View source for Rumspringa

{{short description|Rite of passage in some Amish and Mennonite Anabaptist communities}}
{{About|the rite of passage}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2011}}
{{Infobox event
| title            = Rumspringa
| image            = 
| image_size       =
| image_upright    =
| image_alt        =
| caption          = 
| native_name      = Rumshpringa
| native_name_lang = pdc
| english_name     =
| time             = Youths: Starting at 16 years old, in some groups at 17 ([[Wenger Mennonite]]s)
| duration         =
| venue            =
| also_known_as    =
| type             = [[Coming-of-age]] ceremony
| theme            = Entering into a more formalized social world during adolescence; finding a marriage partner.<ref>"What is Rumspringa?" amishamerica.com. Retrieved August 19, 2020.</ref>
| cause            =
| notes            =
}}
{{wiktionary}}
'''Rumspringa''' ({{IPA|pdc|ˈrʊmˌʃprɪŋə}}),<ref>{{cite video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m64X1hMCJoE&t=25 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/m64X1hMCJoE |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title=Amish: World's Squarest Teenagers|publisher=[[Channel 4]]|year=2010|time=0:26|via=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> also spelled '''{{lang|pdc|Rumschpringe}}''' or '''{{lang|pdc|Rumshpringa}}''' ({{lit}} {{gloss|running around}},<ref name="Growing up Amish: the Rumspringa years">{{cite book |last1=Stevick |first1=Richard A. |title=Growing up Amish: the Rumspringa years |date=2014 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |location=Baltimore |isbn=978-1-4214-1372-3 |page=5 |edition=Second |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cyh8AwAAQBAJ |access-date=19 March 2024 |language=en}}</ref> from [[Pennsylvania Dutch language|Pennsylvania German]] {{lang|pdc|rumschpringe}}<!-- https://www.padutchdictionary.com/#q=rumschpringe --> {{gloss|to run around; to gad; to be wild}};<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lambert |first1=Marcus Bachman |title=A Dictionary of the Non-English Words of the Pennsylvania-German Dialect |url=https://www.padutchdictionary.com/#q=rumschpringe |publisher=Pennsylvania-German Society |date=1924}}</ref> compare Standard German {{lang|de|herum-, rumspringen}} {{gloss|to jump around}}), is a [[rite of passage]] during [[adolescent|adolescence]], used in some [[Amish]] communities. The Amish, a subsect of the [[Anabaptist]] Christian movement, intentionally segregate themselves from other communities as a part of their faith. For Amish youth, the Rumspringa normally begins at age 16 and ends when a youth chooses either to be [[Amish religious practices#Baptism|baptized]] in the Amish church or to leave the community.<ref name="Shachtman">{{cite book |last=Shachtman|first=Tom|title=Rumspringa: To Be or Not to Be Amish |url = https://archive.org/details/rumspringatobeor00shac |url-access=registration|location=New York |publisher= North Point Press |year=2006| isbn= 978-0865476875}}</ref>{{rp|10–11}} For [[Groffdale Conference Mennonite Church|Wenger Mennonite]]s, Rumspringa occurs mostly between ages of 17 and 21.<ref name="Kraybill, Donald B. 2006">{{cite book|author=Kraybill, Donald B.|author-link=Donald Kraybill|author2=Hurd, James P. |title=Horse-and-Buggy Mennonites: Hoofbeats of Humility in a Postmodern World|publisher=Penn State Press|year=2006|isbn=0271028661|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OmhWNx5omLIC&pg=PA169}}</ref>{{rp|169–173, 244}}

Not all Amish use this term (it does not occur in [[John A. Hostetler]]'s extended discussion of adolescence among the Amish), but in sects that do, Amish elders generally view it as a time for courtship and finding a spouse.<ref name="Shachtman"/>{{rp|14}} A popular view exists by which the period is institutionalized as a rite of passage, and the usual behavioral restrictions are relaxed, so that Amish youth can acquire some experience and knowledge of the non-Amish world.

