Amish being

BEING AMISH

Each Amish community is independent and has its owntradition,  there is no regional or national organization. Communities are led by a bishop, a  preacher,and two levels of deacons.  Women, who remain silent during worship, participate like men in the election of communityleaders.

The life of the Amish is based on the reading and practical application of the teachings of the New Testament. For example, women wear dresses because the Bible condemns the use of men's clothing by women and vice versa. Women cover their heads in application of an exhortation of the apostle Paul in the New Testament, etc.

Between the different communities, the practices differ, but in general the Amish dress in dark colors. Men let their beards grow as soon as they get married. The women wear a headdress close to the quichenotte of the Vendée country. The ideal of all is to be modest.

The Amish have no social security or pension  contributions: mutual aid and solidarity make up for this. Families often have eight to ten children. It happens that the father transmits the farm to the eldest as soon as the marriage. The father then easily turns into a  sculptor and makes small wooden handicrafts, where he becomes  a weaver. As a rule, the Amish do not vote or pay social insurance. They also do not participate in military service.

• They have, even today, only horse-ridingcarriages,  buggies;  
• Ploughing is done by hitch,without tractor (some communities have tractors without tires, with iron wheels).

All children are grouped into a single class supervised by an Amish teacher, not certified by the state. The school is administered by a school board of elected Amish parents. The training mainly targetsEnglish,  German,  mathematics,geography    and history. Religion is not formally taught at school, even though each day begins with a time of prayer. At the age of fourteen, young people leave school. They continue to live in the family home where they help with domestic work or start working outside.

From the age of 16,in conservative communities comes the  rumspringa,  "running in all directions", a kind of  rite of passage during which adolescents are temporarily freed from the rules of the community in order to multiply various experiences and decide whether they will live their adult life within or outside the community. They are allowed to go out on weekends with their friends, most of the time gathered in the form of youth groups. Some groups are chaperoned by adults. They meet for sports tournaments, snacks, go swimming together... Other groups are self-managed by the young people themselves. Among them, some try to drink alcohol, smoke, wear modern clothes, listen to rock and pop music... They can leave the community during this period. This practice is controversial within the Amish churches themselves. Many have abandoned it and tried to promote decent behavior consistent with biblical morality at all ages of life.

...