As adulthood looms in an Amish adolescent’s life, he must make a crucial decision that will affect the rest of his life: To be or not to be Amish. Amish teens undergo a ‘coming of age’ rite of passage known as Rumspringa. This experience allows the Amish teen to be cast out in the Non-Amish world of electricity and other vanities. This rite varies among the different orders of the Amish church. Popular television shows and books often sensationalize Amish Rumpringa, but my research among the Amish in 2011 revealed some of the different variations within the Amish church and within families. Although Amish families handle the practices that lead to adulthood differently, often 80-90% of Amish youth join the Amish church. In a world of enticing accessibility, why do Amish youths generally choose a life of simplicity? In this paper, I explore the question concerning this high retention rate within the Amish church based on interviews and participant observation in the community.

As adulthood looms in an Amish adolescent’s life, he must make a crucial decision that will affect the rest of his life: To be or not to be Amish. Amish teens undergo a ‘coming of age’ rite of passage known as Rumspringa. This experience allows the Amish teen to be cast out in the Non-Amish world of electricity and other vanities. This rite varies among the different orders of the Amish church. Popular television shows and books often sensationalize Amish Rumpringa, but my research among the Amish in 2011 revealed some of the different variations within the Amish church and within families. Although Amish families handle the practices that lead to adulthood differently, often 80-90% of Amish youth join the Amish church. In a world of enticing accessibility, why do Amish youths generally choose a life of simplicity? In this paper, I explore the question concerning this high retention rate within the Amish church based on interviews and participant observation in the community.

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Universiẗat, Diss.--München, 1983.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2001. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 255-258). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ball State University, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Dec. 14, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-98).

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on Feb 17, 2010). The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Thesis advisor: Dr. Harvey James Jr.. Includes bibliographical references.

Note: / In explaining modernization in an Ontario Amish Mennonite community, this thesis follows Kuhn's model of change in the sciences, detailing especially the interaction of internal religious ideology with outside events. An ambiguous traditional ideology promoted supportive interpersonal relations through objective rules, isolating the individual behind tight boundaries, subordinating him to community discipline. Revivalism, however, introduced an alternative early in the 1900's-salvation through individual piety, not community ru1es-and opened boundaries. By the 1950's, prosperity and farm mechanization led to increasingly modernized outside contact for individuals, through wage labour and consumer purchases. Anomalous under traditional ideology, these experiences supported the revivalist ideal, and led to its eventual domination. Kuhn explains transformation through the interaction of scientific theory and independent phenomena; we show how new individualized experiences arising when ideological debate opened boundaries resolved questions about the validity of competing ideologies. / S'inspirant du modèle des révolutions scientifiques développe par Kuhn, cette thèse explique la modernisation d'une communauté ontarienne Amish-Mennonite par l'étude de l'interaction de l'idéologie religieuse et d'événements externes. L'idéologie traditionnelle encourageait par des règles objectives les relations de soutien interpersonnel, isolait l'individu l'intérieur de frontières étanches et Ie soumettait la discipline communautaire. Vers 1900, un renouveau religieux vint affaiblir ces frontières en introduisant Ie choix d'un salut par dévotion personnelle plutôt que par obéissance règles communautaires. Des 1950, la mécanisation des fermes et leur richesse augmentèrent les contacts avec Ie monde extérieur, surtout par Ie travail salarie et la consommation. Ces nouveaux développements, anormaux pour l'idéologie traditionnelle, vinrent appuyer l'idéal du renouveau religieux et en assurer finalement la domination. Reprenant la these de Kuhn, cette étude montre comment des expériences individuelles nouvelles, la suite d'une ouverture des frontières de la communauté, ont résolu Ie débat entre idéologies concurrentielles.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 255-258).

Texte remanié de: Diss. Ph. D.--Linguistics--Athens, Ga.--Graduate faculty of the university of Georgia, 1991.