== Etymology ==
{{lang|pdc|Rumspringa}} is a [[Pennsylvania Dutch language|Pennsylvania German]] noun meaning 'running around'.<!--as established in lengthy discussions, the semantic distribution of "springen" in Pennsylvania "Dutch" German differs from Standard German usage. Please do not "correct" it --> It is a cognate of the colloquial German verb {{lang|de|rumspringen}}.<ref name=WittmerGP>{{cite book|last=Wittmer|first=Joe|title=The Gentle People: Personal Reflections of Amish Life, With Contributions from Amish Children and Adults|publisher=Minneapolis: Educational Media Corporation|year=1991|page=75}} {{ISBN?}}</ref><ref name=KraybillRAC>The word is also translated thus in {{cite book |last=Kraybill |first=Donald B. |year=2001 |title=The Riddle of Amish Culture |pages=119, 145 |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]] |isbn=978-0801867729 }}</ref><!-- please do not "correct" either the meaning or the pronunciation to standard German --> Dialects do not derive from standard languages, but as a cognate, this expression is closely related to the Standard German verb {{lang|de|herumspringen}} meaning 'to jump around or about'. The Standard German term is a [[compound word]] of the adverb {{wikt-lang|de|herum}} (around, about) and the verb {{wikt-lang|de|springen}} ('to jump'). However, in some southern German dialects, {{lang|de|springen}} ({{lang|gsw|schbrenga}} in [[Swabian German|Swabian]]) means 'to run'. This term/concept also is used as a [[separable verb]], i.e., {{wikt-lang|de|rumspringen}} ('to jump around') / {{lang|de|er springt rum}} ('he jumps around').

In Pennsylvania German, the prefix {{lang|pdc|rum}} is a contraction of {{lang|pdc|herum}} – a development which is also all but general to spoken standard German. The [[infinitive]] (and [[gerund]]) form {{lang|pdc|-a}} is standard in Pennsylvania German and other forms of general [[Upper German]].

== Popularized view ==
Amish adolescents may engage in rebellious behavior, resisting or defying parental norms. In many cultures, enforcement may be relaxed, and misbehavior tolerated or overlooked to a degree. A view of {{lang|pdc|rumspringa}} has emerged in popular culture that this divergence from custom is an accepted part of adolescence or a [[rite of passage]] for Amish youth.

Among the Amish, however, {{lang|pdc|rumspringa}} simply refers to adolescence. During that time a certain amount of misbehavior is unsurprising and is not severely condemned (for instance, by {{Lang|de|Meidung}} or [[shunning]]). Adults who have made a permanent and public commitment to the faith would be held to the higher standards of behavior defined in part by the [[Schleitheim Confession|Schleitheim]] and [[Dordrecht Confession of Faith|Dordrecht]] confessions.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bowman |first=Carl Desportes. |title=Brethren Society: The Cultural Transformation of a Peculiar People |year=1995 |isbn=0801849055 |page=75 |publisher=JHU Press }}</ref> In a narrow sense, the young are not bound by the {{lang|pdc|[[Ordnung]]}} because they have not taken adult membership in the church. Amish adolescents do remain, however, under the strict authority of parents who are bound to {{lang|pdc|Ordnung}}, and there is no period when adolescents are formally released from these rules.<ref name='hostetler'>{{cite book |author=John A. Hostetler |title=Amish Society |url=https://archive.org/details/amishsociety00host_0 |url-access=registration |edition=4th |location=Baltimore |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0801844423 |author-link=John A. Hostetler }}</ref>{{rp|154}}<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Igou |editor-first=Brad |title=The Amish in their Own Words: Amish Writings from 25 Years of Family Life Magazine |location=[[Scottdale, Pennsylvania]] and [[Waterloo, Ontario]] |publisher=Herald Press |year=1999 |pages=165–166}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Nolt, Steven M. |title=A History of the Amish |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781561480722 |url-access=registration |location=[[Intercourse, Pennsylvania]] |publisher=Good Books |year=1992 |page=105 |isbn=978-1561480722 }}</ref><ref name=WesnerMR>{{cite web |url=http://amishamerica.com/2010/03/rumspringa-myths-and-reality.html |title=Rumspringa-Myths and Reality |last=Wesner |first=Erik |date=March 7, 2010 |publisher=Amish America blog |access-date=April 4, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413214928/http://amishamerica.com/2010/03/rumspringa-myths-and-reality.html |archive-date=April 13, 2010 }}</ref><ref name=WittmerQA>{{cite web |url=http://www.holycrosslivonia.org/amish/q_and_a_no2.htm |title=Joe Wittmer, PhD, Responds to Questions Regarding the Amish (Installment #2) |last=Wittmer |first=Joe |publisher=Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church |location=[[Livonia, Michigan]] |access-date=April 4, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120101131958/http://holycrosslivonia.org/amish/q_and_a_no2.htm |archive-date=January 1, 2012 }}</ref>

