To many, the Amish are a mystery. They shun modernity in the name of their religion, and isolate themselves from the temptations of the outside world by living in self-sufficient communities.
As I discovered in writing last week's paper, a little research yields a lot of information. I grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which is home to the country's third largest Amish population. That being said, I did come into the paper with some knowledge of their lifestyle and religious practices. The Amish tradition of Rumspringa, which translates to "running around" in Pennsylvania Dutch, is arguably the most studied aspect of Amish life and relates directly to the notion of self-awareness. At the core of the Amish Church is the belief that members should have the right to choose to be baptized. In the Christian Church, infants are baptized and thus are not able to chose their religious destiny. It was for this difference in belief that the Amish were persecuted in Europe and subsequently fled to America.
During Rumspringa, which begins at age 16, an Amish youth can experience the outside world - he or she can dress like non-Amish peers, drink, smoke, drive, party, engage in behavior otherwise considered sinful. This period can last for as long as it takes for the young person to decide if he or she wants to be baptized in the Amish Church and enter into a lifelong religious commitment. If an Amish youth decides not to join the Church, he or she is shunned by family and the Amish Community, and enters the modern world more or less alone. Though this is an abbreviated explanation of the practice of Rumspringa and the societal pressures on Amish youth, the point is clear: the Amish believe that by the age of 16, a person is self-aware enough to make arguably the most important decision of their lives.
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