The Amish sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonite

Amish Mennonite

Amish Mennonites are a Christian church or constituency of Anabaptist heritage, that came into existence as a result of a division which took place in the Mennonite churches of Southern Germany, Eastern France and Switzerland in the late 17th century....

s, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite

Mennonite

The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...

 churches. The Amish are known for simple living

Simple living

Simple living encompasses a number of different voluntary practices to simplify one's lifestyle. These may include reducing one's possessions or increasing self-sufficiency, for example. Simple living may be characterized by individuals being satisfied with what they need rather than want...

, plain dress

Plain dress

Plain dress is a religious practice in which people dress in clothes of traditional modest design, sturdy fabric, and conservative cut. It is used to show humility and to preserve communal separateness from the rest of the world. It is practiced by some Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, Mennonites,...

, and reluctance to adopt many conveniences of modern technology

Modern conveniences

Modern conveniences or Mod cons are labor-saving devices that make a task easier to perform than a traditional method. Because of the historical use of the term, and the differences in lifestyles around the world, the term is a relative term based upon the conveniences previously available to a...

.

The history of the Amish church began with a schism in Switzerland within a group of Swiss and Alsatian

Alsace

Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...

 Anabaptist

Anabaptist

Anabaptists are Protestant Christians of the Radical Reformation of 16th-century Europe, and their direct descendants, particularly the Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites....

s in 1693 led by Jakob Ammann. Those who followed Ammann became known as Amish. These followers were originally from three main places: the German-speaking parts of Switzerland, Alsace

Alsace

Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...

 (now part of France), and the Palatinate of Germany.