The Establishment of Schools by Hutterite Communities

Their Educational Principles and Their Impact on the History of Education (16th–18th Centuries)

Abstract

The Hutterite Anabaptist movement operated schools since 1532. For them, a life pleasing to God was inconceivable without reading and knowing the Bible. Their rejection of infant baptism led to the recognition of the particular importance of child-rearing. Through systematic education, children were to become familiar with the Word of God and later consciously commit themselves to it through baptism. The Hutterites did not conceive the path to salvation in terms of individuality, but always in the context of community and brotherhood. The brethren sought salvation collectively, supporting one another in this pursuit, and expressed their educational principles in Schulordnungen, which were sets of regulations. Their pedagogical approach, remarkably modern for its time, may have contributed to their successful survival across different countries, continents, and cultures. Parallels can be identified in the works of Walpot, Krall, and Comenius, the latter of whom maintained contact with the Hutterite communities until his death. For Walpot, as for the Pietists, a central idea was education in love.