The Amish are slowly growing their communities, as more and more family members join their simple, technology-free lifestyle.

The Amish have even claimed to be the fastest-growing religion in the United States.

“When researchers began studying this phenomenon, they discovered that the growth of the Amish movement had little to do with cold-calling evangelism and everything to do with birthrate and education,” Peter Witkowski, the associate pastor of preschool and children at First Baptist Church in Eastman, Georgia, wrote in a blog post on the Family Research Council’s website in March.

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The Amish grew by 17.9 percent between 2011 and 2016; the population doubles about every 20 years, according to the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania.

“The Amish are a Christian church that traces its roots to the Protestant Reformation in 16th-century Europe,” according to Amish Studies, an academic website developed by the Young Center. “Amish people accept basic Christian beliefs but also have some special interpretations and emphases that have emerged throughout their history.”

There are over 300,000 Amish people, as of June 2016. About two-thirds live in Pennsylvania, Ohio or Indiana. The largest population of Amish live in the vicinity of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

“The primary forces driving the growth are sizable nuclear families (five or more children on average) and an average retention rate (Amish children who join the church as young adults) of 85 percent or more,” according to Amish Studies. “A few outsiders have joined the Amish, but the bulk of the growth is from within the Amish community.”

The Amish population in America is projected to exceed one million by 2050, according to a 2012 study by The Ohio State University.

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“The Amish are one of the fastest-growing religious groups in North America,” Joseph Donnermeyer, professor of rural sociology at Ohio State’s School of Environment and Natural Resources, said in 2012. “They’re doubling their population about every 21 to 22 years, primarily because they produce large families and the vast majority of daughters and sons remain in the community as adults baptized into the faith, starting their own families and sustaining their religious beliefs and practices.”

There may be more to this religious Christian sect than meets the eye of those who watch television shows such as “Breaking Amish” (a series about the men and women who have broken away from their community). The Amish, part of the Anabaptist denomination, highlight a unique trend in religion in this country.

“When given the chance to freely choose between the modern world and the Amish lifestyle, more than eight out of 10 Amish children choose to stay,” Witkowski wrote in his post on FRCblog.com. “Every Amish couple will add about five kids to their local church’s congregation, while the average Baptist couple will add about one. And when the couples die off, the Amish church will have grown by 150 percent, while the [Southern Baptist Convention] church will have decreased by 50 percent if birthrate is the only factor.”

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While Witkowski may not agree with all Amish beliefs, he explains something key about this group of people.

“I do not think electricity leads to sin,” Witkowski wrote. “I also think our churches should be more evangelistic than the typical Amish farmer. But the Amish have realized that family is key. They have functionally realized that children under the age of 18 are the population most open to being evangelized and have literally devoted a large portion of their life to reaching this next generation.”