Amish Outline

I think it’s a really interesting subject, because I think that it’s great how two cultures, or two living ways can live so close to each other without any further problems. So it’s possible to be different and It’s great that the Amish people can keep on living like they do, even though the world is changing so much against their religion.

And when we watched the movie, The Devil’s Playground I got really inspired, because I think it’s great that the children have a choice. And it gave me a good insight in what Rumspringa is all about.

I wouldn’t be able to live like an Amish person myself, or at least not for more than a couple of weeks, so it also kind of surprised me that, they are able to live without electricity, mobilephones, cars and so on.

What is Rumspringa?

Rumspringa means ‘’to jump around’’ and that is something the Amish teenagers do. When they turn 16, they can go live a normal life, like all the other teenagers in America. They go to partys, get drunk, some of them even try drugs. They kind of need to live a whole teenage life in just a couple of months or years. And the reason why someone just needs a couple months and some need 4-5 years out in the normal everyday, is because they can’t make the choice between joining the Amish church and keep living the normal American life. If they choose to join the Amish church and get baptized, then they can’t leave the Amish community again, and if they choose the American life, then they get shunned from the Amish church.