The Amish Within the Period of Rumspringa

Masaryk University

Faculty of Education

Department of English Language and Literature

The Amish within the Period of Rumspringa

Bachelor Thesis

Brno 2011

Supervisor: Author:

Rita Chalmers Collins, EdD Andrea Bartuňková

Declaration

I declare that I worked on my bachelor thesis on my own and that I used only the sources mentioned in the reference list.

…………………………………..

Andrea Bartuňková

Acknowledgements

I would like to express special thanks to my supervisor, Rita Chalmers Collins, EdD, for her kind guidance, patience, useful comments and professional advice on writing my bachelor thesis.

Content

1. Introduction 6

2. The Amish 7

3. History 8

3. 1. The Anabaptists 8

3. 2. The Birth of the Swiss Brethren 8

3.2.1. The Schleithem Articles 9

3. 3. The Origin of Mennonites 11

3. 4. The Founder of the Amish 12

3. 5. Migration to America 13

3.5.1. Old Order Amish Division 14

4. The Old Order Amish Society 15

4.1. Population 15

4.2. Language 15

4.3. Social and Religious Organization 16

5. Ordnung 18

5.1. The Term and Differentation 18

5.2. Ordnung Key Principles in Practical Life 18

5.2.1. Disciplinary Practices 19

5.3. Physical Appearance and Clothing 20

6. Family 22

6.1. Family Relationships 22

6.1.1. Relationship between Husband and Wife and Gender Roles 22

6.1.2. Relationsip between Parents and Children 24

6.2. Schooling 25

6.3. Retirement 26

7. Adolescence Age and Rumspringa 28

7.1. Rumspringa 28

7.1.1. Traditional Courtship within Old Order Amish Community 29

7.1.2. Testing the Boundaries 30

7.1.3. Attitude of Parents and Community 34

7.2. The Reasons for Letting the Amish Teenagers be in Rumspringa 35

8. Consclusion 36

9. Resumé 38

10. List of References 39

1. Introduction

As a student of English language I was always interested in the culture of the English language speaking countries, especially the United States of America. When I was choosing the topic of the work, I finally decided to describe the lifestyle and culture of Amish society. Although the values the Amish culture are based on are completely different from what is generally considered typically American, the Amish undeniably belong to American culture since parts of the United States (together with Canadian Ontario) are the only place in the world resided by the Amish.

The bachelor thesis deals with culture of the Old Order Amish, the major Amish group living in North America, keeping the most strict and traditional way of life of all Amish and other religious groups of the same origin.

The main aim of the work called The Amish within the Period of Rumspringa is to describe both the basis of Old Order Amish life within their community and treating their young people during the period of rumspringa. The thesis subsequently provides explanation why the baptism is chosen by the vast Amish adolescents majority after the end of rumspringa.

As the sources studying the Old Order Amish are limited, I primarily use the work of Hostetler (focusing on the Old Order Amish society), Greksa and Korbin (dealing with Amish as the whole) and the ―Amish Studies‖, the academic website developed by the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College (Pa.), of which the research team is led by Donald B. Kraybill, the major scholar and investigator on Anabaptist groups studies. The work by Tom Shachtman serves as the chief source as far as rumspringa activities concerns.

2. The Amish

The Amish are a conservative Christian faith group that accepts the basic tenets of the Christian church. They emphasize traditional values such as humility, family, separation from the outside world and the authority of the local church over the life of its individual members (Britannica Encyclopaedia , ―Amish‖).

They are known for their simple way of living, plain dress and opposition to the modern society lifestyle.

According to J. Gordon Melton, the largest concentration of current Amish population is in Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York and Canadian Ontario (in Robinson, ―Amish: History, Believes, Practices‖).

3. History

3.1. The Anabaptists

The Amish are direct descendants of the Anabaptist movement of sixteenth- century Europe at the time of the Protestant Reformation (Hostetler 1980: 25).

Various views on the origin of the Anabaptist movement can be found among scholars. Although a number of theories exist concerning the history and origin, the three main ideas survive. First, Anabaptists began in a single expression in Zűrich and spread from there (monogenesis), second, Anabaptists arose out of several independent movements (polygenesis), and third, Anabaptists are a continuation of New Testament Christianity (apostolic succession or church perpetuity) (Nicholas Weber).

Since it is agreed on the monogenesis theory origin in the majority of sources used for my bachelor thesis and so as not to digress from the intended subject, this chapter will not deal with the polygenesis theory or the idea of apostolic succession or church perpetuity.

3.2. The birth of the Swiss Brethren

At the time of the sixteenth century Protestant Reformation in Europe, new religious groups opposing the old authority system were formed. Subsequently, new reforms were instituted by Ulrich Zwingli, who founded the Reformed Church in Switzerland. The newly established Protestant group, however, sustained the concept of a united church and state and strictly demanded infant baptism, which was considered as unsatisfactory reform to the small group of dedicated persons in Zurich, namely Conrad Grebel, Felix Mann and George Blaurock (Hostetler 1980:25-27). These educated men claimed that the church should include only those who publicly confirm their faith in Jesus Christ and the argument centred on infant baptism (―Swiss Brethren‖). Their thoughts were rejected first by Ulrich Zwingli, the head of the Swiss state Reformed church and later by the Zurich City Council. Nevertheless, the group continued to meet secretly to study the Bible and baptized one another into a new church-community, free from hierarchy and power of the old church (Hostetler 1980: 27-28).

From this point of view, the date of January 21, 1525, when Conrad Grebel baptized George Bluarock, and Blaurock baptized other followers, is generally considered the birth date of Anabaptist movement (Nicholas Weber). Its members are said to be the earliest proponents of the separation of church and state in Europe. These Christians regarded the Bible as the only norm of faith and rule for life (―Anabaptists‖). The movement strictly rejected infant baptism, defending that baptism should signify voluntary adult decision to become a Christian and join the church. On the basis of the belief in adult baptism, Anabaptists proceeded to baptize one another into the movement. Since the radicals had all been baptized in state churches (either Catholic or Protestant) as infants, they were nicknamed Anabaptists, meaning ―re-baptizers‖ (―Anabaptists‖).

For the reason the group required a church free from state control and expressed displeasure with economic and social injustices, seeking new ways of reforming the church, and mainly for adult baptism— they were labelled by enemies as ―seditious, devil inspired nonconformists‖. Both civil and religious authorities were threatened by the rapid spread of Anabaptist groups. Consequently, due to their radical beliefs, the Anabaptists in Europe encountered severe persecution and were punished in a variety of ways: confiscation of property, imprisonment, torture, death or sent to Italy as galley slaves (Hostetler 1980: 50-51).

The ubiquitous oppression scattered the Swiss Brethren across the Europe, where over several decades, nearly 2,500 Anabaptist members were executed and more than a hundred were imprisoned (―Amish Origin‖).

