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MD Expat in PA: "Contrary to what the name would imply however, the New Order Amish are closer to the Old Order Amish..."

Over the years I've met many Amish from around the country, but never one who confessed to being "New Order".
Even the few with cell phones and pickup trucks (which they own but can't drive) insist they are Old Order, and New Order is something different entirely.

So what would New Order Amish be?
It would be the same as New Order Mennonites, which means, pretty much, just like "English".
They would have electricity and phones in their homes, drive cars & trucks and dress like "English".
And, I'm told, there are some New Order Amish, but very, very few.
And the reason, as I posted above, is: once a community starts down that road towards "New Order" the almost inevitable result is that some will leave to become non-Amish while others return to their Old Order settlements.
So, amongst all 300,000 or so Amish fewer than 1% are "New Order".

At least, that's my experience.
It's possible there's plenty I don't know.

MD Expat in PA: "While there are some Mennonites, the traditional or “horse-and-buggy”... there are differences.
There are also some Mennonite churches that are very “liberal” including views on gay marriage..."

While virtually no Amish will admit to being "New Order" that is not the case amongst the more general category of Mennonites, who range the full gamut from very Old Order to entirely New Order, meaning virtually "English".

MD Expat in PA: "And even among the more traditional Mennonites whose women dress conservatively, most of the men do not - they dress in typical work type clothing, blue jeans, etc..."

The key fact to remember here is that the dress amongst all such groups is, in effect, a uniform which they must wear, depending on the occasion.
Whether that uniform comes straight out of the 1880s, as with Amish, or from the 1910s as with many Mennonites is a matter of custom, tradition and local rules.
And no settlement which applies dress codes to its members can be classified as "New Order".

MD Expat in PA: "FWIW I never had a single Amish couple come in to register for the Baby register."

Right.
That's because, almost by definition, there's no such thing as "New Order Amish", which is what would be required for them to have computers, internet, electricity, cars, etc., etc.