Classifying "the Mennonites" as a whole is an interesting challenge. I
have a friend whose father is Swiss and who grew up speaking German, at
Goshen as well as in the Juras. A heritage like this, 400 years old, is
an ethnicity, complete with unique garb, economic adaptations, language
and home territories -- along with complex internal divisions.
On the other hand, Mennonites are Christians who adhere to an
evangelical mission, which is, by definition, non-ethnic.
One can join Judaism in the same way, without "joining" latkes or
sidelocks or shtetls or somebody else's zayda. But it's less common.
Both human groups seem to present religious as well as ethnic boundary
components, with Judaism farther over on the dial toward ethnicity.
It's something scholars should be careful about, before they barge into
someone else's community with their own preconceived spin. The sort of
concern which a well-meaning neighbor might be forgiven for overlooking,
but a university cannot be.
-- Tony West
Ross Bender wrote:
Thanks, Tony, but I just need to point out that Mennonites are no
longer a single ethnic group. Historically, we have been Swiss-German,
Dutch, Frisian and Prussian -- The Mennonites being showcased at the
Arthur Ross Gallery are some of the latter who were invited to the
Ukraine and are known among Mennonites as "Russian Mennonites", even
though they were ethnically German.
But if you look in the Philly telephone book or Verizon Yellow Pages
you will find two Chinese, one Vietnamese, one Hispanic and several
African-American churches (which are not identified as such). We also
have a new Indonesian church in Philly.
Just one more reason not to stereotype "The Mennonites."
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