3.2.1. The Schleitheim articles

To fully understand the Swiss Brethren, which the Amish are a branch of, it is necessary to be acquainted with the seven Schleitheim articles.

The ―Brotherly Union‖ declaration (since referred to as the Schleitheim Articles) was adopted at the secret conference of Anabaptist leaders that took place on February 24, 1527 at Schleitheim, on the Swiss-German border, under the leadership of Michael Sattler (Hostetler 1980:28). According to Weber, February 24, 1527 is therefore

9 suggested the proper date of the origin of Anabaptism by the scholars of the last quarter of the twentieth century.

The Schleitheim Articles (abridged below) are still regarded as basic guidelines for life and faith of the Swiss Brethren and the Amish today (Hostetler 1980:29).

The Schleitheim articles (all qtd. in Hostetler 1980:28-29):

1. Adult baptism

Baptism shall be given to all who have been taught repentance and the amendment of life, who believe that their sins are taken away through Crist, and who desire to walk in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This excludes all infant baptism

2. The ban

After taking baptism as a sign of commitment to the fellowship, if any inadvertently slip and fall into error and sin, the ban shall be employed. First they shall be warned twice privately, and the third time publicly before the congregation (according to Matthew 18). This shall be done before the breaking of bread, so they all may in one spirit and in one love, break and eat from one loaf and drink from one cup.

3. Concerning the breaking of bread

Those who partake of the bread (the Lord´s supper) must beforehand be united in the one baptism and one body of Christ. Those who desire to drink in remembrance of the shed blood of Christ, cannot be partakers at the same time of the table of the Lord and the table of devils. All who have fellowship with dead works of darkness have no part in the light. We cannot be made one loaf together with him.

4. Separation

We have been united concerning the separation that shall take place from evil and wickedness which the devil has planted in the world, simply in this that we have no fellowship with them, and do not run with them in the confusion of their abominations. Fall away from all u..Thereby shall also fall away from us the diabolical weapons of violence—such as sword, armour, and the like, and all of their use to protect friends or against enemies—by virtue of the words of Christ: ―You shall not be resist evil.‖

5. Shepherds

The shepherds in the church shall be a person of good report according to the rule of Paul, who can read, exhort, reach, warn, admonish and properly preside in prayer and in the braking of bread. If he has need, he shall be supported. If he is driven away or martyred, another shall be installed immediately.

6. The Sword

The sword [government] is an ordering of God outside the perfection of Christ. It punishes and kills the wicked, and guards and protects the good. . . .Within the perfection of Christ only the ban is used for the admonition and exclusion of the one who has sinned—without the death of the flash—simply the warning and the command to sin no more. He rule of government is according to the flash; that of Christians, according to the spirit.

7. Rejections of oaths

The oath is a confirmation among those who are quarrelling or making promises. In the old law it was permitted in the name of God. Christ, who taught the perfection of the law, forbids all swearing. One´s speech shall be yea or nay. Anything more is evil.

3.3. The origin of Mennonites

A number of leaders were attracted by Anabaptist conviction, including Menno Simmons (1496-1561), a priest coming from Friesland, today a province in Netherlands (Krahn, Cornelius and Cornelius J. Dyck). Menno Simmons began to teach that Jesus did not take the flesh from his mother, but either from Heaven or had one made for him by the Word (Nicholas Weber). In addition, Menno Simmons felt that the Catholic Church had focused on ―...legends, histories, fables, holy days, images, holy water, tapers, palms, confessionals, pilgrimages, masses, matins and vespers..., purgatory, vigils and offerings‖ (qtd. in Hostetler 1980:30), rather than concentrating on the gospel message (Robinson, ―The Origin of the Amish in Europe‖).

The reasons mentioned above finally led him to convert to Anabaptist faith. Simmons was famous for being able to unify various diverse groups and was regarded the most important Anabaptist leader in the Netherlands. His followers were named

11 after him ―Mennists‖ or ―Mennonites‖ and the name was accepted by descendants of the Swiss Anabaptists later migrating to America (Hostetler 1980:30).

The Mennonites are known for the tradition of pacifism and anti-military attitude (―Reformation Origins‖). They rigorously rejected approaches using violent means, nevertheless to maintain and enforce discipline within the group, banning (involving excommunication: severing the relationship between the member and others in the group) and shunning (Meidung in German) were introduced. In 1632, the leaders of Mennonite group met at Dordrecht in the Netherlands to formally and officially endorse their beliefs in a document called the Dordrecht Confession of Faith (Robinson, ―The Origin of the Amish in Europe‖). Lee points out that despite differences in work, home life, customs, worship and attitude to using means of modern technology—all Mennonite groups share the same strong foundations: the plain way of life and ―unshakable devotion to God‖ (493).

3.4. The Founder of the Amish

Little is known of elder of Markirch Jacob Amman, except that he was born in 1644 in Switzerland, but probably in 1693 migrated to Alsace where he became a spokesman for the minority of Anabaptist body that moved to the Alsatic region in order to avoid Swiss persecution (Hostetler 1980:31-33). Nevertheless, his role concerning the birth of Amish branch is definitely not deniable.

Obviously, the sequence of events leading gradually to the Amish origin was based on the three main controversies that had been presented by Jacob Amman. First, the elder of Markirch suggested the communion service to be held twice a year, instead of a year frequency ,which had been the practice, second, he re-introduced foot washing into the worship service and insisted that church members be dressed in a plain, uniform manner and beards not be trimmed (―Swiss Brethren‖).

Third, Amman saw a lack of overall discipline in Swiss Mennonite congregations and demanded return to an austere adherence of the writings of Simmons and the 1632 Mennonite Dordrecht Confession of Faith. Unlike other Anabaptist Mennonites, Amman believed in a strict observance to the doctrine of Meidung, i.e., a total shunning of excommunicated members of the church in case of not following an

12 absolute discipline (Greksa and Korbin 557). Besides, he took shunning one step further when he required the spouse under the ban to neither sleep in the same bed nor eat at the same table with the sinner until they had regretted and reclaimed their behaviour (―The Origin of the Amish in Europe‖).

The subject of social avoidance turned out to be the most controversial matter, which one can see in the dispute between Amman and two elders opposing his teaching Hans Reist and Benedict Schneider. Amman and Reist therefore became the leaders of opposing fractions on the issues mentioned formerly. For the vexed questions described above, particularly for the issue of total shunning, Amman was, without a doubt, responsible for causing the schism within the Swiss Mennonites (Bender and Steiner).

As a result of the major schism, Amman separated from the Mennonites in 1693. There were certain attempts at reconciliation with the Mennonites, though it did never proved successful (Bender).

The newly established division of the Swiss Mennonites owed its name to Amman, whose followers where thus named ―Amish Mennonnites‖ or simply ―Amish‖ (Hostetler 1980:47).

