When our forefathers were forming our new nation in 1776, they wrote the first amendment so that any religion, no matter what principles they are based on, would have equal rights in America. Opinions though, make the first amendment very difficult to be followed. People usually have one mind set, to follow what they believe and stereotype everyone else. “These stereotypes are the archenemies of learning” (Wagner 6). Learning is the basis of life. By stereotyping though, the less common religions, like Amish, are less noticed. Likewise, because people don’t know the truth, the Amish are misunderstood and judged for their religion. To really understand any culture, “it is necessary to strip the mind of the common notions we hold about groups of people” (Wagner 6). Ideas that do not fit onto our own point of view or templates we create are shunned. Only by really trying and getting to know something or someone, can we truly learn and begin to accept. People’s lives are revealed in the particulars, and only by knowing these can we understand the cultures and what they stand for. The United Sates has broken down these barriers that are created by the stereotypes and allowed the Amish certain laws and regulations to help abide by their religion. This is very apparent in Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Missouri. The Amish people follow their religion non-stop with a life of discipline and hard work and they have the same equal rights offered to any American but because of the stereotypes in our region, their ways are scrutinized and misunderstood to this day.
Everyday life in the Amish community is repetitive. They are hard working and very driven to complete everything they do. Besides work, community is a top priority....
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"The Amish Lifestyle." Ohio Amish Furniture-Amish Quilts-Amish Country Tourism. Shop Craft Stores and Services Online. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. .
"BBC - Religions - Christianity: The Amish." BBC - Homepage. 23 June 2009. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. .
Mail, By. Amish Country. 2008. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. .
Robinson, B.A. "THE AMISH: History, Beliefs, Practices, Etc." ReligiousTolerance.org by the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. 8 Aug. 2004. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. .
Wagner, Katherine. Life in an Amish Community. San Diego, CA: Lucent, 2001. Print.
"Who Are the Amish, and What Are Their Beliefs?" Bible Questions Answered. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. .
Through David Bergen’s A Year of Lesser and Miriam Toews’ A Complicated Kindness, one can learn what salvation means to Mennonites. Protagonists Johnny Fehr and Nomi Nickel struggle with the concept of salvation through the novels and eventually, the question of salvation remains ambiguous. It is unclear at the conclusion of both novels whether the characters have achieved salvation and whether salvation itself is the key to a happy, fulfilled life. Authors Toews and Bergen are keenly and self-consciously aware of the complex notion of salvation and address it through complex characters who are not sure exactly what salvation is themselves. These characters parallel Mennonites own confusion regarding this integral aspect of faith. The methods that salvation manifests throughout the two stories of Johnny and Nomi are unique to their particular situations but transcend beyond the stories created by Bergen and Toews. The elaborate view of salvation portrayed through these two secular Mennonite authors reflects the ambiguity of salvation that Mennonites themselves have been struggling with for generations.
The Amish religion was started by Jacob Amman as a Mennonite movement, but was originally part of the protestant Anabaptists. Jacob was trying to restore some of the early practices of the Mennonites but was unsuccessful and ended up creating a new religion. The Amish were then persecuted by the Catholics and protestant Christians when in Europe so they took William Penns offering and move...
The first Amendment of the United States Constitution says; “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”[1] Our fore fathers felt that this statement was plain enough for all to understand, however quite often the United States government deems it necessary to make laws to better define those rights that are stated in the Constitution. Today the framers would be both encouraged and discouraged by our modern interpretation the First Amendment the United States Constitution.
In the movie, Witness, two worlds clash, the Amish and the English. The Amish in this film are living in a world inside the dominant people’s country (the English). The Amish’s reaction to the English shows a great difference in each group's culture. Since the Amish live in the dominant culture’s country, they have to respect the laws. An example would be, the horse and carriage on the road. They follow the rules of the road by stopping at a red light. Another reaction the Amish had was to the stunning modern day society of the dominant culture. Here at the train station the little Amish boy was amazed by a simple water fountain. But when he saw the statue, he was utterly fascinated. On another hand the Amish saw the English as violent men as well. One instance was in the bathroom, where a man was killed and the Amish boy saw everything. Another example was when John “whacked” a black man to see if he was the murder. In conclusion the Amish’s reactions to the dominant culture were to follow their rules, amazed at their modern technology, and
Individualism and conformity seem to be the exact opposites of each other, but what if being individual meant conforming to the way of everyone else, and what if conformity was the key to being apart of a community? In the essay by Andrea Fishman “Becoming Literate: A Lesson from the Amish” the author looks at the conformity in the Amish culture in regards to education. However, in the essay by Stuart Ewen “Chosen People” Ewen discusses how mainstream America prides itself on individualism. Both essays explore the complexity of being an individual in societies that thrive on conformity.
