The Amish Dilemma

It's 7:00 a. m. in Ohio, in the Midwest region of the United States.

Twenty or so children get off the school bus. They are all Amish, a Christian community that lives according to traditions dating back to the 17th century and that shuns modernity. The girls wear long dresses and bonnets.

The boys wear shirts and suspenders. They have their own schools. Each day begins with a song of praise.

James has been the principal of the school for 29 years. His pupils are between the ages of 11 and 14. The boys sit on one side, the girls on the other.

The teacher follows the set national education program, but the lessons are adapted to correspond to the Bible's fundamental principles. Our social studies and science are based on scriptural principles, and our churches stay clear of the evolution theory. We go by the Bible.

The Amish unquestionably consider themselves the descendants of Adam and Eve and reject the theory of evolution and recent scientific discoveries. They have their own schoolbooks. In our book it has, but it'll have weird problems based on things we agree with.

It'll have problems about Abraham, Methuselah from the Bible, and things that a mom gives her child each day. Things like that, based on our culture, yes. For Amish children, schooling ends at the age of 14, whereas education in the United States is compulsory until the age of 16.

The Amish, however, were granted a special exemption by the Supreme Court in 1972. Our culture seems to work best when they're ninth graders to work with Dad or Mom, even start going out helping neighbors, and going to shops and appropriate businesses and get their training there. More of vocational training than just education.

We'll never be doctors and veterinarians or dentists. Why not? Their lifestyle conflicts with our basic beliefs.

Access to science and technology is seen as a threat to their traditional lifestyle. The future seems to be all mapped out for these children. Michael, what will you do next year, ninth grade, what are your goals?

I'll go to work in the shop. His dad has a shop. Ethan?

Till the farm. Jessica, girls side? Help mom at home.

For the Amish, too much education would risk alienating the children from the community and subject them to the temptations of the modern world. It's one of the most insulated communities in the United States, originating from Switzerland, Germany, and the eastern France region of Alsace. The Amish fled religious persecution and arrived in America in the early 18th century.

They settled in the east, predominantly in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Today, their estimated population is over 360,000. Extremely conservative Christians, they obey the rules of their church, which haven't evolved for over three centuries.

A simple and rigorous lifestyle, no car, no electricity, no telephone, they reject any intrusion of modernity. The Amish shun cameras, but Pete and Ruth have exceptionally agreed to open their doors to us and let us discover their way of life. It's hooked up to the gas and then it comes through here.

This is what is called a mandle. The Amish keep to themselves and marry only within the community. A consequence of this, however, is the increasing incidence of genetic and hereditary diseases.

They call these children God's special children because they're not like everybody else. There's a subgroup of Amish who live according to even stricter rules in quasi-autarky. They're called the Swartzentruber.

We believe if we go out to the world, we're more apt to get involved in things that would lead us into sin or lead us into immoral things. For some young people, this family pressure can be too paralyzing. Cheryl decided to leave her community.

I feel like a free bird. I can go anywhere I want. Some Amish adapt their traditional lifestyle when they're on vacation.

Every winter, Amish families meet up on the Florida beaches, where the younger members are able to enjoy new experiences. Great view of God's world! An inside look at this community which resists modern world influences in the heart of the United States, one of the world's most developed countries.

It's autumn in Ohio, a state rich in farmland, where the Amish have predominantly settled. Here in Holmes County, one in two residents is Amish. They live on countryside farms.

Easily recognizable by their red-painted barns and no power lines in sight. In the towns, a Swiss chalet or the facades of a Bavarian brewery, reminders of the Amish's European origins. In the streets, among the cars, dozens of black horse-pulled buggies, the only vehicle allowed in the community.

Everywhere you look, men in dark suits and women in traditional dresses. However, it's against their religion to be filmed. One of the community leaders, however, finally agrees to let us into his home to explain to us the rules of his church, on one condition, not to show his face.

I would look at it more as just drawing attention to ourselves. You will never see portraits on our bureaus or walls. If you would do it, they would frown on it.

It would be a shame to do it. As a sign of modesty and humility, he receives us barefoot. The Amish want to resist the temptations of the modern world at all costs.

We want to keep the old unknown, and the old way of living. Should I be willing to deny myself things of this world so my grandchildren can have a good life? I think so.

I want to, so my grandchildren also have a prospect of not being sucked up into modernity. The pastor nevertheless agrees to put us in contact with one of his friends, Pete, 59 years old, a very conservative Old Order Amish man. He knows a few words of French inherited from his Alsatian ancestors.

Stop, stop! Okay, girl. Since childhood, his sole means of locomotion is his horse-drawn carriage.

It's very peaceful a lot of time to look around and enjoy the scenery along the road. The farthest we've ever gone in one day by horse and buggy was 17 miles one way and then going back 17 again. That's 34 miles, we had a tired horse by the time we got home, but he was fine.

The horse was fine. Pete's a dairy farmer who runs the family farm. He and his wife Ruth have six children and live here now with their three youngest daughters, a son-in-law, two grandchildren, and Pete's father.