3.5. Migration to America

After the 1693 separation, the Amish were scattered throughout the German- speaking parts of Europe, where they were highly regarded as skilful farmers, but on the other hand, the Anabaptist faith was not given legal status. To avoid severe persecution for the nonconformist religious persuasion, the Amish migrated to North America between 1727 and 1860 (Greksa and Korbin 557-558).

The first Amish groups came to America within a much larger German-speaking movement, including Mennonites and other groups seeking religious freedom (Hostetler 1980:50-51). They initially settled in Pennsylvania, gradually in New York, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Ohio (Robinson, ―Amish: History, Believes, Practices‖).

3.5.1. Old Order Amish Division

The term ―Old Order Amish‖ is strictly American (Hostetler 1956) and according to Greksa and Korbin, it came into being in 1865, when a minority of Amish Mennonites refused both new methods and new forms of social organization and subsequently split off from the more liberal and progressive majority. The minority consisting of approximately one-third of all Amish became known as ―Alt Amisch‖ or Old Order Amish in recognition of the fact that they favoured retaining the old Ordnung (558), the term of which will be discussed in more details in chapter five.

4. The Old Order Amish Society

According to J. G. Melton, there are four major active Amish groups in currently North America: The Beachy Amish Mennonite Churches, the Conservative Mennonite Conference, The Evangelical Mennonite Church and the Old Order Amish Mennonite Church (in Robinson, ―Amish: The History in U. S. and Canada‖). Due to their strict adherence to Ordnung and nonconformist practices, the last mentioned Amish branch (simply Old Order Amish) is considered the most traditional, conservative, isolated and thus also the most interesting society of all Amish.

It is necessary to note that the bachelor thesis deals with Old Order Amish lifestyle and does not describe any other Amish group since it is not a focus of the work.

4.1. Population

An exact figure on population is difficult to determine due to both the social isolation making a census of the Old Order Amish difficult to take and children, since not baptized, not counted (Wikipedia, ―Amish‖). Although the various studies differ to a certain degree, all of them agree on the fact that the number of Amish population is rapidly increasing, which is also evident in one of the current studies estimating the numbers of all Amish living in the United States and Canada over 249,000 with five per cent growth rate per year (―Amish Population Trends 2009-2010‖). According to Kraybill, Old Order Amish population reaches approximately 165,000 members (in Wikipedia, ―Amish‖).

4.2. Language

According to Hostetler, despite the fact that Amish came from different parts of Europe, their mother tongue is uniform. The Old Order Amish conversational speech is called Pennsylvania German or also Pennsylvania Dutch, where ―Dutch‖ is not connected with the language spoken in Netherlands but refers to the term ―Deitsch‖ meaning German (1980:238).

Hostetler also depicts the Amish use three distinctive languages with their distinctive functions. First, the already mentioned native dialect Pennsylvania Dutch, an

15 informal, oral language used at home. It is a conversational speech of children born to Amish family and is considered to be a language of the most important function within a community.

Second, English is the language taught to growing Amish children when they attend school. Both reading aloud and speaking English gives them little difficulty caused by certain influence of the native dialect. Nevertheless, English is spoken when being in contact with non-Amish people (at school, in town, or when encountering non- Amish salesman or visitor), hence the term Englisher (English) or Auswendiger (Outsider) is used for someone from the ―outside world‖. On the other hand, the Amish are referred to as ―the Dutch‖ by Outsiders living in the neighbourhood.

Third, Amish High German is taught at Amish schools but is definitely not a language of conversation. Only a passive knowledge is demonstrated in reading the original version of the Bible, translated by Martin Luther by Amish adults whereas the officials must be able to use High German in preaching services and for other ceremonial purposes (1980:238-241).

4.3. Social and Religious Organization

Approximately thirty households with over one hundred and fifty people compose a ―congregation‖ (or a ―church district‖), considered as a basic unit of Old Order Amish organization. Religious officials of the congregation, namely bishop, two to three ministers and a deacon lead the worship services, held in the private homes of one of the families every other Sunday, since no church buildings exist in Amish life (Greksa and Korbin 558). Steven Nolt speculates that having the preaching services in the family house instead of church buildings has been practised ―...out of frugality, perhaps out of necessity, or perhaps to emphasize that people (and not the building were really the church...‖ (in Robinson, ―Practises of the Amish‖).

The hymnbook of the Amish called Ausbund is used for Sunday meetings, of which integral part is slow and quiet singing of hymns originally written by Anabaptist Martyrs (Hostetler 1980:225-226).

The group of congregations affiliated with one another within the same geographic region is called ―settlement‖ (Greksa and Korbin 558) or ―affiliation‖ if based on the similarity of Ordnung (―Organization‖).

Communion is held twice a year (usually in the spring and the autumn); the church districts reaffirm their own Ordnungs during the communion, which is a symbol of the unity of the congregation (Greksa and Korbin 558). Only baptized members are allowed to take part in communion, ending with them washing and drying each other´s feet (Kraybill, in Wikipedia, ―Amish‖). According to Hostetler, in this point it is important to remember Jacob Amman (discussed in more details in the third chapter of the work) who insisted on the semi annual communion frequency and reintroduced the foot washing ritual (1980:222).

5. Ordnung

One cannot properly speak of Old Order Amish without mentioning and explaining Ordnung as it is an extremely important part, not even a base of Amish life.

5.1. The Term and Differentiation

The term Ordnung (in dialect Ott-ning) comes from German (Hostetler 1980: 84) and is translated into English as ―order‖ (Greksa and Korbin 558).

Hostetler also speaks of two kinds of Ordnung: the historical and the contemporary. The former comes from the sixteenth century, is written, printed and clarifies ―the basic principles of separation, nonresistance, apostasy and exclusion‖ (1980:84), which I think refers to the Schleitheim Articles (quoted in chapter three) that are related with the rise of Anabaptist movement (and therefore regarded as basic tenets common for life of all religious groups of Anabaptist origin including all groups of Amish).

The later is orally transmitted, serving as a guideline for the practical application of the rules and since it is specific for each church district, it varies slightly from church to church and is reaffirmed twice a year within a communion (Greksa and Korbin 558).

5.2. Ordnung Key Principles in Practical Life

Kraybill understands Ordnung as a ―code for expected behaviour‖ regulating Old Order Amish life in all aspects (112). The regulations are based on several key principles covering the whole range of daily life behaviour, including Gelassenheit explained as a kind of submission of an individual member to the will of the community. Any tendencies of self-seeking or personal power over community needs are viewed as unsafe and even injurious. On the other hand, the Gellassenheit principle supports membership and strong cooperation within a community (always acting with simplicity and humility) (Hostetler 1980:85- 86).

The principle of separation, having the roots in persuasion that ―the true grace can only be achieved if one lives in isolation from the non-Amish world‖, is evident in

18 speaking the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect rather than English, wearing simple clothes typical for the peasant Europe clothing of the eighteenth century or horse and buggy travelling. The Old Order Amish are also well known for rejection of using electricity, owning television, radio, computers or mobiles to avoid the excessive connection to world (Greksa and Korbin 558) since anything ―worldly‖ is equal to ―sinful‖ for them (Hostetler 1980:84).

