Table Of ContentYOUNG	CENTER	BOOKS	IN	ANABAPTIST	 	PIETIST	STUDIES
DONALD	B.	Kraybill,	Series	Editor
Two	Hutterite	sisters	near	a	pond	in	Alberta.
The	Hutterites	in	North	America
Rod	Janzen
Max	Stanton
©	2010	The	Johns	Hopkins	University	Press
All	rights	reserved.	Published	2010
Printed	in	the	United	States	of	America	on	acid-free	paper
2	4	6	8	9	7	5	3	1
The	Johns	Hopkins	University	Press
2715	North	Charles	Street
Baltimore,	Maryland	21218-4363
www.press.jhu.edu
Library	of	Congress	Cataloging-in-Publication	Data
Janzen,	Rod	A.
The	Hutterites	in	North	America	/	Rod	Janzen	and	Max	Stanton.
p.	cm.	—	(Young	Center	books	in	Anabaptist	and	Pietist	studies)
Includes	bibliographical	references	and	index.
ISBN-13:	978-0-80189489-3	(hardcover	:	alk.	paper)
ISBN-10:	0-8018-9489-1	(hardcover	:	alk.	paper)
1.	Hutterite	Brethren—North	America.	2.	North	America—Church	history.	I.
Stanton,
Max	Edward,	1941–	II.	Title.
BX8129.H8J35	2010
289.7′3—dc22									2009033024
A	catalog	record	for	this	book	is	available	from	the	British	Library.
Frontispiece:	Courtesy	of	Max	Stanton.
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Mammon	is	nothing	else	but	what	is	temporal;	and	that	which	is	another’s
is	that	which	is	borrowed,	with	which	a	man	plays	for	a	while	like	a	cat	with
the	mouse.	And	afterwards	he	must	leave	it	to	somebody	else,
and	in	the	end	his	folly	becomes	evident.
—Hutterite	sermon	on	Acts	2
Contents
List	of	Figures,	Tables,	and	Maps
Preface
Acknowledgments
CHAPTER	1.	Communal	Christians	in	North	America
CHAPTER	2.	Origins	and	History
CHAPTER	3.	Immigration	and	Settlement	in	North	America
CHAPTER	4.	Four	Hutterite	Branches
CHAPTER	5.	Beliefs	and	Practices
CHAPTER	6.	Life	Patterns	and	Rites	of	Passage
CHAPTER	7.	Identity,	Tradition,	and	Folk	Beliefs
CHAPTER	8.	Education	and	Cultural	Continuity
CHAPTER	9.	Colony	Structure,	Governance,	and	Economics
CHAPTER	10.	Population,	Demography,	and	Defection
CHAPTER	11.	Managing	Technology	and	Social	Change
CHAPTER	12.	Relationships	with	Non-Hutterites
CHAPTER	13.	Facing	the	Future
Appendix:	Hutterite	Colonies	in	North	America,	2009
Glossary
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Figures,	Tables,	and	Maps
FIGURES
10.1.	Birthrate	by	Hutterite	Leut	10.2.	Hutterite	mothers’	age	at	last	birth	TABLES
2.1.	Hutterites	in	Europe	and	North	America	2.2.	Hutterites	in	Europe	4.1.	The
Hutterite-Bruderhof	relationship	4.2.	Hutterite	colonies	5.1.	Schmiedeleut
ministers’	previous	colony	positions	7.1.	Surnames	and	ethnic	backgrounds	7.2.
Surname	distribution	in	four	colonies	9.1.	Colony	leadership	structure	10.1.
Hutterite	birthrates	10.2.	Hutterite	surnames	in	public	telephone	directories	MAPS
Hutterite	colonies,	2009
Hutterite	settlements	in	Europe,	1528–1879
Dariusleut	and	Lehrerleut	colonies,	2009
Schmiedeleut	colonies,	2009
Preface
God	does	not	want	his	children	here	on	earth	to	live	like	cattle,	donkeys
and	oxen,	which	are	only	out	to	fill	their	bellies	for	themselves,	without
concern	for	others.
—Hutterite	sermon	on	Luke	3,	circa	1650
At	the	Wilson	Siding	Hutterite	Colony	in	southern	Alberta,	German	teacher
Henry	Wurz	walks	quickly	across	the	yard	late	on	a	Thursday	afternoon.	He	has
been	working	in	the	garden.	Sporting	a	reddish	beard	and	very	dusty	pants,
Henry	says	hello	and	invites	us	into	his	home,	one	of	the	colony’s	many	large
single-family	residences,	with	five	or	six	bedrooms	and	a	full	basement.	Inside
the	house,	Henry	glances	at	the	clock,	sees	that	it	is	almost	time	for	evening
church,	and	quickly	changes	into	plain	black	dress.	Henry’s	daughters	gather	in
the	kitchen,	waiting	for	a	sign	to	begin	walking	to	the	church	building.	The
youngest	girls	wear	head	coverings	and	simple	long	dresses,	but	they	are	also
barefoot.	This	is	a	very	hot	day.
