How Hutterites of Montana Maintain Their Culture and Effect It Has on State

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Table of Contents

Introduction
History of Hutterites of Montana
The culture of religion and expression
Cultural effects on the state
Conclusion
Reference

Introduction

This paper seeks to discuss how the Hutterites maintain their culture paying specific attention to their cultural-religious beliefs. The paper will also discuss the origin of Hutterites and trace the groups development to the current lifestyle and culture. There are many situations and activities which took place within the religious cycles hence leading to the final emergence of the Hutterites community. The community has remained unique in the greater expanse of North America. It is this uniqueness that forms the discussion of this paper. The paper will mainly concentrate on the religious practices of Hutterites and how such practices affect the state (Smucker, 1991)

History of Hutterites of Montana

The history of Hutterites dates back to the times when people started to escape from the Catholic Church. The Roman Empire was invaded by people who came from the north; as a result, the empire was divided. Those who ran from the church became monks and established community groups called monasteries.

A new religion known as Islam came up in 622 A.D. The new religion was led by somebody called Mohammed who taught his followers that only one God existed and the same God is the one worshipped by the Jews and Christian. Mohammed was considered by followers as the prophet of Allah. Islam referred to God as Allah. Islam spread quickly to places like Egypt, Spain, the Northern part of Africa, and Palestine. Muslims fought hard and succeeded in capturing much of the Holy Land. This led to the first crusade which took place in 1099 to get back the Holy land from Muslims. These crusades then subsequently took place for the next 25 decades, however, the crusades failed to achieve their purpose.

Martin Luther, a German monk found it difficult to believe all the doctrines of the Catholic Church. He never believed that man was saved by what he does and not by faith as the church then believed. He listed down all the doctrines of the church he never agreed with and stuck the list on the door of Wittenberg Church. He was then exiled and tried in 1521 for disobeying the church doctrines.

During the trial, Luther was under pressure to take back his disagreements with the church. When he refused he was handed a heretic condemnation. This would mean that anybody who killed him would not be charged with any crime committed. Luckily his friends gave him protection and he was taken to Wartburg where he was involved in translating the Bible into the German language. He later founded the Lutheran church. Other churches known as the protestant churches joined him against the controversial Catholic Church.

The emergence of the Lutheran church triggered the formation of other churches which collectively became known as the Reformed churches. One of those reformed churches was the Anabaptist church whose origin was in Zurich. The Anabaptists never wanted to pay taxes to the Roman Empire even though they were under pressure to do so. Within the Anabaptists, there were Leonard von Lichtenstein and the Stabler groups. When Leonard von Lichtenstein threatened to use force to protect himself and his people the Stabler group which was against violence or resistance decided to break and live alone. It was the Stabbler group which was to be later known as the Hutterrites.

The founding of Hutterites is attributed to Jacob Hutter in 1528 in Moravia. They are therefore a religious group that originated as a result of reformation which took place in the 16^th century. The Hutterites believed in collective and communal ownership of material property (The Heart of Central Montana, 2008). Every member of this group gets all the provisions he or she needs and nothing is supposed to be kept for personal gain. They are said to have gone through periods of persecution and in some cases were also had some periods of prosperity. Despite all the persecution they finally managed to move to North America in 1874. The Hutterites were known to be pacifists and they never participated in the great first and Second World Wars. It is said that today there are approximately 45,000 Hutterites subdivided into around 460 colonies (Hostetler, 2002)

A portion of the colonies which can amount to 50 is living in Montana. In every colony, there is the minister who is also considered to be the chief executive and he is the one who makes the decisions in consultation with an advisory board. The minister and chief executive must be spiritual leaders. The advisory board is constituted by the spiritual minister, ranch and farm managers, colony managers, and around three deacons who are elected and could only be replaced when either one or all of them dies (The Heart of Central Montana, 2008).

Hutterites are not concerned with seeking riches, their main objective is sustainability. There are about three branches of Hutterites. These branches include the Schmiedeleut, Dariusleut, and Lehhrerleut. The Daruisleut and the Lehrerleut live in the north-western section of North America, British Colombia, Washington, Oregon, and Alberta. The Schmiedeleut is located in the central North American province of Manitoba and the states of South Dakota, Minnesota, and North Dakota (History of Hutterites, 2010).

All the branches of Hutterites share the same doctrines and are only differentiated by geographical location and traditions. The splitting of colonies is a trend within the group. The split started way back when the Hutterites split from Anabaptists together with Amish and Mennonites (Pichler, et al, 2009).

The culture of religion and expression

The values and behaviors of Hutterites are mainly shaped by their religious beliefs. Their religion follows the Christian doctrines although there are some slight differences regarding practice and beliefs. They believe that human beings can only be saved and return to God on the condition that they live the Christian life and in a community. They also believe that heaven is found in the universe and then earth and hell are found on the lower part.

In each colony, there is a head preacher. The head preacher is charged with the affairs of the colony in which he is the religious practitioner. In the process of taking care of all the aspects of the colonys affairs, he is under the supervision of the church of his colony. Other colonies head preacher(s) (within the Leut) help his church in matters relating to supervision.

A typical integral part of Hutterites religious activities includes evening services which are led by the head preacher. The services entail prayers, hymns, and sermons and On every Sunday, a day of rest, everybody is expected to be in church and no work is allowed on that day except for a few instances where little work can be done. Holly Communion is a major event that takes place on an annual basis. Easter ushers in the Holy Communion. Only baptized men and women are allowed to take the communion.