Nonresistance principle refers to absolute non-violence involving rejection of participation in military, bearing arms etc. They do not regard themselves as pacifists though since they are naturally not politically active in promoting peace (―Amish Fag‖; Hostetler 1980:78).

The final principles worth mentioning are principles based on mutual aid and belief in the church being separated from the state. The former is obviously asserted in the communal barn-raising or the best example is assisting of the church in paying bills for hospitalization in case of need. The later resulted in independence from the state authorities including teaching Old Order Amish children in Amish schools according to its own curriculum and a big exception of being excluded from paying compulsory health insurance (Greksa and Korbin 558-559), which make them self-sufficient.

5.2.1. Disciplinary practices

Speculating on the Old Order Amish Ordnung, I cannot avoid the disciplinary practices used to maintain the church discipline based on the key principles noted above.

Disobedience not often but still occurs in Old Order Amish community. If an individual member is disobedient, does not follow the rules of Ordnung and sins–he or she faces excommunication (Bann in dialect) which is followed by social avoidance, called shunning (Meidung in dialect) as the most extreme. Shunning is described as a disciplinary practise of limiting church member associations with excommunicated person. Shunning does not concern children and the young Amish who have not been baptized yet (―Church Discipline‖).

Hostetler best illustrates the practise of shunning in the life of twenty-three years old Amish man, coming from the orthodox, strict Old Order Amish family. After three

19 years of his baptism, he was excommunicated and shunned due to having met and associated with excommunicated members, bought an automobile and begun to attend a Mennonite church. After a series of warnings from elders, he was finally excommunicated, thus he ate at a separate table with children (who were not church members) since he was no longer allowed to eat at the family table. The family members did not accept services and goods from him. After some time of having tried to reconcile with the church rules again, he consistently failed and it was not long time until his parents asked him to leave.

The member is shunned until he or she acknowledges his or her sins and starts to submit to the church rules. In case of not confessing fails, the person may be put under the lifetime Bann (1980:86-87).

5.3. Physical Appearance and Clothing

Not only internal belief but also physical appearance complies with the Ordnung. Hostetler depicts that the style of clothing and also other outside signs inherently belong to the typical Old Order Amish religious symbols supporting the feeling of unity, keeping the member separated from the non-Amish world and serving to identify the person from ―outside‖. Gender, age and position within the community is recognizable according to the garb of an individual person. The persistence of custom, one of the distinctive features of Old Order Amish, responds naturally to the style of clothing as it basically did not change since times of Jacob Amann.

As for men, the founder of Amish insisted full beards be worn after marriage. When not married yet, the face of a man should be shaved whereas moustaches are forbidden for all Amish men (1980:234-237). The noted restriction is applied to nonresistance principle; the association with militia is obvious as moustaches were worn by army officers serving in the forces of Napoleon Bonaparte, expressing by wearing moustaches their severity and heartlessness (Hostetler 1964:14). The man´s ordinary coat is of a black colour, made in a simple manner with no outside pockets and the trousers completed with suspenders if needed since belts are prohibited. The most traditional and orthodox Old Order Amish feel association with nobility and pride in using the buttons and zippers to hold the clothes together, hence they use hooks and

20 eyes instead. Buttons are allowed to be used only for a work coat by less strict Old Order Amish. Black hats are characterized by a permanent crease around the slightly rounded crown and often a three-inch brim, the width of which denotes the orthodoxy of the group; a wide brim along with narrow band around the low crown expresses the fellowship to the most orthodox Old Order Amish groups. In summer, straw hats are worn. The Amish men have two types of coats, each of which is used in proper time and place. On Sunday all men wear a vest under the dress coat and as for preaching service, an ordinary coat is worn by ―non-members‖ (Amish boys and men not baptized yet) and the Mutze (longer coat with a split tail) by men after baptism (―Amish FAG‖; Hostetler 1980:234-237).

The dress of Old Order Amish woman is of a dark, not necessarily black but solid colour, with no pattern, again made in a simple manner. Form-fitting, silky or showy clothes are not permitted so as not to digress from the doctrine of humility and modesty. One-piece dress with long sleeves must be long, within eight inches of the floor. The dress is completed with apron and bonnet of proper size and colour. The shawl, concretely the triangular bandage (the Halsduch in dialect) is worn over shoulders and breast and after crossing in the front, is pinned around the waist. As for Sunday preaching service, the white shawls and aprons are worn by girls whereas married women wear the shawls and aprons matching the colour of the dress. All women even infant girls from the age of six months, wear a bonnet or a ―head cap‖ (the Kapp in dialect). Girls wear white bonnets at home and black bonnets on Sunday, while married women wear white bonnets all the time. They remove the bonnets only when going to bed; nevertheless they sleep with the night head cover instead (Hostetler 1964:14).

The style, size and colour of the bonnet for women, as with the hat for men, mark the degree of orthodoxy in a particular community. Although the bonnets vary in small details within different regions, they remain basically the same as that worn by Amish women centuries ago. As for the general appearance, hair must be uncut, worn under the bonnet and as for adornment, e.g. a watch, necklace, ear-rings, piercing or tattoo are naturally forbidden (Hostetler 1980:234-237).

6. Family

Family is considered as the basic unit and is therefore given a central role in the Amish society. Having children, raising them in order to acquire behaviour, values, norms and social skills appropriate to their position in the Old Order Amish community are the principle functions of the family that has lifetime authority over the individual. Not the number of baptized persons but the number of households (families) is considered as a criterion of the size of congregation (Hostetler 1980:147).

6.1. Family Relationships

The family members help each other in different situations; the support coming from inside the family is given and received from birth to death. The relationships among the individual members are based on respect, loyalty and awareness of position and role within an Old Order Amish system (―Family‖).

6.1.1. Relationship between Husband and Wife and Gender Roles

The choice of a spouse is limited by two conditions. First, an Amish young man or woman must marry a partner from the same faith (but not necessarily from the same community). Second, first cousin marriages are forbidden whereas rarely occurring second or third cousin-marriages are permitted. Furthermore, Lancaster County congregations strictly inhibit the marriage to the child of a first cousin (called Schwartz in dialect) (Hostetler1980:147-148). Because of a restricted gene pool, a number of distinctive disorders, namely mental disabilities or specific blood disorders, have appeared among the Old Order Amish (Greksa and Korbin 559).

The family follows a strictly patriarchal pattern. The relationship between husband and wife is determined by their gender as the roles of men– fathers and women– mothers are closely defined. Wife voluntarily receives her submissive role and affirms her husband as spiritual head of the home. On the other hand, a husband appreciates his wife’s advice concerning problems in domestic matters; though the final decision belongs implicitly to him (―Family‖).

