If the Amish are the Anabaptists most Americans recognize, the Hutterites may be the ones they understand least. They share several beliefs with the Amish and Mennonites, including believers’ baptism, nonviolence, simple living and a strong separation between the church and the surrounding world. Some Hutterites also dress in distinctive clothing and live primarily in rural communities, so it’s easy to assume they’re simply another branch of the Amish.
They’re not. Hutterites represent a separate stream of the original sixteenth-century Anabaptist movement, and their most distinctive practice isn’t the horse and buggy or rejection of technology. In fact, Hutterite colonies can operate remarkably modern farms using sophisticated agricultural equipment. What makes them unusual is something considerably more radical: they practice community of goods, with property and economic life largely held in common.
The idea comes from their reading of the book of Acts. When Acts says the early Christians had “all things in common,” the Hutterites decided Christians ought to take that seriously.
The Radical Reformation
The Hutterite story begins during the Radical Reformation of the sixteenth century. As we discussed in our Anabaptist overview, reformers such as Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli challenged Roman Catholic teaching while retaining practices that more radical reformers believed had no New Testament foundation. Among the most controversial of those practices was infant baptism.
The Anabaptists argued that baptism should follow repentance and a personal confession of faith. Since infants couldn’t make that confession, they believed infant baptism was invalid. Adults who had been baptized as babies were therefore baptized upon their profession of faith, which led opponents to call them Anabaptists, or rebaptizers.
But baptism wasn’t the only issue. Many Anabaptists envisioned the church as a voluntary community of committed disciples rather than a religious institution embracing virtually everyone born within a particular territory. That vision had enormous consequences for church membership, government, military service and Christian community.
Community of Goods
Some early Anabaptists became convinced that Christians should follow the example described in Acts 2 and Acts 4, where believers shared their possessions and provided for one another so that nobody among them lacked what he needed. They began establishing communities in which members surrendered private property and participated in a common economy. Food, housing, work and material resources were organized for the benefit of the entire community rather than accumulated primarily by individual families.
This wasn’t communism in the modern political sense. Karl Marx wouldn’t be born for another three centuries, and the Hutterites weren’t proposing that governments seize private property or reorganize society through revolution. Their community of goods was voluntary, religious and confined to people who had chosen to join the church.
The distinction is important. Hutterites don’t believe the government should force everyone to live communally. They believe Christians in their communities should voluntarily share their economic life because that’s how they understand the New Testament church. That’s a very different idea.
Jakob Hutter
The movement takes its name from Jakob Hutter, an Anabaptist leader from the Tyrol region of central Europe. Hutter didn’t originate every belief associated with the communities that eventually bore his name, but he became one of their most important leaders during a period of intense persecution.
Hutter helped organize Anabaptist refugees who found greater tolerance for a time in Moravia, part of the modern Czech Republic. Under his leadership, communal living became firmly associated with the movement. These communities developed structured households in which members worked together, ate together and shared property. Authorities eventually pursued Hutter as well. He was captured, tortured and executed in Innsbruck in 1536. According to historical accounts, he was burned to death for refusing to renounce his Anabaptist faith.
Killing Hutter didn’t kill the movement. His followers continued developing the communal Christian society he had helped organize, and eventually they became known as Hutterites.
Not Münster
Whenever radical Anabaptism comes up, the disastrous Anabaptist kingdom at Münster tends to follow close behind. That’s understandable because Münster involved religious fanaticism, apocalyptic prophecy, polygamy, political revolution and violence, which naturally makes it considerably more memorable than peaceful Christians farming together.
But Hutterites shouldn’t be confused with the Münster revolutionaries. Historic Hutterite teaching became firmly committed to nonviolence and rejected the attempt to establish God’s kingdom through military force. Their communities sought separation from political power rather than control over it.
That distinction mattered because sixteenth-century authorities frequently didn’t bother making it. To governments already frightened by religious upheaval, one group of Anabaptists could look much like another. Peaceful Anabaptists consequently suffered for the actions of radicals whose methods they rejected.
It’s one of the recurring injustices of religious history: the craziest people in a movement are often the ones everybody remembers.