It is the period when a young person is considered to have reached maturity and is allowed to attend the Sunday night "singings," which are central to courtship among the Amish. According to Amish sources, a youth who attends one of these events before the age of 16 might be force-fed warm milk from a spoon, as a good-natured reminder to respect the social boundaries.<ref name="WittmerGP"/> Members of the local church district often attend the singings and usually bring younger children along.

A minority of Amish youth do diverge from established customs.<ref name="Shachtman"/>{{rp|13}} Some may be found:<ref name="Shachtman"/>{{rp|10–11}}
* Wearing non-traditional clothing and hair styles (referred to as "dressing English")<ref name=PBS>{{cite web |url=http://video.pbs.org/video/2200745636/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302211908/http://video.pbs.org/video/2200745636 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 2, 2012 |title=American Experience The Amish |publisher=[[PBS]] |date=February 27, 2012 |access-date=October 18, 2012 }}</ref>
* Driving vehicles other than [[horse-drawn vehicle]]s (for communities that [[Amish#Transportation|eschew motor vehicles]])
* Not attending home prayer
* Drinking and using other recreational drugs

Not all youth diverge from custom during this period; approximately half in the larger communities and the majority in smaller Amish communities remain within the norms of Amish dress or behavior during adolescence.<ref name="Shachtman"/>{{rp|13}} Almost 90% of Amish teenagers choose to be baptized and join the Amish church.<ref name=PBS/>

== Leaving the community ==
Some Amish youth do indeed separate themselves from the community, even going to live among the "English," or non-Amish Americans, experiencing modern technology.  Their behavior during this time does not necessarily prevent them from returning for adult baptism into the Amish church.{{Citation needed|date=December 2013}}

Most of them do not wander far from their family's homes during this time, and large numbers (85–90%)<ref name="Stollznow">{{cite book
 |author = Stollznow K.
 |title = God Bless America: Strange and Unusual Religious Beliefs and Practices in the United States
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=iw6eCwAAQBAJ
 |publisher = Pitchstone Publishing
 |year = 2014
 |page = 29
 |isbn = 978-1939578082
}}</ref> ultimately choose to join the church. However, this proportion varies from community to community, and within a community between more and less acculturated Amish. For example, [[Swartzentruber Amish]] have a lower retention rate than [[Andy Weaver (Old Order Amish)|Andy Weaver Amish]] (90% vs 97%;<ref>{{cite book
 |author = {{nobr|Hurst C.E.}}, {{nobr|McConnell D.L.}}
 |title = An Amish Paradox: Diversity and Change in the World's Largest Amish Community
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SvxpZ37sRd8C
 |publisher = Johns Hopkins University Press
 |year = 2010
 |pages = 29
 |series = Young Center Books in Anabaptist and Pietist Studies
 |isbn = 978-0801897900
}}</ref> although most of Swartzentruber Amish do not allow teenagers to leave the community during rumspringa at will).<ref>{{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SvxpZ37sRd8C | title = An Amish Paradox: Diversity and Change in the World's Largest Amish Community |year= 2010 | pages = 71–80| isbn = 978-0801897900| last1 = Hurst| first1 = Charles E.| last2 = McConnell| first2 = David L.| publisher = JHU Press }}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 |author = {{nobr|Mackall J.}}
 |title = Plain Secrets: An Outsider among the Amish
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=FUWHZ3s_1A8C
 |publisher = Beacon Press
 |year = 2007
 |isbn = 978-0807010617
 |pages = 65
}}</ref> This figure was significantly lower as recently as the 1950s. Leaving the Amish community is not a long-term trend, and was more of a problem during the early colonial years.<ref name='hostetler'/>