Hostetler describes that although the cooperation between husband and wife prevails, the husband always tends to be dominant to a certain degree, depending on the personalities of both. A married couple is taught to be regardful of each other and is not allowed to show disagreement in public. The initial function of the Amish family is to have and nurture children. Old Order Amish parents have six or more children on average. When having little children, the father is the only breadwinner whereas mother takes care of children, cooks and prepares food, cleans the house, makes the clothes for the family and gardens. The wife’s duties also include helping with the harvest of crops (especially corn husking), keeping the lawns and cleaning the area surrounding the house. The order and cleanliness of both inside and outside the house as well as the gardens are typical of Old Order Amish households. Nevertheless, mother is responsible primarily for preparing her sons and daughters well for Amish manhood and womanhood. As for religious matters, concretely following the rules of Ordnung by all family members, father is the person responsible to the church. If a family owns a business and children are grown, the mother devotes more time to selling the main crops raised for marketing (tobacco, potatoes, hay, grain and vegetables are raised on the fields with use of horse-drawn equipment instead of tractors) or selling the goods made of wood in the Amish shops or roadside markets, thus contributing to family income. Nowadays also quilting has become an important part of financial source of Old Order Amish families. On the other hand, father works on a farm or operates a saw mill where he teaches his sons cooperation and ―commitment‖ to nature (when working with soil or wood) (1980:147-155). Heavy work is welcome, as farming or joinery provides a space in which the family is able to be self-sufficient and function independently from non- Amish world (―Amish FAG‖; Hostetler 1980:89-92).

The personal relationship between husband and wife is generally not based on passionate emotions but is calm, sober, based on displaying respect rather than affection to each other. Displeasure or disagreement is demonstrated by gesture or voice tone but never by loud, boisterous or vulgar words. The quarrel is expressed by silence. The husband and wife are expected to maintain the standards and dignity of Old Order Amish group, since not only are they individuals connected by personal sentiment, but also they are members of the Amish faith, the biblical pattern of which is in hierarchy over their emotions (Hostetler 1980:155-156). The mentioned type of personal

23 relationship is best summarized in the study of William Thomas and Florian Znanieck (qtd. in Hostetler 1980:156):

The norm of respect from wife to husband includes obedience, fidelity, care for the husband´s comfort and health; from husband to wife, good treatment, fidelity, not letting the wife do hired work if it is not indispensable. In general, neither husband nor wife ought to do anything which could lower the social standing of the other, since this would lead to a lowering of the social standing of the other´s family. Affection is not explicitly included in the norm of respect, but is desirable. As to sexual love, it is a purely personal matter, is not and ought not to be socialized in any form; the family purposely ignores it, and the slightest indecency or indiscreetness with regard to sexual relations in marriage is viewed with disgust and is morally condemned.

6.1.2. Relationships between Parents and Children

If planned or not, children are always wanted in Old Order Amish Community, for they are regarded as the ―gift sent from God‖, hence parents feel obligation to Lord to nurture their children according to the basic doctrines of Amish faith. Old Order Amish children are therefore given strict discipline, and have respect and obedience for their parents and elders. Furthermore, they are taught skills from which not only their family but also the whole community would benefit, thus it is not a surprise that children are not raised only by their own parents but partly by all members of the community. It is important for parents to follow Ordnung of the local congregation, since they serve as the best idols for their children. The child very soon learns to imitate his or her parents, taking the Ordnung for granted. In the first two years of life, baby is given permanent care with apparent displays of love from mother and father, siblings and all other relatives. Babies are perceived as not yet having ability to distinguish between ―right‖ and ―wrong‖, and thus, they should never be punished for any act. After first two years, the restriction rules and strict discipline are permanently pressured on the child. Early in the life the child understands the difference between his or her and non-Amish world and consequently takes pride in being different. He or she is not spoilt by toys and things from the outside the community (mentioning the toys, I cannot avoid the note of girls playing with rag dolls with no faces; the practise probably refers to the refusal of having images, pictures or photos of people). On the contrary, the child is consistently conducted to recognize the difference between right and wrong and is

24 subsequently expected to response to knowledge by choosing the ―right way.‖ Self- assertion is oppressed by teaching the child to cooperate rather than compete. If the strict obedience to parents tends to be broken and the manifestations of resentments are overt, the children are punished by ―smackings‖ with hand or a buggy whip; though the naughty behaviour does not occur very often. Since the older children help with care of the younger ones, the former must serve as good models for the later. Since work is viewed as very important to both good health and being a good Christian, Amish children are incorporated into appropriate chores from an early age. Old Order Amish school children and adolescents do not get allowances from their parents, but if working for neighbour at least half a day, they are allowed to keep the earnings; though they are supposed not to spend but save the money. In many farm families, the responsibility is taught when each adolescent girl or boy is given an animal-often a calf of which exclusively he or she takes care. As has been described, discipline, obedience, feeling for respect, loyalty, responsibility and duty is continually imposed on the child within his or her childhood. Nevertheless, adolescents are permitted to ―relax from‖ the strict church rules because of their age and ―unbaptized‖ state; the period is called rumspringa in dialect and will be the subject matter of the seventh chapter of the work. To sum up the relationships between children and elders in Old Order Amish society- it has to be said that parents, grandparents and great-grandparents are evidently revered by children of all age groups (―Amish FAG‖; Greksa and Korbin 561-562; Hostetler 1980:157-161).

6.2. Schooling

In a case known as Visconsin vs. Yoder of 1972, the Amish were given an exception from the National Education System. The United States Supreme Court confirmed that first eight grades of formal schooling are sufficient for Amish children (the decision was supported by the opinion that purely basic knowledge is enough to prepare one for leading successful Amish life). As a result of recognizing the validity of Amish schools, the children coming from Amish surrounding have attended their own schools (built by Amish themselves), supplied with Amish teachers. The one- or two- room schools are operated by a board consisting of three to six Amish parents, often fathers. The choice of the teacher and the curriculum are approved by the board. Both

25 teaching ability and especially Amish faith persuasion are the criteria for the selection of the teacher, often an unmarried woman; besides being graduated from Amish school– the first eight grades, the teacher is self-trained by reading Amish magazine for teachers called ―Blackboard Bulletin‖, which is fully agreed as an adequate Amish teacher’s education. Although all school days are opened by reading Scriptures and the Lord’s Prayer recitation, the religion itself is not a formal subject; on the other hand it penetrates through all school activities. Reading, penmanship, arithmetic, grammar, spelling, history and some geography are included in the curriculum whereas subjects dealing with science and sex are absent. Cooperation, obedience, respect and kindness are stressed when teaching basic skills while the values the public education is based on, concretely critical analyses and independent thinking, are given purely minimum attention (―Education‖). Home, school and church obviously teach the same things. Today the majority of Amish children attend Amish schools, though a few Amish children living far-away from their own school still attend the public schools (but are not allowed to wear school or team uniform). Amish children who have completed the first eight grades of formal schooling but at the same time are not old enough to obtain labour permit, subsequently attend the vocational school, the curriculum of which comes out from entirely practical directions combined with working on a farm (Hostetler 1980:179).

