Posts by Saloma Furlong

Elin asked: "What do you think about outsiders who wants to join the Amish? Do you think that they are 'crazy' or can you understand their reasoning?" Thank you for asking this question, Elin. I know that everyone has a spiritual path — mine happened to take me out of the Amish, but someone else's might…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Earlier I promised you a list of things that I believe are universal among all Amish. I could be surprised on any of these, as I was when I made discoveries while interning with Donald Kraybill. However, as far as I know, the following things are still true. Technology: All Amish have to decide how…

In my Amish community and family, Independence Day was thought of as a modern holiday. Given the Amish don’t consider themselves patriotic, it is not a big holiday. Even still, there is one Fourth of July that will remain in my memory forever. The weather was particularly hot and sultry for several days before the…

We are linked by blood, and blood is memory without language. ~Joyce Carol Oates Recently when I was going through family records, I found a copy of the pages that my mother and her siblings wrote about their memories of childhood. I remember vividly hearing my mother tell a story that happened when she was…