Local Autonomy

The Amish community also does not believe in a centralized religious government. As such, each local group has a certain degree of autonomy to make the necessary changes to the Ordnung, which is their set of beliefs and practices. This results in some communities being relaxed than some of the other ones. Why is this the case? They are strong believers in the freedom of choice, and hence, they practice it in the community.

In an Amish group, however, it is mostly the men who make the decisions. They are the ones who serve on the school boards and also the ones who decide when and where homes and barns are to be built. Is there a space for women to make decisions? While they are supposed to be submissive towards their husbands, they also are given roles in a variety of leadership positions in the various church ministries–but mostly supporting roles and not as lead pastors.