Leaving the Amish behind
In 2003 Melvin Mullet chose to leave his Amish upbringing behind, and in this interview he explains some basics of Amish life (no longer online) as well as offering a little insight on how he sees the group, now that he is ‘on the outside’.
One of the pluses of Amish life, according to Melvin, who grew up in a Michigan Amish settlement:Â ‘I miss the closeness of the community. If something happens to one Amish family, everybody is there to help. I miss that interaction of community.’
On the other hand, now that Melvin is no longer Amish, he feels his upbringing ‘has worked to my disadvantage because I did not receive formal schooling.’
It’s not immediately clear but it sounds like Melvin chose to leave before being baptized. In this case he would not be shunned by his community.
In reality, do Amish parents treat the children who choose not to be baptized differently from those that do? Perhaps some do. Having a lot of children stay in the faith is generally admired in the community.
It has always been my perception that the one good thing about leaving the Amish is that the upbringing is still there. Jesus Christ is a fine example. He was raised deeply rooted in God. In his later years, hanging out amongst the sinners did not alter him. There is a large lesson to be learned from Amish excommunication. Modern society is far from the path. The Amish are much closer to it. Those who leave the Amish get the biggest reward of all. They got the spiritual upbringing that will never leave. But they get the newfound freedom to use that upbringing to bring others into the light. And I sincerely hope that more and more of them will do just that. There are many lost people in this society. Trapped in a meaningless, material existence of being not more than a consumer to feed the evils of corporations.