Stephen Scott (12 April 1948 – 28 December 2011) was an American writer on
Anabaptist
Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...
subjects, especially on
Old Order and
Conservative Mennonite groups.
Biography
Scott was born in
Portsmouth, Ohio
Portsmouth is a city in Scioto County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located in southern Ohio south of Chillicothe, Ohio, Chillicothe, it lies on the north bank of the Ohio River, across from Kentucky and just east of the mouth of th ...
, and grew up in
Beavercreek, Ohio. He attended
Cedarville College and
Wright State University
Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio, United States. Originally opened in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, it became an independent institution in 1967 and was named in ...
, both in the state of his birth. Being a pacifist he did alternative service at Lancaster Mennonite School starting in 1969. From 1979 to 1980 he taught at Clearview Mennonite School. Starting in 1984 he worked for twelve years for "Good Books" and "The People's Place" in
Intercourse, Pennsylvania. In early 1997 he was hired at the
Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies where he worked until his death.
[Stephen Scott: Old Order and Conservative Mennonites Groups, Intercourse, PA 1996, page 252.]
He wrote mainly on the history, lifestyle, customs, and beliefs of the
Amish
The Amish (, also or ; ; ), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church fellowships with Swiss people, Swiss and Alsace, Alsatian origins. As they ...
and both the Old Order and the Conservative Mennonites. His book ''An Introduction to Old Order and Conservative Mennonite Groups'' is an important source on both Old Order Mennonites and also on Conservative Mennonites and still is an often cited book.
He was a member of the
Old Order River Brethren from 1969 to his death. He married Hariett Sauder in 1973 and had three children with her.
[Stephen Scott: "Plain Buggies: Amish, Mennonite, and Brethren Horse-drawn Transportation" Intercourse, PA 1981, page96.]
Works
* "The Amish Way of Life in Modern American Society" in Nanami Suzuki (Editor): "The Anabaptist idea and the way of practicing care : reconsidering the meaning of life in the 21st century" Osaka 2012, p. 33-48.
* "Amish Groups, Affiliations, and Categories", unpublished manuscript, 2011.
* Together with Hillary Daecher: "Hymnody : Anabaptist, Pietist and Lutheran traditions" Gettysburg, PA 2008.
* Together with Joy Kraybill: "The story of the village of Intercourse", Intercourse, PA 2005.
* "An Introduction to Old Order and Conservative Mennonite Groups", Intercourse PA 1996.
* "Amish Houses and Barnes", Intercourse, PA 1992.
* "Living Without Electricity", Intercourse, PA 1990.
* "The Amish Wedding and Other Special Occasions of the Old Order Communities", Intercourse, PA 1988.
* "Why Do They Dress That Way", Intercourse, PA 1986.
* "Plain Buggies: Amish, Mennonite, and Brethren Horse-drawn Transportation" Intercourse, PA 1981.
* "The Plain churches of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and related groups; Mennonite-Amish-Brethren-River Brethren", Lancaster, PA 1975.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Stephen
1948 births
2011 deaths
American Mennonites
Anabaptist writers
Mennonitism
People from Portsmouth, Ohio
20th-century Anabaptists
21st-century Anabaptists
Mennonite writers