E109: The Amish w/ Torah Bontrager

As an offshoot of the Mennonites, the Amish have been around since the 17th century and are well known for their public-facing quaint and austere lives. However, along with their historical and religious cousins, the Mennonites and other Anabaptists, those who are on the inside know it's not at all an idyllic life within these isolated religious communities. In this RfRx talk, we'll discuss what the Amish believe and how it's shaped their communities and activities; how it's different from other Christian belief systems; the difference between the Amish and Mennonite beliefs; and the harm that can come from these beliefs, specially when it comes to education and integrating into the modern world around them. Torah Bontrager escaped in the middle of the night at age 15 so she could go to high school. She’s the author of Amish Girl in Manhattan and, to her knowledge, the first female Amish escapee to graduate from the Ivy League. Her story’s been featured on MTV and Forbes.com, among others. Today, she advocates for the right of Amish children to go to school beyond the 8th grade. Torah founded The Amish Heritage Foundation, which focuses on making education a federal right and overturning the Supreme Court case Wisconsin v. Yoder. For RfRx comments, inquiries & topical questions, email us at [email protected]. Any time you are struggling with religious doubts or fears you can connect with a trained RfR Helpline agent 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To chat online go to http://www.recoveringfromreligion.org. To talk over the phone, dial: (844) 368-2848 in the US & Canada +3 4505 2402 in Australia +20 3856 8791 in the UK +27 11 043 5323 in South Africa Peer support is also available through local support groups. These groups offer monthly in-person meetings as a place to express doubts, fears, emotions & concerns about religion you wouldn't normally feel comfortable expressing in a religious community. Find your nearest support group at https://www.meetup.com/pro/recovering-from-religion If you are in need of professional help, we can offer the Secular Therapy Project to provide options to connect with a professional therapist. All therapists have been thoroughly vetted by our organization and offer only evidence-based and non-religious treatment. Connect with them at http://www.seculartherapy.org. RfR has an immense collection of well-curated resources available as you go through your journey, including resources for mental and physical crises, working with relationships, issues stemming from specific religions, coming out stories, and much more. Head to https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/resources for these helpful resources. Subscribe to the RfR Blog: https://medium.com/excommunications