Renegade Amish: Beard Cutting, Hate Crimes, and the Trial of the Bergholz Barbers

by Donald B. Kraybill Narrated by Charles Constant

Overview

On the night of September 6, 2011, terror called at the Amish home of the Millers. Mrs. Miller opened the door to her five estranged adult sons, a daughter, and their spouses. Within moments, the men had pulled their frightened father out of bed and sheared his hair and beard. The women then turned on Mrs. Miller, yanking her prayer cap from her head and shredding it before cutting off her waist-long hair. About twenty minutes later, the attackers fled into the darkness, taking their parents' hair as a trophy.



Four similar beard-cutting attacks followed, disfiguring nine victims and generating a tsunami of media coverage.



Ten men and six women from the Bergholz community were arrested and found guilty a year later of eighty-seven felony charges involving conspiracy, lying, and obstructing justice. In a precedent-setting decision, all of the defendants were convicted of federal hate crimes.



Renegade Amish goes behind the scenes to tell the full story of the Bergholz barbers: the attacks, the investigation, the trial, and the aftermath. Donald B. Kraybill weaves a dark story in which a series of violent Amish-on-Amish attacks shattered the peace of these traditionally nonviolent people.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

An insider’s perspective into how a small community of Amish people, nurtured in a religious tradition of nonviolence and forgiveness, transformed into a culture of revenge and retaliation.
—Publishers Weekly

Digs deep into a story that, for all its seeming quaintness, has the power to both rock the underpinnings of hate crime legislation and to break the human heart.
—Salon

Kraybill tells this fascinating story clearly, and has the knowledge and contacts to penetrate a tight-lipped community.
—The Times

An acknowledged expert on Amish life and culture, [Kraybill] explains the religious and social background of the people involved and successfully explains the legal tangle that has not yet completely played out. This book will be of interest to those who study the intersection of law and religion or the sociology of closed groups like the Amish.
—Journal of Church and State

A thorough, evenhanded, and accessible volume that provides keen insight on Amish culture.
—Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies

Captures a fascinating chapter of legal history and Amish history . . . [This] is a tale begging to be told, and Kraybill proves worthy of the task.
—The Mennonite Quarterly Review

Whether you want to learn more about the Amish in general, the Bergholz Amish in particular, are interested in the formation and maintenance of NRMs, interactions between religious groups and the law, or just want to read an informative book that is exceedingly well researched and written, balanced, and engaging, Renegade Amish is most definitely worth reading.
—Nova Religio

The apparent dissonance in these opening narratives and the peculiar nature of Amish acting violently to shear helpless victims sets the scene for Kraybill’s fascinating exploration of the Bergholz Amish. . . The case has taken on new significance as the court system works to decide how people will be prosecuted under the Shepherd Byrd act and how broadly hate crimes can be defined.
—Mennonite World Review

Nova Religio

Whether you want to learn more about the Amish in general, the Bergholz Amish in particular, are interested in the formation and maintenance of NRMs, interactions between religious groups and the law, or just want to read an informative book that is exceedingly well researched and written, balanced, and engaging, Renegade Amish is most definitely worth reading.

Mennonite World Review

The apparent dissonance in these opening narratives and the peculiar nature of Amish acting violently to shear helpless victims sets the scene for Kraybill’s fascinating exploration of the Bergholz Amish. . . The case has taken on new significance as the court system works to decide how people will be prosecuted under the Shepherd Byrd act and how broadly hate crimes can be defined.

The Mennonite Quarterly Review

Captures a fascinating chapter of legal history and Amish history . . . [This] is a tale begging to be told, and Kraybill proves worthy of the task.

Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies

A thorough, evenhanded, and accessible volume that provides keen insight on Amish culture.

Journal of Church and State

An acknowledged expert on Amish life and culture, [Kraybill] explains the religious and social background of the people involved and successfully explains the legal tangle that has not yet completely played out. This book will be of interest to those who study the intersection of law and religion or the sociology of closed groups like the Amish.

The Times

Kraybill tells this fascinating story clearly, and has the knowledge and contacts to penetrate a tight-lipped community.

Salon

Digs deep into a story that, for all its seeming quaintness, has the power to both rock the underpinnings of hate crime legislation and to break the human heart.

The Times

"Kraybill tells this fascinating story clearly, and has the knowledge and contacts to penetrate a tight-lipped community."

Mennonite World Review - Melanie Springer Mock

"The apparent dissonance in these opening narratives and the peculiar nature of Amish acting violently to shear helpless victims sets the scene for Kraybill’s fascinating exploration of the Bergholz Amish... The case has taken on new significance as the court system works to decide how people will be prosecuted under the Shepherd Byrd act and how broadly hate crimes can be defined."

The Times - Damiam Whitworth

"Kraybill tells this fascinating story clearly, and has the knowledge and contacts to penetrate a tight-lipped community."

Salon - Laura Miller

"For the dimwitted habitues of comments threads, it was the news item that launched a thousand lame puns. But the case of the Bergholz Barbers is funny only as long as it remains a sound bite. Donald B. Kraybill's new book, Renegade Amish: Beard Cutting, Hate Crimes and the Trial of the Bergholz Barbers, digs deep into a story that, for all its seeming quaintness, has the power to both rock the underpinnings of hate crime legislation and to break the human heart."

Library Journal

09/01/2014
Kraybill (distinguished professor and senior fellow, Young Ctr. for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown Coll., PA; The Riddle of Amish Culture) is an authority on Amish society. Here the author details vicious Amish-on-Amish attacks in Bergholz, OH, a rarity since the Amish people are regarded as peaceful and forgiving. Cutting off a man's beard or woman's hair is considered an abominable crime within the Amish community, and that's what happened in the one run by Bishop Samuel Mullet (who did not participate in crimes himself). Those who failed to heed his orders or challenged him were threatened or excommunicated. Mullet handed out harsh punishments and took advantage of women by making them live with his family to receive "marriage counseling" to help them learn how to improve sexual relations with their husbands. The FBI became involved and 16 assailants were found guilty of 87 charges, including federal hate crimes through the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. VERDICT The author goes into too much detail at times, which makes the story hard to follow, but with his knowledge of Amish culture, he provides an insight into how the society functions. This book is for libraries in the regions near the area that the crimes were committed and those with reader interest in the Amish but is otherwise an optional purchase.—Michael Sawyer, Pine Bluff, AR

Product Details

BN ID:	2940159583499
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	11/28/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged

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