Rumpsringa for Amish Teens: A Taste of Freedom Before Choosing Their Faith Forever

Why 90 Percent Still Come Back

At 16, Amish teenagers enter a period called rumspringa, and for the first time in their lives, the rules loosen.

They can attend social gatherings, date, and in some communities, experiment with cars, phones, and modern clothes.

What happens next surprises most outsiders: about 85 to 90 percent of these young people choose to return and join the Amish church.

The wild parties that reality TV loves to show represent a small slice of the experience, and the real story is how a 400,000-strong community keeps growing by letting its teenagers decide for themselves.

Running Around in Pennsylvania German

Rumspringa translates to "running around" in Pennsylvania German, the dialect spoken by most Amish families.

The period normally begins at age 16 and ends when a youth chooses either to be baptized in the Amish church or to leave the community.

Amish elders generally view it as a time for courtship and finding a spouse rather than rebellion. The length varies from person to person, with some deciding within months and others taking years.

Most make their choice before turning 23.

Most Teens Stay Close to Home

Richard A. Stevick, a professor at Messiah University in Pennsylvania, has studied Amish culture for 40 years and says many teenagers going through rumspringa don’t leave home or significantly change their behavior.

"The public interest in Rumspringa would be a lot less if books and documentaries didn’t focus on the most extreme examples," he says.

Approximately half in the larger communities and the majority in smaller Amish communities remain within the norms of Amish dress or behavior during adolescence.

Sunday Night Singings Start at 16

The social calendar begins with singings, gatherings held in homes or barns after the adults leave following Sunday church services.

Amish boys and girls sit at a long table facing each other, singing hymns and socializing between the songs.

The singing lasts until around ten o’clock, at which point baked goods and drinks are brought out for the teens to enjoy as they mingle for an hour or two.

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.

A Buggy Ride Home Seals the Deal

If a boy is interested in a girl, he offers to give her a ride home in what some communities call a courting buggy.

Amish youth typically get their first buggies at age 16, and buggies are essential for Amish boys of courting age.

In some communities, the start of rumspringa is marked by allowing the young man to purchase a small courting buggy.

These open-top, two-seater carriages were designed to keep canoodling to a minimum while giving couples time alone.

Youth Groups Set the Tone

In large Amish communities like those of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Holmes and Wayne Counties in Ohio, and Elkhart and LaGrange Counties in Indiana, the Amish are numerous enough that an Amish youth subculture exists.

Teens join groups ranging from the most traditional to the most rebellious.

Amish parents may worry about which group their child will join because the choice will influence the teen’s behavior.

Traditional youth activities include volleyball, swimming, ice skating, picnics, hiking, and large outdoor supper parties.

Some Try Cars and Smartphones

In larger settlements, a minority of teens push boundaries further.

During rumspringa, Amish youth are permitted to experience aspects of non-Amish life, including wearing non-traditional clothing, driving automobiles, owning smartphones and accessing social media, and attending parties.

Some Amish youth don’t just party on weekends but temporarily abandon their entire lifestyle with cars, apartments, jobs in the non-Amish world, and modern clothes. They live completely outside Amish society for a time.

Barn Parties Make Headlines

The extreme cases get the attention. In some communities, weekend barn parties can get seriously out of hand with cheap beer, loud music, and dozens of Amish teens letting loose.

Police have broken up gatherings of over 100 young people at Amish properties.

But these represent maybe 10 to 20 percent of Amish youth, and even then, mostly in larger settlements like Lancaster County or Holmes County, Ohio.

The wilder behavior tends to happen where teens have the anonymity of large populations.

The Decision Comes Before 23

Amish youth are typically baptized between the ages of 18 and 21.

As Anabaptists, the Amish church emphasizes the importance of making a voluntary adult decision to become a Christian and join the church.

Most young adults make their decisions before age 23, the majority deciding within two years of when rumspringa begins.

The choice is not just about faith but also about marriage, since Amish can only marry other baptized members.

Leave Early and Keep Your Family

Teens who leave the Amish before joining the church are not shunned because they didn’t make a baptismal promise and therefore aren’t breaking any vows.

They can still visit their families, attend gatherings, and maintain relationships. Looking across the Amish as a whole, about 15 percent of Amish youth choose not to be baptized.

In some New Order communities, that number can reach 30 or 40 percent, while in the strictest groups, only 5 percent leave.

Break Your Vows and Lose Everything

The stakes change completely after baptism. A member who leaves permanently will be shunned, meaning the person will forever be considered an outsider and will not be allowed to participate in the community ever again.

Perhaps 5 to 10 percent of Amish, depending on the church group, end up leaving after having joined the church.

However, members are usually accepted back later if upon their return they confess their transgressions and recommit to the church.

A Community That Keeps Doubling

The North American Amish population grew from approximately 177,910 in 2000 to 410,955 in 2025, an increase of 131 percent. The population doubles about every 20 years.

The primary forces driving the growth are sizable nuclear families with five or more children on average and an average retention rate of 85 percent or more.

Rumspringa gives teenagers a genuine choice, and that choice, freely made, is why most of them stay.

Visit the Amish Village in Pennsylvania

The Amish Village in Strasburg sits on 12 acres in the heart of Lancaster County, home to the oldest Amish settlement in America.

Guided tours take you through an authentic 1840 farmhouse to show how Amish families live without electricity, plus a one-room schoolhouse, a blacksmith shop, and a smokehouse. The village is open year-round at 199 Hartman Bridge Road.

Admission runs about $14 for adults and $8 for children. Give yourself at least two hours, and check their schedule for seasonal buggy rides.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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