Nonviolence
Like Mennonites and Amish, Hutterites belong to the historic peace church tradition. They interpret Jesus’ commands to love enemies and refuse retaliation as instructions Christians are actually expected to obey.
Hutterites therefore traditionally refuse military service and participation in warfare. They don’t believe Christians should kill enemies simply because a government declares those people enemies. That conviction has repeatedly brought them into conflict with states that required military service.
The principle goes beyond warfare. Hutterite nonresistance reflects a broader understanding that the church shouldn’t advance its purposes through coercion or violence. The Christian community is supposed to demonstrate another way of living rather than seize the mechanisms of political power and force everybody else to participate.
Persecution and Migration
Few Christian traditions have spent as much of their history moving from one place to another because somebody changed the rules. Hutterites flourished for a time in Moravia, where they developed large communal settlements and became known for skilled craftsmanship, agriculture and disciplined community life. Political and religious changes eventually brought renewed persecution, however, and communities were scattered.
Over the following centuries, Hutterites moved through various parts of central and eastern Europe, including Slovakia, Transylvania and eventually Ukraine. Each move reflected some combination of persecution, military pressure and the search for rulers willing to tolerate their religious practices.
Russia eventually offered attractive conditions, including land and exemptions from military service. Hutterites established communities there, but when military exemptions became threatened during the nineteenth century, they faced the familiar Anabaptist problem again.
So they moved. This time they crossed the Atlantic.
Coming to North America
Hutterites began migrating to the United States during the 1870s, settling primarily in what became South Dakota. Not every Hutterite immigrant continued communal living, but those who did established colonies that became the foundation of the major Hutterite groups in North America.
World War I created another crisis. Hutterite pacifism collided with intense American wartime nationalism and military conscription. Several Hutterite men who refused military orders were imprisoned, and two brothers, Joseph and Michael Hofer, died after suffering harsh treatment while in military custody. The experience convinced many Hutterites that the United States was no longer a safe place for their communities. Large numbers relocated to Canada, where they established colonies primarily in the western provinces.
Later, some communities returned to the United States. Today the Hutterite population is concentrated particularly in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, along with South Dakota, Montana, Minnesota and neighboring areas.
After centuries of migration, they finally found enough open land to build communities that could endure.
The Colony
The basic unit of Hutterite life is the colony. A colony generally consists of a number of families living and working together on communally owned property. Agriculture has historically provided the economic foundation, although colonies may also operate manufacturing businesses, construction enterprises and other commercial activities.
Members don’t ordinarily receive individual salaries in the way employees in a conventional business do. The colony provides housing, food and other necessities from its common resources. Economic production supports the community as a whole.
That doesn’t mean everybody lives in one giant house or that families cease to exist. Husbands, wives and children maintain family relationships and living spaces. But the economic structure surrounding those families is communal. For Americans raised on the assumption that adulthood means getting your own job, buying your own house and accumulating your own property, Hutterite life can be difficult to imagine.
How Does a Colony Work?
Hutterite colonies are highly organized. Members perform different jobs according to the needs of the community, and particular individuals may be responsible for farming, livestock, machinery, finances, education, cooking or other aspects of colony life. Religious leadership is normally provided by a minister, while other elected leaders oversee economic and practical affairs. Decisions affecting the colony are made within an established communal structure rather than by a single individual owning the entire operation.
Meals may be prepared in a communal kitchen and eaten in a common dining hall, which greatly reduces the duplication of labor found in ordinary households. Instead of dozens of families each buying separate equipment and organizing completely independent domestic economies, many resources are shared.
It isn’t a lifestyle built around privacy and individual independence. It’s built around interdependence.
Technology
Here’s one of the biggest differences between Hutterites and the popular image of the Amish. Hutterites can be highly technological.
A Hutterite colony may operate modern tractors, combines, irrigation systems, workshops, computers and sophisticated agricultural equipment. Some colonies run large commercial farms and businesses that require considerable technical expertise.
That doesn’t mean Hutterites accept every technology without concern. Communities may regulate internet access, smartphones, entertainment and other technologies that could weaken communal values or introduce unwanted influences. But the basic approach differs substantially from many Old Order Amish communities. Hutterites generally don’t see modern machinery itself as incompatible with Christian simplicity. If a million-dollar piece of agricultural equipment helps the colony harvest crops efficiently, they can find a place for it.
