General Conference Mennonites and Old Order Amish are compared and contrasted in the areas of physical appearance, religious beliefs, formal education, methods of farming, and home settings. General Conference Mennonites and Amish differ in physical appearance and especially in dress. The General Conference Mennonite men and women dress the same as others in society and follow no rules for shaving or hair length. Amish men wear plain colored clothes, and if married wear beards but no moustaches. Amish women wear ankle length plain dresses and do not cut their hair. General Conference Mennonites and Amish also differ in religious customs. General Conference Mennonites have more contemporary religious customs, while Amish retain their traditional services. Both groups, however, avoid lodge membership, drinking, gambling, cursing, saying or signing "I solemnly swear," military service, divorce, adultery, and premarital sex. The educational priorities of the Amish and General Conference Mennonites differ as well. General Conference Mennonites emphasize higher education and attend public schools, while Amish attend parochial schools only until the eighth grade. Both General Conference Mennonites and Amish live in rural settings, although many young General Conference Mennonites are leaving the farm equipment and automated farm processes while Amish farmers use horse drawn machinery and diesel thrashing machines. The homes of the two groups differ greatly. General Conference Mennonites' homes are modern and use electricity. Amish homes do not use electricity and the people use a horse and carriage for transportation. The Amish do not participate in commercial forms of recreation, while General Conference Mennonite young people do and the adults do not. (APG)