The purpose for maintaining own education is to limit contact with non-Amish world in order to preserve Old Order Amish culture. Unquestionably, the Old Order Amish school aims are to prepare young Amish girls and boys to be successful in both playing the role in Amish system and leading him– or her in relation to the norms of the ―outside‖ world in order to reject it voluntarily (―Education‖).

6.3. Retirement

In the Old Order Amish society, the age of retirement is not strictly fixed. Besides the health state, many factors affect the time when the individual decides to retire. It may be any time between the ages of fifty and seventy. It appears to be frequent that both grandmother and grandfather, even when being of the different age, retire at the same time. As many Old Order Amish farms have double or even triple dwelling units, one of the adjacent dwellings serve as the ―grandfather house‖ (called

Grossdaadi Haus). Not only do the grandparents have a separate household unit but they also own a horse and buggy, which makes them independent concerning meeting with other older couples in the congregation as well as the settlement. Since the elderly help their married children to be familiar with both the farm establishment and childbearing; and continue to participate on community events such as weddings and holidays, there is no space for feeling of loneliness in Old Order Amish community. Moreover, the prestige and influence of older men and women increases with the age. Partly due to life savings and partly due to practise of mutual aid, the Old Order Amish do not experience financial problems. Neither do the Old Order Amish accept old-age assistance from the ―English‖ world nor do they buy life insurance. Nevertheless, if the retirees become ill, relatives and friends come often to visit; if becoming infirm, primarily close family members take care after them. In case such close relatives are either unwilling or incompetent, the church will provide its assistance of aid instead (but the mentioned situation happens only sporadically). No retirement homes exist in Amish society. The final stages of Amish life are demonstrated in and characterized by integrity and respect (Hostetler 1980:168-171).

7. Adolescent Age and Rumspringa

Adolescence is often a difficult time for parents and youth from both the Amish and the ―non-Amish‖ world. The peer group soon becomes the young person’s reference group; as for Amish youths, an individual young boy or a girl chooses his or her group of friends and from then on, the parents as well as church looses at least some of their control over an individual. The period of adolescence (from the age of fourteen for girls and sixteen for boys) may be distinctive for their lifelong decision of accepting the baptism (Hostetler 1980:177).

7.1. Rumspringa

Rumspringa is a Pennsylvania Dutch term, having its roots partly in the German word Raum meaning ―room to roam‖ or ―space‖ in terms of outside or outdoors space. ―Running around outside the bounds‖ is considered as a more completed and precise translation of the term (Shachtman 10-11).

Rumspringa period begins at the age of sixteen, when the time for serious courtship opens. When being in rumspringa period, the Amish youth are not subjects (in sense of permitted and forbidden behaviour) to the rules of the church, since they are not baptized yet; thus need not be afraid of being shunned by relatives and the whole community when misbehaving. During this time, nearly all of Amish youth continue to live with their family; a vast majority of them are adhered to traditional rules for behaviour and do not attend the parties or otherwise involve themselves in behaviours that are considered as evil by parents and church officials. On the other hand, there is a certain number of Amish young girls and boys who test ―worldly‖ activities such as driving a car, wearing modern clothes, buying a television, DVD player, radio or cell phones or even they experiment with drugs and alcohol (all more or less in secret) since not being under the control of their parents on weekends; and there is a certain number of Amish teenagers who move away from the community, live on their own, testing as much of the ―English‖ world as possible. Amish adolescents may engage in rumspringa activities for any length of time, since there is no time limit set for ―running around‖. Rumspringa ends when an individual young man or a woman makes a final decision

28 whether or not to be Amish (usually about the age of twenty for girls and twenty-two for boys) (―Rumspringa‖; Shachtman 11-13).

Mostly larger and Old Order Amish settlements practise rumspringa (namely older affiliations of La Grange, Holmes and Lancaster counties) whereas in smaller Amish enclaves, as the adolescents are not allowed to do a lot of running around–they are probably said to be in rumspringa because of their age rather than practise of tasting the boundaries of the ―outside‖ world (Shachtman 13).

7.2. Traditional Courtship within Old Order Amish Community

Within the period of rumspringa, the Old Order Amish teenagers must make two great decisions. First, whether he or she will join the Amish church by accepting baptism and second, whom he or she will marry. The later derives from the non-written tradition that all Amish adults are supposed to establish family and nurture the children in the Amish faith (Hostetler 1980:177).

The Amish youth traditionally gather when swimming, playing volleyball or hiking. Nevertheless, the Sunday singing represents the main occasion providing the best opportunity within a community for Old Order Amish to meet and find the partner. The Sunday singing is held in the evening in the same house where the morning preaching service was held, but unlike the morning worship, it is not considered as a devotional meeting since its main purpose is to enable Amish teenagers to meet people of the same age and faith, and possibly find a partner to marry. The mentioned occasion offers interaction among young Amish people from different congregations, which provides a broader scale for opportunities rather than if meeting purely within one church district. Young Amish boys prepare well for the evening singing: when the chores are done, he brushes his hat and suit and makes sure that his horse and buggy are clean and neat. He often takes his sister or her friends to the singing. In case he takes his own girlfriend, he picks her up at the crossroad or at the end of a lane, but never in the closeness of the house where she lives. The reason is that courting must stay private, even secret to family, regardless of the length of the relationship. On Sunday evening, boys gather on one side of the long table and girls on the other side. The singing is led only by the unmarried; unlike the morning preaching service, purely fast tones are sung. After German hymns and English gospels are sung for a few hours, formally at about

29 ten o’clock, the time for conversation, joking and visiting comes. If not yet having a date, Amish folks arrange for a girl (Mädel in dialect). Among themselves, teenagers refer to their boy– or girlfriends by the pronoun ―he‖ or ―she‖ instead of first names. Besides Sunday evenings, when having a ―steady‖ girl, the young Amish man meets her on alternate Saturday nights. Before arriving with horse and buggy, a girl makes sure that her parents fell asleep. The flashlight light on the girl’s window indicates that a boyfriend has arrived, thus she goes downstairs and lets him enter the house. The couple may be together over the night, whereas the early morning is the time for young Amish man’s quiet departure. Since the Amish courtship is definitely not a matter of public, the community is mostly not informed of an intended wedding as long as the couple is ―published‖, from only one to four weeks before wedding. November and December are the months when the weddings are usually held; the reason is simple: since there is not much work on the fields, the broad Old Order Amish community sees no difficulty in participation. The courtship period is given a central role as choosing a partner to marry must be a final decision since the divorce is absolutely not admissible within Amish society (Hostetler1980:148-151; 177-178; 191-192). Although having searched for the information in many sources, I have not found any note responding to the question whether or not the Amish widows and widowers are allowed to marry again.