Work
Work occupies an important place in Hutterite life. Everyone who is able is expected to contribute to the community. Men and women generally perform different traditional roles, although specific responsibilities vary among colonies. Agriculture, animal husbandry, construction, mechanics, food preparation, clothing production, childcare and education all become parts of the colony’s shared economic life.
Because individual members aren’t primarily working to accumulate personal wealth, work takes on a communal meaning. The farmer isn’t merely producing his income. He’s helping feed and support the church community. That doesn’t eliminate ordinary human problems. Communal living doesn’t magically remove laziness, disagreement, ambition or personality conflicts. The Hutterites are still people. But it does change the economic question from “How much can I accumulate?” to “What does the community need?”
Worship and Faith
Hutterite worship is generally simple and centered on Scripture, prayer, preaching and congregational singing. Their theology reflects the broader Anabaptist emphasis on following Christ in practical obedience rather than treating Christianity primarily as intellectual agreement with a doctrinal system.
They practice believers’ baptism and expect baptized members to commit themselves to the church and its communal life. Baptism therefore has consequences extending well beyond attending Sunday services. Joining the church means becoming part of an economic, social and spiritual community.
Hutterites affirm historic Christian beliefs about God, Christ, sin and salvation, but their distinctive emphasis falls heavily on discipleship. The Christian faith should produce a visible way of life. In that sense, the colony itself becomes part of their theology. You can read what Hutterites believe, but at the same time you can drive onto a colony and see what they think those beliefs should look like.
Education
Hutterite children receive formal education while also being prepared for life within the colony. The exact arrangement varies by location and local law, but colonies often operate schools in cooperation with public educational systems while providing additional religious and cultural instruction themselves.
Children learn English but may also grow up speaking Hutterisch, a German dialect used within Hutterite communities. Religious instruction preserves their Anabaptist heritage and connects younger generations with a history stretching back to the Reformation. Education therefore has two purposes. Children need the academic skills required to function in modern society and operate increasingly sophisticated farms and businesses, but the community also wants them to understand why the colony exists in the first place.
Three Major Groups
North American Hutterites are traditionally divided into three major branches: the Schmiedeleut, Dariusleut and Lehrerleut. The names come from historical leaders or occupations associated with the groups, and each developed its own network of colonies.
They share the major features of Hutterite faith and communal life but differ in certain customs, organizational relationships and approaches to modern culture. There have also been divisions within these branches over time, which shouldn’t surprise anyone who has read much church history.
Living communally doesn’t eliminate denominational disagreements. Sometimes it just means the people you’re disagreeing with live closer.
But for this introductory article, the important point is that “Hutterite” doesn’t describe one centrally administered worldwide organization. It describes a religious tradition containing related but distinct branches and colonies.
Clothing
Hutterites generally dress modestly, and traditional clothing remains particularly noticeable among women. Depending on the group, women may wear long dresses and distinctive head coverings, while men’s clothing is usually simple and conservative.
Their appearance can cause outsiders to confuse them with Amish or Old Order Mennonites, but clothing restrictions generally aren’t as central to Hutterite identity as the communal structure itself. You can change the style of a dress and still have a Hutterite colony. Eliminate the community of goods and you’ve changed something much more fundamental.
That distinction helps explain why Hutterites can adopt advanced agricultural technology without believing they’ve abandoned their heritage.
Marriage and Family
Hutterites place a strong emphasis on marriage and family, with traditional gender roles forming part of community life. Young adults generally marry within the Hutterite faith, which helps maintain the religious and cultural continuity of the colonies.
Marriage isn’t merely the joining of two individuals. A couple remains embedded within the larger community, surrounded by extended family and other colony members. Children grow up in an environment where church, family, school and work overlap far more extensively than they do for most modern Americans.
That provides tremendous social support, but it also means individual choices can affect the entire community. Leaving a Hutterite colony isn’t comparable to switching from one suburban church to another. It may involve leaving your workplace, economic support system, extended family, social network and religious community all at once.
Are Hutterites Amish?
