On the Backroad to Heaven by Donald B. Kraybill (9780801865657)

Description - On the Backroad to Heaven by Donald B. Kraybill

Hidden along the backroads of rural America are fast-growing societies that stand apart from the mainstream. Members of some of these communities speak a European dialect, wear distinctive dress, avoid higher education, drive horse-drawn carriages and use technology selectively. These distinctive communities that spurn individualism, shun consumerism, and use technology cautiously challenge many of the dominant values of American culture. This is a study of the strange world of Old Order Anabaptist groups. Focusing on four Old Order communities - the Hutterites, Mennonites, Amish and Brethren - Donald B. Kraybill and Carl F. Bowman provide an overview of their culture, growth, and unique way of life. Following a general introduction to Old Order culture, they show how each group uses a different strategy to create and sustain its identity. The Hutterites, for example, keep themselves geographically segregated from the larger society, whereas the Brethren interact more freely with it. This comparative study sketches the differences as well as the common threads that bind these groups together. Along the way, the authors provide answers to many puzzling questions.
Why have these groups not merely survived in the 21st century, but flourished? What strategies help them preserve their cultural identity in the face of the powerful forces of mass society? How have they changed, and why? Kraybill and Bowman explain how each group draws appropriate "lines in the social sand" to mark the boundaries between virtue and vice, and show how these symbolic borders continually change in response to internal and external pressures.

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