Marriage in the Amish community is seen as a passage into adulthood. To get married in the Amish community, members must be baptized in the church. Outsiders, non-Amish, or English, as they call the rest of the world, are not permitted to marry within the Amish community.

How are Amish marriages arranged?

When it comes to the selection of a marital partner, there are no arranged marriages by the parents or other mediators. Young people who choose to be baptized into a certain Amish affiliation (typically the one they grew up in) are expected to marry inside this group.

Is there a lot of inbreeding in Amish communities?

The Amish and Mennonite populations represent outstanding communities for the study of genetic disease for a number of reasons. There is a high degree of inbreeding, resulting in a high frequency of recessive disorders, many of which are seen rarely or are unknown outside of this population.