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The Mennonites were founded the sixteenth century by Menno Simons, a Dutch Norbertine priest who left the Catholic Church when he was influenced by a “radical” form of Protestantism that had arisen in Switzerland. These were the so-called “Anabaptists,” or “rebaptizers,” who rejected infant baptism and also rejected any kind of formal Church hierarchy. This movement became very diverse but had the common experience of being persecuted by all the other Christian groups, both Protestant and Catholic.
The Mennonites were pacifists and maintained a close-knit common life in communities that shared common worship and work. The Amish are one of the sects that came from the Mennonites. The crown of England was eager to have Mennonite settlers in the American colonies. Thus it was that many Mennonites and Amish settled in Pennsylvania along with the Quakers. Pennsylvania was the most religiously tolerant of the colonies.
Many of them today are distinguishable by their simple, austere dress and their avoidance of modern means of technology, but some groups are indistinguishable from other contemporary people. They have a simple trinitarian Christian faith and accept baptism only for those who have made a personal, free choice after the use of reason. They have had a missionary outreach in Latin America and Africa.
Some branches that use old forms of German and the traditional dress also qualify as ethnic and not only religious communities. The vast majority of Mennonites live now outside of Europe in North and South America.