A quick look at shunning

1) Shunning only happens among baptized members.  That means youth can go off during Rumspringa and 'break the rules'.   That means that some buy cars, wear 'English' clothes, and so on. 

If they cross the line too blatantly, they may get a 'talking-to', but they won't be placed under the Ban.  That's simply not how it works--you cannot shun a non-member.

When you are baptized, though, you make an adult commitment and that entails acceptance of the consequences if you break the rules which you've agreed to follow. 


2) Communities handle shunning differently.  Some are very strict about it.  Others less so.  Typical aspects of shunning include not being able to share a meal at the same table (the shunned often eat at the children's table) and not being able to directly transact business with members in good standing. 



Talking with shunned Amish, you can often sense the pain and bitterness lying under the surface.  Some have likened the experience to becoming a 'non-person'.

The Amish say they shun out of love for the errant member.  They want him to see his mistakes and return to the fold.

Others see shunning as key to the incredible growth the group has experienced.  As a social check, the idea of losing contact with your whole world is pretty strong motivation to toe the line. 

Today, around 80-90% of Amish children choose to join the church.   The Amish population doubles approximately once every 20 years. 

Comments

[Ruth]

Are the Amish pressured to be baptized by a certain age? If someone chose not to become baptized, could they stay free of shunning indefinitely?

[Amish America]

In theory it's a free choice. Typically they are baptized in their early to mid 20's, though it can happen earlier.

You could probably say pressure exists in the same way that modern American youth deal with pressure from parents to choose a certain career path or marry a particular person, or any of the other subtle social pressures--ie my gang of friends is getting baptized so maybe I should too.

Also, if you would like to marry an Amish person, you must be baptized--the Amish do not perform marriages between members and non-members. So this all works to subtly 'pressure' them to be baptized by a certain age.

Having said that I wouldn't want to look at it that way only since it seems a bit cynical--I like to believe that the majority join out of personal conviction, and I imagine that is the case.

Another interesting bit--when the Persian Gulf War was going on, apparently there was a jump in the number of baptisms, perhaps in fear of a reinstatement of the draft. Odd since the Amish have worked out their conscientious objector status pretty well with the government, and apparently keep a relationship with them through a national organization, called the Amish Steering Committee.

For those that choose not to be baptized, they are not shunned. In my experience I have seen that they are treated and loved as members of the family. You often come across Amish having a get together on the weekend and a number of cars might be in the driveway. Some of those might belong to the non-baptized adult kids (well, some might belong to the Rumspringa-age kids too, who in certain communities keep a car at home, usually parked behind the barn).

I always start out meaning to give a more concise reply but somehow always gets carried away. Hope that wasn't more than you needed to know(:

Erik

[Ruth]

Thanks Erik for you reply. I like your non-concise version. My parents and I have been reading your blog tonight. You have many interestin posts!

[Mary]

You said in theory it's a free choice and that's fairly accurate. However, remember this: most Amish believe if you don't join you will go to hell or if you leave you go to hell , so that would mean it's fear motivated. So my question is this: do they just join because they are afraid not to? From my experience (I grew up Amish and lived it for 49 years)the answer to the question is "yes." If that's the case then they join for the wrong reason.

[Amish America]

I agree Mary the fear motivation is probably not the purest reason to join Church. Some probably join because they want to marry. And others join because of a strong conviction in Anabaptist beliefs as expressed in the Amish church.

About going to hell--that seems to be a pretty harsh method of motivation--though I am sure that in some instances this fear is used as a lever either implicitly or even explicitly--I am curious, and again I do not mean to pry, but is that what you were told? Or given that impression? This may be stating the obvious, but that does not seem like an easy position to be put in...

I'd also wonder if using hell as a fear motivator is the case in the majority of situations...as I understand it, in a number of communities shunning occurs up until a member that leaves finds another church that is theologically acceptable to his previous Amish church, say a Mennonite group, and makes the appropriate reparations, upon which the bann is supposed to be lifted...