Rumspringa

Those Wild, Wild Amish.

Rumspringa, a word in "Pennsylvania Dutch," loosely translated means “running around outside the bounds.” Amish teenagers are encouraged at some point by their elders to test the bounds of freedom and explore the trappings of the world outside the Amish culture. This means they can check out television, telephones, movies, crabs and beer and shiny stuff among other things.

It seems like quite a gamble. You’d think that once they experienced all the sex, drugs, and rock and roll, the teens would be happy to say goodbye to the Amish way. Not so. The Amish youth “come home” to the faith after Rumspringa at a rate of 80% to 90%.

Additional reading: Rumspringa by Tom Shachtman.