== Variations ==
{{Unsourced|section|date=April 2024}}
As among the non-Amish, there is variation among communities and individual families as to the best response to adolescent misbehavior. Some Amish communities hold views similar to [[Old Order Mennonite]], and [[Conservative Mennonites]] in seeking more productive, spiritual activities for their youth. Some even take up meditation.{{citation needed |date=January 2016 }}

In some cases, patience and forbearance prevail, and in others, vigorous discipline. Far from an open separation from parental ways, the misbehavior of young people during the {{lang|pdc|rumspringa}} is usually furtive, though often collective (this is especially true in smaller and more isolated populations). They may or may not mingle with non-Amish in these excursions. The age is marked normatively in some Amish communities by allowing the young man to purchase a small "courting buggy", or&nbsp;– in some communities&nbsp;– by painting the yard-gate blue (traditionally meaning "daughter of marriageable age living here"; the custom is noted by A.&nbsp;M. Aurand in ''The Amish'' (1938), along with the reasonable caution that sometimes a blue gate is just a blue gate). There is some opinion that adolescent rebellion tends to be more radical, more institutionalized (and therefore in a sense more accepted) in the more restrictive communities.

The nature of the {{lang|pdc|rumspringa}} period differs from individual to individual and from community to community. In large Amish communities like those of [[Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Lancaster County]], [[Pennsylvania]]; [[Holmes County, Ohio|Holmes]] and [[Wayne County, Ohio|Wayne Counties]], [[Ohio]]; and [[Elkhart County, Indiana|Elkhart]] and [[LaGrange County, Indiana|LaGrange Counties]], [[Indiana]], the Amish are numerous enough that an Amish youth subculture exists.<ref name=npr-vice>{{cite news |title=Rumspringa: Amish Teens Venture into Modern Vices |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5455572 |publisher=[[NPR]] |date=June 7, 2006}}</ref> During {{lang|pdc|rumspringa}}, the Amish youth in these large communities will join one of various groups ranging from the most rebellious to the least. These groups are not necessarily divided across traditional Amish church district boundaries, although they often are. In many smaller communities, Amish youth may have a much more restricted {{lang|pdc|rumspringa}}, and likewise may be less likely to partake in strong rebellious behavior, as they lack the anonymity of larger communities.

[[Groffdale Conference Mennonite Church|Wenger Mennonite]]s youth go through a period of {{lang|pdc|rumspringa}} starting at age 17 and typically ending at marriage, a few years older than the Amish do. Since most of the youth get baptized when they are ages 16 to 19, they typically do not get into the type of serious offenses of the most "disorderly" of the Amish youth.<ref name="Kraybill, Donald B. 2006"/>{{rp|169–73,244}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{Rites of passage}}
{{Amish}}

[[Category:Protestantism in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Rites of passage]]
[[Category:Amish]]
[[Category:Mennonitism]]
[[Category:Religion in Lancaster, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Adolescence]]

[[de:Rumspringa]]