7.3. Testing the Boundaries

As it has already been noted, a vast majority of Old Order Amish teenagers do not attend the party scenes and rather spend their rumspringa years on the traditional Sunday singing and participating occasionally in the activities supervised by their parents and Amish church officials. Nevertheless, all Amish adolescents are given some freedom to taste the ―outside world‖ while both parents and the community are supposed to more or less ignore such misbehaviour (unless it overreaches to a certain degree, which is on the other hand difficult for parents to identify) (Hostetler 1980:177; Shachtman 11).

This subchapter will deal with the Amish teenagers testing the non-Amish world and participating on the party scenes held near the town of Shipshewana and the border between La Grange and Elkhart counties in Indiana, the major area of Old Order Amish population.

Tom Shachtman describes the rumspringa activities of a group of Old Order Amish girls as follows: After their full days at work, the group of Old Order Amish girls and boys, having known each other from the early childhood, play board games and converse in Pennsylvania Dutch. The boys do not seem to be in favour with sampling the non-Amish world, they rather appear to attend Sunday singing and spend their rumspringa years by participating on activities arranged by parents and church elders. On the contrary, the girls lit a gas lamp and place it on the window easily visible from the lane or crossroad, and they leave an adjacent side door to the house and stairway opened, to signal that they are prepared for welcoming a new visit and going out courting accordingly since they are being bored with playing the board games with the ―good Amish boys‖.

Approximately after an hour, the Amish boys adherent to strict keeping church rules (though given an opportunity to taste the boundaries) are leaving for home. At the same time, when the parents are supposed to sleep, second-hand cars are parked far from the road in order not to be visible to passing horse-drawn buggies driven by the noted ―good Amish boys‖ who are just leaving the house. To draw attention, the young men in the cars, both young Amish and several ―English‖ men, shine a flashlight on the window where the gas lamp is lit. Subsequently, one of the Amish girls comes downstairs. After introductory greetings, the young men invite the girls for the night courting and the girls without hesitate, agree to be their companions. A few words are passed by parents (who have actually not been asleep) towards the girl living in the house; although her parents do not agree with the choice of ―gang‖ as they are worried about her daughter, they only admonish her to be careful, but they are not allowed to display emotion. Once the young girls leave the house and get in the car, their manners start to alter: drinking a bear, smoking cigarettes, listening to the loud rock and rap music played on the car radio, even using vulgar words and flirting with members of the opposite sex belong among actions that are performed by the young Amish ladies, still dressed in Amish garb. Not only do the Amish girls want to behave like their non- Amish friends, but they also want to look like most mainstream American teenagers. In order to change the appearance, the cars are stopped at a gas station, where girls seek bathrooms convenient for exchanging the clothes. The solid-coloured, long-sleeved dresses with aprons over them, long stockings, black shoes and white bonnet covering the long hair (uncut from the childhood) have been taken off, while T-shirts revealing

31 their navels, jeans and sneakers were used instead. Only two out of the eight Amish girls still remain in the Amish attire. Once again in the cars, the Amish teenage girls try to detect the location of the party held this week when calling from their cell-phones (equipment forbidden by Ordnung) that have been carefully hidden in the pockets of girls’ clothes. A lot of vehicles, buggies and second-hand cars roaming the road demonstrate that many dozens of Amish teenagers, accompanied by ―English‖ friends, are heading for ―hoedown,‖ the location of which is soon identified. Around midnight, there are approximately for hundred Amish teenagers out of two thousand Amish youth residing northern Indiana —occupying the back acres of a semi-deserted farm south of Shipshewana, hidden from the road by cornstalks area. For a certain number of Amish teenagers, it is the first time they have discovered the ―outside‖ world; they are named ―simmies‖. The nickname is applied to young, naive, even foolish Amish boy or a girl, easily distinguishable from the ―experienced‖ Amish in term of testing ―freedom‖. As for party itself, the image of the wildest scene is displayed: alcohol, concretely beer, rum and vodka are the only liquid to be offered to drink; joints of marijuana are passed around as well as pipes of crank (crystal methamphetamine), whereas cocaine is accessible only for money. Some Amish youth experimenting with drugs are seriously addicted while for others—this is their first experience with ―such things.‖ It has to be noted that a group of Amish teenagers testing hard drugs gather in a slightly different location from a vast majority drinking beer or smoking marijuana. The rap or rock music is played on laptop computers; the group of Amish teenagers dance to the music, shouting in Pennsylvania Dutch, while the small group of Amish young boys serve round condoms near a barn. A young Amish man at a similar party declares that:‖The English girls prefer us Amish boys because we are stronger and better built and we party harder.‖ Moreover, the same man insists that:‖Amish girls are more willing than English girls to get drunk.‖ Later in the night, the couples (mixed of both Amish and non-Amish young people)—refreshed by alcohol or marijuana—are formed, going away from the crowd of people to explore sex. Concerning sex matters, Amish boys do not frequently take the choice of a ―night partner‖ seriously. On the other hand, most of the Old Order Amish partying girls are cautious about having sex, because, besides other reasons, they do not want to risk pregnancy, which is considered as a huge problem since abortion is strictly prohibited in Amish faith. Nevertheless, one girl becomes pregnant; and when realizing the pregnancy, she is subsequently worried that

32 the father of the unborn child (one of the Amish partygoers) will not marry her. Despite the fact that premarital sex is forbidden, the twelve per cent of the first children are born to the Amish couples before their marriage; however, the percentage is lower among orthodox Old Order Amish communities. Late in the night, the property is often damaged by drunken teenage boys and aggressive fist fights are not rare. With the sunrise, the owners of the farm along with their children suddenly emerge to milk and heard in the cows. After an hour, despite the full sunshine, most of the exhausted both Amish and ―English‖ partygoers are still asleep in various corners around the back acres of the farm, being provided at least little shelter. Awaken near noon, the partygoers speculate on plans to spend time on seeing a movie in a twenty miles distant town, before continuing to party in another convenient location next evening. Those Amish teenagers do not return home until late Sunday; having no plans to tell their parents where, how and with whom they have spent the previous forty-eight hours. Although the parents may ask the questions concerning ―running around outside the bounds,‖ their children—as they feel little obligation—are not willing to answer (all extract describing the group of girls and party scene is taken from Shachtman 3-10; 17).

The above description of courting, partying, shortly experiencing rumspringa activities makes it obvious, that testing the boundaries may include unbelievably wild behaviour being completely in clash with the image typically representing the Old Order Amish personality as it is described by Hostetler and Huntington: ―quiet, friendly, responsible and conscientious. ― (in Hostetler 1980:186). Evidently, in comparison with the most youth of the majority American culture, the Amish teenagers seem to encounter danger challenges even in more concentrated form (Shachtman 13); Shachtman states two reasons for that:

‖ First they arrive at adolescence after childhoods that are far more sheltered (and structured) than those of our own children, and, second, Amish teens begin the rumspringa journey carrying weighty baggage consisting of the moral imperatives, biblical precepts, and complex sets of rules that the sect has imparted to them in their homes, at church, and in school‖(13).

