environmental stresses of outside, worldly society. The committee still itself on all doesn’t shorts attributes normally considered to such an organization. Olshan cites of the “…the chairman Steering Committee has felt it necessary to issue several disclaimers essentially denying the heirerarchical character of the organization. people may think that the Committee is trying ‘Some to run the churches but this should not be so. The Committee is only the voice of the churches Order Amish Steering Committee 1972L58; emphasis in original). As combined’” (Old American society continues to be more regulated and standardized, it is more that the Amish have to stand against as a separate people. (Olshan, 612) Before regulations such as standardized formal schooling and the like, the Amish have to butt heads with the government because didn’t they could do their own thing. The problems arise when American society continues becoming more regimented on the books because Amish society coincide with these ways that may doesn’t not seem like a big deal to anyone else. A few so the Old Order voices aren’t really enough, Amish Steering committee serves to provide a voice for many. In summary, the Amish have had to struggle to maintain their religious freedom and still maintain their principles of non-resistance. In treading lightly to find the footing as a subject rather than citizen of the land, they have had to make some compromises but in general their core values stand as strong as ever. The more American society becomes regulated and standardized, the more they will have to hold their ground, but since the creation of the Old Order Amish Steering committee they have had more success in finding a voice to defend their way of life. They separate themselves from the worldly society in methods of education, pacifism, certain taxes, insurance and welfare programs, and use of technology. Although they seem to be stuck in centuries of old, they frozen. They change and adapt with the times just as everyone else aren’t does, but in a significantly different way. This different way is less about pace and more about
environmental stresses of outside, worldly society. The committee still doesn’t shorts itself on all attributes normally considered to such an organization. Olshan cites “…the chairman of the Steering Committee has felt it necessary to issue several disclaimers essentially denying the heirerarchical character of the organization. ‘Some people may think that the Committee is trying to run the churches but this should not be so. The Committee is only the voice of the churches combined’” (Old Order Amish Steering Committee 1972L58; emphasis in original). As American society continues to be more regulated and standardized, it is more that the Amish have to stand against as a separate people. (Olshan, 612) Before regulations such as standardized formal schooling and the like, the Amish didn’t have to butt heads with the government because they could do their own thing. The problems arise when American society continues becoming more regimented on the books because Amish society doesn’t coincide with these ways that may not seem like a big deal to anyone else. A few voices aren’t really enough, so the Old Order Amish Steering committee serves to provide a voice for many. In summary, the Amish have had to struggle to maintain their religious freedom and still maintain their principles of non-resistance. In treading lightly to find the footing as a subject rather than citizen of the land, they have had to make some compromises but in general their core values stand as strong as ever. The more American society becomes regulated and standardized, the more they will have to hold their ground, but since the creation of the Old Order Amish Steering committee they have had more success in finding a voice to defend their way of life. They separate themselves from the worldly society in methods of education, pacifism, certain taxes, insurance and welfare programs, and use of technology. Although they seem to be stuck in centuries of old, they aren’t frozen. They change and adapt with the times just as everyone else does, but in a significantly different way. This different way is less about pace and more about
WhitehallAmish.docx