The Hutterian Brethren originated in central Europe in 1528, after the Reformation. The Hutterites are a Christian church that advocates total community, spiritually and materially, which they believe fulfills the highest command of love, and they also believe that one must not only recognize Christ as Savior but also follow him. They use both the Old and New Testament in their worship services. Since they are of German descent, they still teach and use their native tongue at home and in church. Some of their history, which is preserved and published today, is already in English. Each community conducts its own youth work through Sunday school and other activities. They practice adult baptism upon confession of faith, are war resistors, refuse to participate in politics, dress differently, and operate their own schools, and the meals are all eaten together. The Hutterites are agriculturists by trade, some also engaged in manufacturing, and they use modern tools to carry out these endeavors. They distribute the work among the members wherever the need arises. There are 458 colonies with close to 40,000 members in North America.

The colonies (and the count) are located in Alberta (167), Manitoba (105), Saskatchewan (60), South Dakota (54), Minnesota (9), Montana (15), Washington (5), North Dakota (6), British Columbia (2).