I am not sure about this, but having heard it said several times and it being widely assumed that Amish and Mennonite people do not vaccinate, I often wonder at this. I never realized this was a practice….maybe some of my friends here who grew up Amish or Mennonite would know, but me, I think it depends on the family.
I found this in a medical article about a survey done and found it interesting.
” A recent study by Yoder and Dworkin [14], in which questionnaires were mailed to all households in an Illinois Amish community, showed that the majority of the community vaccinates all (84%) or some (12%) of their children, with only a small minority objecting due to concerns about vaccine safety, and an even smaller cohort objecting due to religious reasons. Thus, Amish families often are willing to utilize vaccination as a form of preventative care.”
84% vaccinate…..so why is a common misconception that most of them don’t? Maybe the same rumor that goes around that they don’t pay taxes either…..
Oh well, it probably bugs me because today after listening to a doctor give a lecture to my sister on why she should get a DPT vaccine for her daughter, not even asking her why she chose not to at this point, she pretty much insinuated about us being “Mennonite” because I wear a headcovering, I must have influenced my sister or something to not vaccinate. We smiled politely and excused her so her food did not get cold, but I was a little upset.
It made me frustrated that it is okay to sort of profile people because you assume they are similar to a group of people, based on something you really don’t know much about.
As far as I remember, most of my friends who grew up Amish or Mennonite, were vaccinated.
Oh well…..I guess the stereotyping is partially my fault for looking sort of Mennonite, although in a t-shirt and skirt, I am not sure any of the groups would own me!
yeah, feel your pain. I get stereotyped a lot as well. I smile politely and say I come from a Mennonite background (true for me)… then I figure it’s their loss if they don’t want to take the time to get to know me and who I really am. And in truth I had a great childhood and am not apologetic for my Amish/Mennonite background. It’s just, don’t persume you know all my beliefs cause of how I grew up. I would not be accepted in 98% of Amish or Mennonite churches either (except the very liberal ones) It’s been eye-opening and challenging for me to not do the same to others… cause of their culture, ethnic background, ect.
BTW.. all of us kids had all our vaccinations. And I know lots of people who do not come from Amish/ Mennonite who have strong objections towards vaccinations.
Everyone wants to put people in a pigeon hole, and generalize a group of people, whether it be by race, religion, sex. It just seems like you can’t get away from it!!! Frustrating!
It’s like comments I’ve gotten for having home births. When I tell a doctor or some people that I had my babies at home, they say, oh then you don’t believe in sending your kids to school, or medical intervention, pain medication, etc. It’s so annoying! They automatically assume that I didn’t have any prenatal care and that I’m going to fight against school and antibiotics! People are weird! LOL
P.S People thinking I’m anti everything sorta helps with the no vaccination thing…lol I’m sorry you are being judged for your head covering, etc. That’s frustrating!
I have heard that (about Amish and vaccines and taxes) but don’t know if it’s true!
When Joshua told a co-worker that we homeschool, the guy said “ohhhh, you’re one of *those* types. I used to know someone like you”! Whatever that was supposed to mean, I don’t know! LOL