Giles, Thomas S. "How did Native Americans Respond to Christianity?" Christian History, 1992, Volume 11, Issue 3, p20.
In the Amish world, children are brought up following all Amish family traditions and church traditions. At age 16, Amish teenagers do away with these traditions for several months to several years and go out into the “English”, modern world to experience what life is like outside of the Amish community in a tradition called Rumspringa. The hopes of Rumspringa are that Amish teenagers will see the evil in the modern world and turn back to the Amish church and community and will choose to be baptized into the faith. At this time, the parents of these Amish teenagers choose to overlook the new habits and actions of their children. The Amish parents want the best for their children and feel as though allowing them to party and live wild for a time away from them is the best way to teach their children. The parents have the approach to be hands off and ignore the behavior during Rumspringa. This is not an effective manner of parenting for these teenagers at such an influential time in their lives.
In conclusion, religious belief is not a justifiable reason for excuse or accommodation from a law, as the consequences undermine the principles of a democratic state. At the same time I believe the US Supreme Court was right in its decision to accommodate the Amish family not due to religious beliefs but rather due to the flaw with the current law. A more appropriate action, in my opinion, would be if the Supreme Court nullified the law completely.
Osages. “Osages: Their Character, Manners, and Condition. His First Impressions. Their Actual State. Their Religious Knowledge and Belief. Religious Customs. Portraiture of an Osage." The Religious Intelligencer ...Containing the Principal Transactions of the Various Bible and Missionary Societies, with Particular Accounts of Revivals of Religion (1816-1837) Mar 15 1828: 658. ProQuest. Web. 4 Dec. 2013.
Throughout history, America has faced disagreements that led to various complications, one of them being religious freedom. Americans claimed to have always supported religious freedom and that the First Amendment backed that up. However, according to David Sehat, this was only a myth. The myth he argued that there was a moral establishment that constrained religious liberty, therefore American religious freedom was only a myth. Sehat overstated this claim because there have been many historic measures that have shown American religious liberty, such as the Second Great Awakening, the emergence of new religious movements, and religious liberty court cases.
The American version of history blames the Native people for their ‘savage ' nature, for their failure to adhere to the ‘civilized norms ' of property ownership and individual rights that Christian people hold, and for their ‘brutality ' in defending themselves against the onslaught of non-Indian settlers. The message to Native people is simple: "If only you had been more like us, things might have been different for you.”
Over the history of our country Native Americas have long since been oppressed in trying to practice their Native Religions freely, and openly. It wasn’t until the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA) of 1978, which “acknowledged the unique nature of Native spirituality” (Limb & Hodge, 2008, p. 618). This law stated that the policy of the United States would be to protect and preserve the right of Native Americans to believe and practice their traditional religions. This was the first major step in the United States history that sought to protect Native Americans and their rights to self-expression of spirituality.
Eastman, Roger. The Ways of Religion: An Introduction to the Major Traditions. Third Edition. Oxford University Press. N.Y. 1999
Stephens, Randall J. “Assessing the Roots.” American Religious Experience at WVU. The American Religious Experience. Web. 13 Nov. 2011.
As a sociologist working with the Amish culture I would need to know that the Amish try to avoid the outside world for religious and cultural reasons. I would also be aware of the fact that when in Amish country there are slow moving vehicles to look out for and that there are also private properties that I should not enter. I should understand that the Amish do not like to be treated as an attraction, and that they do not like to have their photo or any video of them taken as they consider it an unacceptable act of pride. Lastly, I would need to not be offended by the people keeping their distance and avoiding my company or conversation because they don’t do it to be rude but because I do not follow their lifestyle and they try to avoid “pollution”.