The Hutterites in North America

CHAPTER 10. Population, Demography, and Defection

g฀฀chapter 10฀฀G Population, Demography, and Defection Therefore they all slipped away from community like an eel from the hand of the one who wants to hold on to it. —Hutterite sermon on Acts 2, circa 1650 A s the Hutterite Church continues to grow at fairly rapid rates, the Hutterites want to keep individual colony sizes small. But among the Leut and the colonies there are various expansion models. In addition, a significant 15 percent of residents decide not to stay in the community. Hutterite Family Size Every Hutterite is encouraged to marry and have at least several children. In1954,JosephEatonandAlbertMayerconductedastudyindicatingthat the average Hutterite woman gave birth to 10.4 children.1 These authors suggested that Hutterites were some of the most prolific people on record. This assessment and the Eaton and Mayer figures have been quoted ever since in historical, psychological, and sociological works, without consulting later studies. The Hutterite birthrate is no longer so high. Observers began noticing a decline in population in the late 1970s. In 1980 Karl Peter published an article, “The Decline of Hutterite Population Growth,” on this issue. Studies by Bron Ingoldsby and Max Stanton in 1988 documented an increased use of contraceptives, tubal ligation, ฀ g฀population, demography, and defection G฀ 235 and hysterectomies as forms of birth control, leading to smaller families. One-third of the women referenced in the Ingoldsby-Stanton sample had usedsomeformofbirthcontrol.Hutteritecoupleswerealsomarryinglater and purposely, with the official encouragement of doctors, spacing their children so that their families did not become too large. A 2002 study by Katherine White confirmed these findings.2 Since the 1960s, family size has diminished significantly. Our own study of Hutterite genealogical records found that the average number of births per Hutterite woman decreased from about 8.3 in 1960 to 4.8 in 1990(seetable10.1).Themostradicaldemographicchangeoccurredduring the 1960s, when birth control options first became widely available. This decrease in family size does not mean that the Hutterite population as a whole is declining. Karl Peter’s 1980 study noted an annual population growthrateof 4.12percent,comparedto 2.9 percentforthegeneralpopulation .3 Hutterite growth has now decreased to about 3.5 percent, still a fairly high rate, which leads to a doubling in population size about every twenty years.. Figure 10.1 provides a one-hundred-year overview of Hutterite birthrate statistics; figure 10.2 plots the age of Hutterite mothers when their last child was born. Colony Size and Expansion Unless financially strapped, Hutterite colonies rarely get larger than 150 to 160 people, the number that colony acreages can usually support. Small size also fosters close relationships between members of all ages, making Table 10.1. Hutterite birthrates, 1954–1990 Year Births per woman 1954 10.4 1960 8.3 1970 5.8 1980 5.3 1990 4.8 236฀ g฀the hutterites in north america G฀ it less likely that disruptive factions will emerge. Malcolm Gladwell, in his best-selling book The Tipping Point, notes that Hutterite colony size promotes social stability. Most Hutterites are very close to centers of power, hold important colony positions, and are personally empowered in a nonbureaucratic social structure.4 Colony policies are analyzed informally via the gossip mill before decisions are made, before votes are ever taken. In a small community, it is not hard to discern the general will of the people. Colonies start saving money for expansion, that is, the establishment of daughter colonies, as soon as their debts are paid off or the population exceeds one hundred. Hutterites are always saving money and looking for available land. Depending on numbers of children, male-female ratios, the number of runaway boys, and general retention rates, a colony that starts with fifty to sixty residents may grow to nearly one hundred within fifteen to twenty years. Expansion happens most quickly in colonies where there are large families, where most young people join the church, and where there are more male than female children. If a colony has a high 0 Number of children Year of woman’s birth 1 8 7 4 – 7 9 1 8 8 0 – 8 4 1 8 8 5 – 8 9 1 8 9 5 – 9 9 1 9 0 0 – 1 9 0 4 1 9 0 5 – 9 1 9 1 0 – 1 4 1 9 1 5 – 1 9 1 9 2 0 – 2 4 1 9 2 5 – 2 9 1 9 3...