American Mennonites and Protestant Movements

Book excerpt: American Mennonites and Protestant Movements describes the key religious values in a major Mennonite settlement over a period of three centuries in its encounter with other religious movements: Pietism, revivalism, Fundamentalism, and institutionalization. The author analyzes how Mennonites both resisted these influences and were changed by them. The book also documents the codification of practice in the twentieth century and how restrictions waned as a growing emphasis on peace and service emerged. The author demonstrates that the key values shaping the Mennonite community are religious, not simply ethnic, and are consistent with their sixteenth-century character. These conclusions are based on a careful study of their value patterns, nonverbal behavior, issues and personalities in confrontation, and in the conduct of their community behavior. This book will help a new generation of Mennonites who wish to discover their heritage and spiritual identity. For Christian believers outside the Anabaptist tradition it will clarify long-standing ambiguities about the Mennonites.