For my final research paper, I am going to research the current issue of white homogeneity in the Anabaptist communities. I am going to use a multidisciplinary approach in covering the aspects that have led to the issue of homogeneity in the Mennonite church. Researching the Mennonite and Anabaptist Communities was very interesting due to their history of persecution and stance on nonviolence and war. Reading articles about their persecution slightly reminds me of the struggle, persecution and treatment once endured by slaves. First, I want to explain the meaning of Homogeneity. Homogeneity is the quality or state of being all the same or all the same kind (Webster Dictionary). In the context of this paper, I am using homogeneity in relating it to the Mennonite Communities in the regards of it being a predominantly white church group/ denomination.
I chose this as the topic for my research paper because as we look around in our country today we can see the apparent Racial Divide that exist, and the racial tension that has increased over the past few months. After reading more about the Mennonite faith I have learnt more of the persecution that the Anabaptist Communities have endured over the decades which has had a lasting impact on them and even today we can see the long-term effects through their religious practices and their lifestyle. When I hear or think of Mennonites, I always think of peace, due to their dedication to peace and non-violence but what I also think about is their life of simplicity. Peace Non-Violence and Simplicity has been a part of their core foundation. The Mennonites practice simplicity due to a set of different reasons says Abel Peters (PersonalInterview), a reason for this is due to their life of prosecution. Due to their lives of persecution and the possibility of being removed or forced off of land or the removal of acceptance of their faith and community the Mennonites learnt to live a life of simplicity and communal living, a life that could easily be transported to the next place they landed if need be. Another reason for the life of simplicity is the through teaching of Jesus, throughout the bible Jesus talks about the dangers of loving wealth and the dangers it can create, so the many Mennonites vow to a life of simplicity. It is important to note that not all Mennonite communities practice the life of simplicity, there are many Mennonites that are a part of our everyday society and go unnoticed due to cultural assimilation.
The Mennonites are a Christian group belonging to the church community of the Anabaptist. The Mennonites were named after Menno Simons of the Netherlands previously called Friesland. Menno Simmons played a big role in the growth and spread of The Anabaptist beliefs. Simons once a Catholic priest learnt about the Anabaptist movement during the Reformation Period which created a curiosity and interest in leaving the catholic church. However, he didn’t do so until the age of 40 years old after his brother a member of an Anabaptist group was killed. The early history of the Anabaptist communities started during the Protestant Reformation when the group took a stance against the practices and theology of the Catholic Church. One of the big stances they took that was rather controversial was their refusal and rejection of infant baptism, they believed that baptism should only occur once an individual was responsible to choose on their own, that they wanted to follow the life and teachings of Jesus. The reason this stance was so controversial is because at this time in history every child was baptized by the roman catholic church which was seen to hold both a religious and political meaning. The anabaptist also believed that there should be reduced hierarchy with the state, that the state should not have authority or power over the church. Due to these stances and to prevent an uprising the state tried to limit the growth of these views. Many early Anabaptist were killed and martyred in order to purge the sect. One of the most important books to Mennonites and other Anabaptist groups is called the Martyrs Mirror it is a book that documented the persecution of the Anabaptist and predecessors.
I wanted to interject here with some sociological implication of being killed for ones’ beliefs. This type of persecution in my opinion often creates a division of these individuals from mainstream society due to the hardship endured by their predecessors especially when this involved violence in this case martyrdom, they often create an out-group for themselves by removing themselves from main stream society or revolting, and in this case we can almost guarantee that the Mennonites were not going to revolt due to their dedication to non-violence, but this reaction is similar to “Fight or Flight” that we learnt about in science classes. This also often creates the need for another layer of self-protection for this group to prevent further harm or persecution.
Seeing that we discussed Menno Simmons in class I would like to briefly talk about his role in the Anabaptist Community. Menno a former ordained catholic priest had found himself in a state of uncertainty and questioned the doctrine of transubstantiation. Which in short, is the belief that bread and wine of the communion becomes the actual flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. After this Menno Simmons took time to study the Holy Scripture something he had not done before. Isn’t that crazy? An ordained priest hadn’t studied the Holy Scripture. After the death of his brother, Simmons left the catholic church and joined the Anabaptist communities, he served as an important figure hence the name Mennonites derived from his last name. One of his writings really stood out to me. It says “For true evangelical faith is of such a nature that it cannot lie dormant; but manifests itself in all righteousness and works of love; it dies unto flesh and blood; destroys all forbidden lusts and desires; cordially seeks, serves and fears God; clothes the naked; feeds the hungry; consoles the afflicted; shelters the miserable; aids and consoles all the oppressed; returns good for evil; serves those that injure it; prays for those that persecute it; teaches, admonishes and reproves with the Word of the Lord; seeks that which is lost; binds up that which is wounded; heals that which is diseased and saves that which is sound. The persecution, suffering and anxiety which befalls it for the sake of the truth of the Lord, is to it a glorious joy and consolation.” – Menno Simmons on True Evangelical Faith. After reading this I can understand why he was such a pivotal factor in the growth of the faith.
Now that I have talked briefly about the Mennonites and their history, I want to dedicate the rest of my paper on the issue that I wanted to address, the white homogeneity in the Anabaptist community especially the Mennonite Church. I read a genealogy paper by an Amish Mennonite Historian C.Z Mast (1911) in his writing Mast spends a lot of time and effort expressing his thought and views of blood purity and the importance of blood purity. Some of his views were rather radical and he proposed that natural law be exemplified, he proposed that individuals should remember he importance of breeding and that humans should breed similarly to the way we breed agricultural livestock by breeding the best with the best or with a mate of the same kind to improve the “human stock” and that this should be enforced by the Government. One of his views that definitely struck me was he believed that there should be regulations against endogamous marriages and he praised the purposeful selection of a spouse to prevent undesirable characteristics.