His followers became known as "Amish."
Are all Anabaptists pacifists?
Historic Anabaptism is unanimously nonresistant — the Schleitheim Confession (1527) explicitly forbids Christians from bearing the sword, serving as magistrates, or going to war. Every major Anabaptist group (Mennonite, Amish, Hutterite, Brethren in Christ, Bruderhof) holds peace as a core conviction. Some highly assimilated Mennonite individuals do serve in the military today, but this is a departure from the tradition, not a feature of it.
Is "Anabaptist" a denomination?
No — Anabaptism is a movement and a theological tradition, not a single denomination. The Anabaptist family today includes the Mennonites (organized into dozens of distinct conferences worldwide), the Amish (organized into local Old Order, New Order, and Beachy affiliations), the Hutterites, the Brethren in Christ, the Bruderhof, the Church of the Brethren, and various smaller groups. They share Anabaptist convictions but operate as separate institutions.
What is an Anabaptist? — the quick answer with primary sources
About this page. Sources: Mennonite World Conference statistics (2024); Mennonite Encyclopedia (5 vols., 1955–1990); Williams, The Radical Reformation (3rd ed., 2000); Kraybill, The Riddle of Amish Culture (2nd ed., 2001); Snyder, Anabaptist History and Theology (1995); the Schleitheim Confession (1527); the Dordrecht Confession (1632). Edited by Dean Taylor for The Historic Faith. Suggest a correction.