No. The confusion is understandable because Hutterites, Amish and Mennonites share a common Anabaptist heritage and several important beliefs. All three traditions practice believers’ baptism, historically emphasize nonviolence and maintain some degree of separation from the surrounding culture. But they developed separately.
The Hutterites emerged during the early Radical Reformation and became associated with Jakob Hutter and communal ownership. Mennonites developed around the leadership of Menno Simons among peaceful Anabaptists in the Netherlands and northern Europe. The Amish separated from the Swiss Mennonite tradition under Jakob Ammann more than a century later.
The easiest way to remember the distinction is probably this: Amish life is especially recognizable for its technological and cultural boundaries; Hutterite life is especially recognizable for its communal economy.
Communal Living and Human Nature
The Hutterite experiment raises an interesting question. Can people actually live communally for generations?
History contains plenty of attempts at communal societies that lasted a few years, encountered internal conflict and disappeared. Nineteenth-century America alone produced a remarkable collection of religious and secular communal experiments, many of which now survive primarily as paragraphs in history books. Hutterite communities have endured for nearly five centuries.
Their religious commitment is one reason. The community of goods isn’t merely an economic arrangement that members adopted because somebody calculated that communal farming was efficient. It’s tied to their understanding of Christian discipleship, the church and Scripture.
Their relatively small colony structure probably matters too. People know one another. Families share the same religious convictions. Children grow up understanding the expectations of the community. Even then, colonies can experience conflicts and divisions.
When a Colony Gets Too Large
Successful Hutterite colonies eventually face a practical problem: growth. As families expand and the population becomes too large for one colony to function efficiently, a new colony may be established. Resources are divided and a portion of the community relocates to the new property.
This process allows Hutterite society to reproduce itself geographically. Instead of allowing one settlement to grow into an enormous town, the movement creates additional colonies. That pattern also explains how Hutterite communities have spread across the Canadian and American plains. Growth produces new settlements, which eventually produce additional settlements of their own.
It’s church planting with farmland – lots of farmland.
The Outside World
Hutterites maintain separation from the surrounding culture, but they’re hardly isolated from it. Colonies sell agricultural products, purchase equipment, conduct business with outside companies and interact with governments, schools, hospitals and neighboring communities. Modern commercial agriculture makes complete isolation impossible even if they wanted it.
The challenge is therefore similar to the one faced by other traditional Anabaptists: How do you participate economically in modern society without allowing modern society to determine your values? Hutterites draw that boundary differently from the Amish. They may adopt technology much more readily while maintaining communal ownership and strong internal social structures.
Both traditions are attempting to answer the same basic question. They’ve simply arrived at different answers.
More Than Christian Communism
Hutterites are sometimes described as practicing Christian communism, and there’s a limited sense in which the description makes sense. They do practice communal ownership and distribute resources according to the needs of the community.
But the phrase can create more confusion than clarity if it makes people think of twentieth-century Communist states. Hutterites aren’t Marxists, don’t advocate class warfare and don’t seek a government-run economy. Their system existed centuries before modern socialism and depends upon voluntary membership in a religious community.
The Hutterites aren’t trying to change things politically. They’re just trying to live according to their understanding of the church described in Acts.
A Different Kind of Anabaptist
The Amish show us one way Anabaptists have tried to protect Christian community from the pressures of modern society. The Hutterites show us another.
Instead of drawing their strongest boundaries around automobiles and household technology, Hutterites draw one of their strongest boundaries around property itself. They ask what happens when Christians stop organizing economic life primarily around individual ownership and begin treating the community as an extended household.
That doesn’t mean their answer is the only possible Christian interpretation of Acts, and most Christians throughout history haven’t concluded that the Jerusalem church established a permanent requirement for communal ownership. But the Hutterites have done something unusual: they tested their interpretation by actually living it.
And they kept living it. Jakob Hutter was executed in 1536. The empires that persecuted his followers have disappeared, borders have moved repeatedly, governments have risen and fallen, and the Hutterites have migrated halfway around the world.
Yet on the plains of western Canada and the northern United States, communities bearing his name still work together, worship together and hold their possessions in common. You don’t have to believe every Christian should live that way to find it remarkable.