Cory Anderson , Ph.D.

Cory Anderson is a rural sociologist researching structural, cultural, and demographic changes among the Amish, Mennonites, and other plain Anabaptists. Members of this ethnic-religious population are growing rapidly due to natural increase and high retention rates. As they continue to migrate to new places throughout North America, their impact on rural communities, where population density is low and public resources are slim, will be felt. Understanding plain Anabaptist population patterns and cultural change is thus consequential for rural policy makers, public officials, service providers, businesses, and the plain Anabaptist people themselves. Dr. Anderson is co-founder of the Amish & Plain Anabaptist Studies Association and editor of the Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies.