Amish Society As A Utopia

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Amish Society as a Utopia According to Sir Thomas More, a utopia is a world or society in which life is ideal or perfect in every way. It is the ultimate goal of all mankind. This word derives from the Greek word ou-topos which translates to no place. However, there is a closer translation eu-topos which translates to good place. If you look at both of these translations, you can see that these could be referencing that societies cannot replicate a utopia. However, I believe that the Amish society has shown similar signs to those of a utopia and can be compared to a utopia because of their separation from society, the Ordnung, as well as Rumspringa. Separation from society is a main concept found in the Amish culture. According to Carm.org,…show more content…
The Amish do take their ideals more serious than utopias but laws are very important in both. The Amish laws are all written in the Ordnung. Ordnung translated means order or discipline. Some of the forbidden things written in the Ordnung include not using electricity, no divorce, running for office, etc. In Sir Thomas Mores utopia, divorce is frowned upon as well as running for office. The Ordnung also requires things like style of clothing, haircut, buggy design, etc. The Ordnung provides the building blocks of the Amish community. Amish believe that following the Ordnung is a test and is required to be a part of their society. According to AmishAmerica.com, the Amish believe that if you don’t have guidelines and can do whatever you want, then it is not worth being a part of that community or unit. Sir Thomas More has few utopia laws. These may have been along the lines of using a slave for community service order unlike the death penalty. A major comparison dealing with law in both societies was that neither was in favor of court matters. In fact, one rule the Amish followed in the Ordnung was that there was to be no suing. In Mores utopia if you took a matter to court, you defended yourself because they did not have the use of lawyers. Even with the laws in these societies, there was still quite a bit of…show more content…
This is the time before the adolescent decides to be baptized by the church. In the Maish community, they believe that you should wait to be baptized when you can understand the concept rather than being baptized when you are a baby and can’t make your own decision. Rumspringas true meaning has been directly affected by movies like Witness. Most movies portray this time as heavily focusing on sex, drugs, etc. This is a common myth and the main idea behind this is that the kid will visit the outside world and not like it, and thus returning to the safe confines of home. Drugs and other evil things are not recommended. Would your parents recommend you going out and drinking or using drugs? Exploring Amish Country had a great example of the concept behind rumspringa. The comparison was to that of a vaccine. When you receive a vaccine you get a bit of the virus injected into you, hoping that you can prevent it later. In Rumspringa you see a bit of the outside world in hopes that it brings you back home and prevents you from the temptation and evil of the outside world. As far as freedom in a utopia goes, it’s a perfect world so you get to do whatever you like. In Sir Thomas Mores utopia, the laws are few because he believes that this is a perfect society so you should be allowed to do as you wish. These perfect worlds still
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