Chapter 16 Amici who adhere to ancient teachings

Based on their religious beliefs, the Amish have lived a life of hard work for hundreds of years. In the United States, there is a believer called the Amish sect. For hundreds of years, they have lived the same life under the same belief in life. The Amish sect is a sect that arose in Central Europe in the seventeenth century and fled to the United States in order to avoid persecution.In their beliefs, they believe that God wants human beings to live as simple a life as possible, so they refuse to wear colored clothes, and they only use cloth buttons instead of buttons, because buttons are decorations.The men all wear black and non-pleated trousers, not undershirts, which fit too well.The hem of a woman's dress should not be more than twenty centimeters from the ground, and she must wear a bib, and she must wear a bonnet on her head except when going to bed.The furnishings in the home are also as simple as possible. There are no mirrors, no books, and of course no electrical equipment, telephones, radios, TVs, etc., and even no music except for singing.

When most places in the United States are highly modernized and cars are used instead of transportation, Amish believers still continue to take ancient horse-drawn carriages. Some farmers will use modern tractors to help with farming, but the church stipulates that tractors can only be used as horses It cannot be done, and the wheels of the tractor must be steel wheels, and the use of comfortable rubber tires is prohibited. The Amici's obedience to the ancient teachings, hard-working and self-motivated life is completely different from the modern American life that focuses on pleasure, and most of the Amici's neighbors can tolerate and even praise their life.However, with the progress of society, some of their ancient norms and the basic values ​​of the United States are increasingly in conflict. For example, education is not only the right of citizens, but also an obligation. By the eighth grade (equivalent to the second year of junior high school), they refuse to receive further education. This kind of persistence in the ancient teaching will make people who are concerned about society feel troubled and irritated.

In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled based on the standpoint of religious freedom that Amici believers can no longer receive compulsory education after the age of thirteen according to their beliefs. Adherence to ancient teachings is a freedom that we have neglected.