At	the	church	service,	minister	Joe	Wurz	greets	members	of	the	congregation.
Then	he	names	a	hymn	and	chants	the	first	line.	In	response	about	seventy
people	sing	out	loudly	and	passionately,	and	one	can	see	that	they	are	being
transported	into	a	different	realm	of	reality.	The	hymn	is	long,	with	many	verses
and	lines,	and	there	is	no	holding	back	as	males	and	females	sing	at	the	top	of
their	lungs	in	a	minor	key.	All	of	them,	adults	and	children,	sing	without
hymnbooks,	following	memorized	tunes,	often	slurring	notes,	and	emitting	one
of	the	most	ear-shattering	and	otherworldly	sounds	that	one	will	ever	hear.	The
hymn	is	followed	by	a	short	sermon,	read	from	a	collection	of	sacred	writings
that	are	hundreds	of	years	old.	The	meeting	closes	with	prayer.	With	heads
bowed,	all	kneel	reverently	on	the	hard	linoleum	floor.
This	is	Hutterite	life	on	any	late	afternoon.	From	south-central	South	Dakota
to	northwestern	Alberta,	this	is	what	Hutterite	men	and	women	do	at	the	end	of	a
day	of	hard	physical	labor.	A	twenty-minute	church	service	(the	Gebet)	precedes
the	evening	meal,	giving	Hutterite	men	and	women	an	opportunity	to	reflect	on
their	lives,	to	worship	God,	and	to	regroup	intellectually	and	spiritually.	The	late-
afternoon	Gebet	ensures	that,	whatever	has	happened	during	the	day,	there	is
always	a	time	set	aside	when	members	of	the	community	come	together	to	focus
on	the	meaning	and	purpose	of	their	lives.
Today	nearly	five	hundred	Hutterite	communities,	or	colonies,	are	scattered
across	the	northern	plains	states	of	the	United	States	and	the	prairie	provinces	of
Canada.	Since	the	sixteenth	century,	the	Hutterites	have	lived	communally,
sharing	all	of	their	material	resources	and	maintaining	as	much	isolation	from
the	rest	of	the	world	as	possible.	Having	outlasted	most	other	communal
societies,	they	provide	a	striking	social	and	economic	contrast	and	alternative	to
the	individualistic	way	of	life	that	is	commonplace	in	industrialized	Western
countries	in	the	postmodern	world.
Hutterites	are	Old	Order	Christians	who	dress	simply	and	maintain	religious
and	cultural	traditions	that	are	hundreds	of	years	old.	They	speak	a	distinctive
German	dialect,	live	in	isolated	rural	areas,	and	manage	change	with	careful
discernment	and	unapologetic	discrimination.	Hutterites	honor	the	earth	and
interact	with	the	natural	world	as	careful	stewards	of	God.	Uniquely	adept	at
interpersonal	relations	and	conflict	resolution,	they	use	democratic	procedures	to
make	the	important	decisions	that	affect	their	lives.
In	this	book	we	introduce	a	group	of	Old	Order	Christians	who	exude
confidence	as	well	as	humility.	Hutterites	refuse	to	be	assimilated	into	the	social
mainstream	of	the	United	States	and	Canada,	and	they	do	not	vote	or	serve	in	the
military.	They	dress	like	nineteenth-century	eastern	European	villagers	and	for
the	most	part	keep	to	themselves.	Yet	Hutterites	are	some	of	the	most	hospitable,
generous	people	one	will	ever	meet.	They	are	also	remarkably	knowledgeable
about	contemporary	social,	economic,	and	political	developments.	The
Hutterites	also	continue	to	increase	in	numbers,	with	high	birth	and	retention
rates.	In	the	1870s,	when	they	arrived	in	the	Dakota	Territory,	425	Hutterites
lived	in	three	small	communities.	Today	the	Hutterite	population	exceeds
49,000.
Since	the	last	major	work	on	the	Hutterites,	John	Hostetler’s	Hutterite
Society,	was	published	in	1974,	many	important	changes	have	occurred.	Our
book	weaves	research	findings	of	the	past	thirty-five	years	together	with	our	own
analysis	of	Hutterite	beliefs	and	practices.1	Our	descriptions	and	assessments	are
based	on	twenty-five	years	of	interaction	with	Hutterites	at	colonies	in	every
state	and	province	where	they	have	established	communities.	We	review	all
aspects	of	Hutterite	life	and	view	it	from	a	variety	of	vantage	points,	discussing
negative	and	positive	developments	and	describing	how	Hutterite	communities
Description:One of the longest-lived communal societies in North America, the Hutterites have developed multifaceted communitarian perspectives on everything from conflict resolution and decision-making practices to standards of living and care for the elderly. This compellingly written book offers a glimpse in