There is a special way of dressing for the church. Everybody has a specially designed church cloth which must be put on during Sunday services. In Hutterrites community, boys get baptized when their ages fall between twenty to twenty-six years old while girls are baptized at age nineteen. The baptism signifies attainment of adult status and is considered to be the most important rite of passage in the Hutterites community. Before being baptized one cannot qualify for marriage. The community members view this passage as a unifying bond between the new adults and their parents.

Hutterites believe that death is a passway to paradise for those who have lived faithfully. The dead are usually buried after three days of their death occurrences. The day is preceded by an in-gathering of the colony and baptized members of other colonies. The in-gathering was meant to give emotional support to the deceaseds family (John, 1996).

The Hutterites also observe and celebrate Pentecost, Easter, Christmas, Good Friday, and Epiphany. These holidays are significant to younger members of the colony because this provides them with the opportunity to recite bible verses. These recitals give them a firm foundation on Christianity. All their baptism activities take place the same year and are preceded by three days celebrations which fall on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

They believe that absolute authority is only held by the only supernatural being who is God. They believe all events taking place on earth and in the universe are ordered in the hierarchy by God and that all happens only by his knowledge.

The religious practices of Hutterites prohibit them from doing certain things that the rest of other people do. For instance, the Hutterites are not required to have their photo identification cards placed on the drivers licenses, they argue this violates Gods commandment that prohibits one from making grave images.

The Hutterites religion has survived so many challenges due to their doctrines which were considered unacceptable and this led to their great persecutions. Some of the community members were executed as martyrs. They used to hide in the forests during that trying moment. When Hutter, the founder, was captured and tortured to name the followers of their doctrines he never mentioned any, he was finally burnt publicly. His wife was also executed for the same reason two years later. However, due to their strong faith and Hutters refusal to name the members, they managed to survive.

The bond that keeps this religious group together is so strong that it becomes almost impossible to break. The government of the state has tried to convince them to change their way of life, even some people have criticized their communal ideology but they have not yet changed. The members are described as pacifists therefore it would be difficult to find them violating their norms. Every member is encultured through teachings and training based on religious doctrines (Alberta, 2009). This ensures the doctrines of the religion are always passed to the succeeding generations.

It is considered almost taboo for members of the Hutterites to own musical instruments including television sets, cameras, and jewelry. Their religious doctrines are based on traditions and they strive to maintain them through rejecting new social, economic, and technological developments. The community members also restrict gambling and dancing, in fact during church services they do not dance during the hymns (Sosis, 2002).

Their firm belief in the supremacy of Jesus teachings also is a great factor that bonds them together. They hold to believe that communal sharing as per the teachings of Jesus. This firm belief based on biblical teachings makes them different from other neighboring communities who are also Christians but with slightly different practices.

Cultural effects on the state

Some of the religious beliefs of the Hutterites contravene the laws of the state. This has motivated the state players to re-examine the limits of freedom regarding religion. For instance, the Hutterites religious refusal to have their photo identity cards on their driving licenses violates the state laws that seek to cab identity fraud in the whole state. This puts them in conflict with the government. Some state government officials argue that when it comes to state legislation there is no need to accommodate the interest of the minority groups whose practices are not universally accepted (Koshan, 2009).

Since the Hutterites culture is unique as compared to other cultures it forces the state to give it a special consideration (History of Hutterites, 2010). But the state fears that should this continue other religious groups will also come up demanding special treatment as regards their beliefs and practices. The Hutterites are determined to preserve their religious culture even through state legislation. They lobby using their lawyers to ensure that their religious practices are recognized and spelled in the constitution (Esau, 2005).

Conclusion

The Hutterites largely remain the most unique religious community in the North American region. They are a splinter group from Anabaptists which was one of the new groups emerging from the split of the Catholic Church. The Hutterites underwent serious persecutions due to their unacceptable doctrinal beliefs. Many of them including the founder were martyred and the rest who managed to escape settled in Montana situated in North America.

The Hutterites are grouped into colonies that contain a given maximum number. When the number of members of a given colony exceeds the required one a new colony is formed. Each colony is headed by a religious preacher who is also the one mandated to look into the affairs of all members of his colony.

The Hutterites mainly are Christians who practice doctrines not acceptable to other Christian believers. The community members are initiated to adulthood through baptism. Members are only allowed to marry after being baptized. Sundays are no working days and all are expected to go to church.

The unique cultural and religious practices of the Hutterites have placed the government of the state in a dilemma. Some of their practices and beliefs are in total disregard the state laws. This has resulted in pressurizing them to change some of their behaviors.

Reference

Alberta, L. (2009). The Hutterite case and Canadian religious charities. Web.

Esau A. (2005). The Courts and The Colonies. The Litigation of Hutterites Church Disputes. Web.

History of Hutterites. (2010). Types of Hutterites. Web.

Hostetler, J. (2002). The Hutterites in North America. Web.

John, H. (1996). Hutterites through History. Web.

Koshan, J. (2009). Security Tramps Freedom of Religion for Hutterites Drivers. Web.

Pichler I., Fuchsberger C., Platzer C., Marroni F., Pramstaller & Ober, C. (2009). Drawing the history of the Hutterite population on a genetic landscape.

Smucker, D. (1991). The Sociology of Canadian Mennonites, Hutterites and Amish vol. 2(1991). Wilfrid Laurier University Press.

Sosis, R. (2002). Why arent we all Hutterites? Costly Signaling Theory and Religious Behavior. Web.

The heart of central Montana. (2008). Learn About Hutterite Colonies of Central Montana. Web.

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