In the 1972 landmark United States Supreme Court case Wisconsin v. Yoder, a decision made by the Wisconsin Supreme Court was upheld when it was decided that the Amish should be exempt from compulsory education, based on their right to exercise their religious freedom. The principle opinions clearly rested on the religious rights of the parents. In neither of the majority opinions […]
The Ramifications of Wisconsin vs. Yoder Read More »
Susan J. Reinhardt asked: Do the Amish deny young people educational opportunities because of their religious beliefs or is to to keep them from leaving the community? Wow, Susan, this is a succinct, yet tough question. I've been thinking about how to answer it for the last day and a half. In fact, I had a conversation with one of
Accepting the Amish Ways Read More »
Only by joy and sorrow does a person know anything about themselves and their destiny. ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe There are few Amish rules I deem to be outright “wrong.” However, there is one that I feel passionately about, and that is the one that limits Amish young people from going to school beyond the eighth grade. Many
Amish and Education Read More »
In my last post I ended by writing how I think the fact that few Amish question their way of life as being both a strength and a weakness — the strength being cohesion of the group, but the weakness being that without dissidents, there is a tendency towards “groupthink.” Unfortunately, or fortunately, the reason I’m here and not there
How Much Sacrifice? Read More »
Susan J. Reinhardt said: I’m surprised more Amish don’t opt for this sharing arrangement, so they can have the modern conveniences. How common is this? Kate said: As for more churches not living in “english” houses etc. for the sake of convience is kind of depending on the people. For the most part the Amish I’ve met (limited to only
More on Owning versus Using…. Read More »
Anniem asked: I had a question. From the line,”Some communities allow their members to use electricity in their homes, so long as they don’t own it.” I wonder what they aren’t to own: the house, the electric bill or the appliance? Thank you for the excellent question, Annie. It is the home itself they cannot own for it to even
The Distinction between Owning and Using… Read More »