7.1.3. Attitude of Parents and Community

When speculating on the freedom that is given to Amish adolescents within rumspringa by their parents and the whole community, one would think that parents and community elders are sure that all their children will accept the baptism after rumspringa. But this assumption turns out to be wrong as many Amish parents consider rumspringa age as a tremendous risk. Actually, the parents constantly worry about their children, independently on whether or not the adolescents participate in the party scene, since the Amish teenagers have significantly more opportunities to interchange with the ―outside world‖ than their foremothers and forefathers ever had. The individual’s reference group of friends appears to play a great role when making the final decision whether or not to be baptized in the Amish faith as—even if not frequently—the choice of friends may affect the individual to give up the family association and be shunned forever (Shachtman 13-15), hence the parents appear to be much more worried if their children are in contact with ―English‖ rather than Amish friends; though no display of such emotion is openly appeared.

Not only are the parents and close relatives afraid of loss of the family member (when the daughter or son does not accept the baptism and is subsequently put under the bann for ever) but then they are also worried of the opinion of community elders, who might accuse them for even short contact with the excommunicated person and punish them as a consequent. Therefore, regardless the shunned person´s emotions and feelings— the family strictly follow the rules of shunning, which is best demonstrated in words of Velda B, a young Old Order Amish woman, who, after having experienced watching television, using mobiles, visiting the cinemas, premarital sex and mainly wild parties with all traps—joined the church; however, after some time she felt like an alien to Amish world and finally decided to leave: ―My brother and his wife have asked me very expressly not to come into their home, and not to be part of their lives or their children´s life, because I left the church and was shunned.‖ Velda B was emotionally unprepared for the extent and force of her shunning and was shocked by the harsh attitude of her family. Combination of being confused in the outside world and severe treatment from her relatives provokes Velda to attempt suicide (Shachtman 13-15; 148- 152).

In my opinion, keeping the Ordnung in term of shunning the close relatives must be, without question, and especially for parents, extremely difficult. On the other hand, the excommunicated young Amish man or woman may undergo both the desperate confusion of being in non-Amish world and the feeling of deep loneliness. The experience of ―belonging to nowhere‖ is new for him or her. Whether the Amish youth realizes the far consequences of not accepting the final decision of being baptized will be always a matter of discussion.

7.2. The Reasons for letting the Amish Teenagers Be in Rumspringa

The reasons why the Amish parents undertake the mentioned venture are that they believe that only through experience of meeting another alternative of life are their children—young Amish— able to make the final adult decision ; they believe that the commitment to be baptized must be based on informed, fully voluntary adult decision (―Rumspringa‖). The community members furthermore believe that when joining the church, the young Amish adults will not engage in any more experimental behaviour but rather live ―fully Amish lives‖ (Shachtman 14). On the other hand, the tight community net, the family support from the very childhood, parents and relatives serving as good models for Amish life, sharing community moral and ethical values and the constant feeling of ―belonging‖ may be among the reasons why the ninety per cent of Amish teenagers end their rumspringa age by joining the church through baptismal commitment. In addition, I think that it is just the possibility as well as the opportunity of free choice that strengthens the willingness to stay Amish (Shachtman 14).

One could wonder how the Amish society survives in modern American world, represented by entertainment, consumerism, speedy cars and people always ―in a hurry.‖ Not only refusing the conveniences of modern life to demonstrate the separatism and keeping strong family and community bounds, but particularly the adult baptism maintains the old tradition without evident effects of the ―outside‖ world.

8. Conclusion

The main aim of the bachelor thesis is to describe the basis of Old Order Amish life within the community and focusing on rumspringa from the view of both Amish parents and their children.

I have first briefly introduced the topic to readers whereas in the third chapter I have concentrated on the most important events as well as personalities connected with the rise and history of Amish society from the very beginning to division in America. I also quoted the seven Schleitheim Articles since I regard them extremely important for understanding the Amish faith and life.

The fourth chapter describes the Old Order Amish society; the language and social and religion organization is more specified. Nevertheless, the originally intended subchapter concerning Amish attitude to modern conveniences and technology has not finally been included, as the most important pieces of information connected with the theme pervade through all next chapters.

The fifth chapter is concerned with Ordnung, an unwritten rules for Amish behaviour. In this chapter I have stressed the key principles of Amish faith in relation with the practises in real life. I have also focused on shunning and have tried to demonstrate the bann on practices of a concrete Old Order Amish family. Description of Amish appearance as it symbolizes the status, position and the age of the individual is the last focus of the fifth chapter.

The topic of family is dealt with in the sixth chapter. The topic itself is very broad, and so as not to digress from the intended topic, I have not included the life ceremonies, but have rather concentrated on relationships between family members in term of the roles (based on the gender) they were given within the community. I also depicted both the way the Amish treat their old people and the Amish educational system.

The seventh chapter called Adolescence Age and the Rumspringa is devoted to description of rumspringa age and practice. I have also depicted both the traditional way and the ―testing the boundaries‖ way of courting. In addition, I have provided the readers with the real scene of a concrete party to stress the contrast between being a good Christian and leading good Amish life within a safe community and encountering

36 the dangerous challenges from the ―outside‖ world. I have tried to offer the views of both parents and their children in rumspringa activities illustrated in Velda´s story.

Finally, I have provided the readers with explanations and the reasons for the very important decision to stay Amish.

9. Resumé

The bachelor thesis is a description of the lifestyle and culture Of Amish communities found in Northern America. The main goal of the work is to describe the Old Order Amish society, regarded as the most strict and orthodox group of all Amish. The work depicts the society from the sociological point of view, emphasizing strong family and community bounds. The special interest is paid to the Amish adolescents in rumspringa, as the work is also focused on explaining the practise, which is supported by illustration the cases of concrete Amish teenagers. Not only does the bachelor thesis depicts the rumspringa itself but it also provides explanations why a vast majority of young Amish people finally decide to be baptized in Amish faith.

Bakalářská práce je popisem života a cultury Amišských komunit žijících v Severní Americe. Hlavním cílem této práce je popsat společnost Amišů dodržujících „tradiční, starý Ordnung―, která je považována za nejpřísnější a nejvíce ortodoxní skupinu ze všech Amišů. Práce popisuje společenství ze sociologického hlediska, zdůrazňující rodinné a komunitní vazby. Zvláštní pozornost je věnována dospívajícím Amišů, protože práce je také zaměřena na vysvětlení „rumspringy―, což je podpořeno uvedením případů konkrétních adolescentů. Práce popisuje nejen samotný proces „rumspringy―, ale také poskytuje vysvětlení, proč se převážná většina mladých Amišů nakonec rozhodne pro pokřtění do Amišské víry.

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