It's corn harvest season. Pete harnesses his horses. He doesn't use a tractor as it's forbidden by his church.

Easy, boys, easy. Whoa! Back up, back up.

It's a lot of work, but I have to work something. This is my lifestyle, I enjoy it. It's peaceful sitting behind a horse, just driving the horses.

To cut his corn, he uses an old horse-drawn diesel-powered harvester, a model that's no longer sold commercially and used solely by the Amish. It takes more time, but less acreage to cover the smaller fields, so we try to get our crops in in a timely manner, and then harvest them before winter sets in. It'll take him ten days to finish his field, whereas a modern machine would've done the job in just a few hours.

One of 11 children, Pete was the only one willing to take over the family farm. His father taught him everything he needed to know and at 88 years old, he's still here to lend a helping hand. I'm not old enough yet.

I'll move on, okay. All right. In the past, everything was done by hand but in order to compete and survive in the modern age, Pete and his father had to make concessions by buying some machines.

Years ago, we were all farmers. It's just not that way anymore. It's just the way it is, the farms are not available anymore.

There's just so many more people. Amish people are growing. Also, the population is growing.

Every 20 years it's doubled, they say. Pete's father is right. Between 2000 and 2020, the Amish population increased from 180,000 to 360,000.

While the men are out in the fields, the women take care of the house. Ruth makes all the family's clothes. Amish fashion hasn't changed since the 19th century.

The only new element is the solar-powered sewing machine. Tolerated by the church. It's for my granddaughter.

I especially like to make little dresses. They're my favorite. Ruth follows the traditional dress pattern to the letter, the same one for all.

It's maybe between the ankle and knee for the length and otherwise, it's just modesty, a modest dress, or whatever. Pretty well plain Jane. Do you like it?

I don't mind it. When you see sparkling dresses. The human in me sometimes would want to but then still, since we never did.

That's not us, so it's not a big deal. Plain dresses, no makeup, no jewelry. The only permitted accessory is the bonnet.

This is what I wear to go to church. Simplicity, to be close to God. Then, like this.

Basically, long sleeves. It's nice to see everybody wear the same. It's comforting, I like it like that.

Individualism is frowned upon by the Amish. The community comes first. Men and women must remain in their place.

It's late afternoon and milking time. Pete has 36 cows, just enough to feed the family. This is the engine that powers everything that we use to milk the cows.

I put this system in. It seems complicated. Yes, it is, but it works.

Using the diesel engine from an old car, he's managed to provide power for his entire farm. Heat isn't allowed to connect to the local power grid. That's forbidden.

Like all Amish, he spends his life compromising with the modern world. For me, I'm well satisfied this way. I am.

If we get electricity, it'll bring other things into the church. It'll probably bring TVs and things like that. It'd be handy, just plug it in and watch that and I'm against that.

I won't say it's wrong, but it's not something I want to do. I see families where children grow up with TV and you can see it. I think to keep our life simple and keep our traditions the way it is, we need to stay away from things like that.

A little bit of modern technology is permitted, but only in a work context. We used to do it by hand. Twenty-five years ago, we got the milking machines, which is a lot more convenient for us.

More cows. Ill-equipped to compete, many Amish farmers have had to abandon their activity in recent years, much to Pete's regret. It's changing the way of our life.

More people getting off the farm changes the culture of the Amish. -It does. -Oh, yes?

Oh, yes, more freedom. Doing your work, going out in the evening, this pleasure. Some people call it tied down: "Oh, you're tied down.

" To me, it's not. I enjoy what I'm doing. I enjoy it, so I don't feel… You could sell your farm for a big amount of money.

I could and never have to work again, but what good would it do me? I'd have the money, but I'd have nothing else. To me, the farm is worth a lot more than the money.

Pete could sell his farm for over $2 million, but he wants his daughter and son-in-law to take over the farm and perpetuate the tradition. In the Amish community, the men and the women work tirelessly. Three times a week, Ruth does the family's laundry using machines from the 1950s powered by solar panels.

It's my washing machine. This is the wringer, and it squeezes out the water and I rinse them twice. The church forbids the use of a modern washing machine.

It would be easier, but I guess this is just the way I've always done it. Especially on rainy days, it would be a lot easier with a dryer also but this is how we do it, I guess. In Holmes County in recent years, some families bought washing machines but were quickly called to order by the church officials.

They'll tell you that: "We want to watch ourselves" "and stay away more from the more modern things. " They have to give it up and give it back. An austere lifestyle and strict rules don't prevent some Amish from making a fortune, however.

Thanks to their know-how, particularly in furniture making. This is the case for Roy, 61 years old. He runs one of the biggest companies in the region.

He started manufacturing solid wood furniture 30 years ago. His business is very successful thanks to a well-tested marketing argument, a 100% Amish quality. It's a really cool chair.

They last forever. You can hardly destroy them, unless you want to. Wholesale price, you're going to be between 140… while this one here is 334.

For the most part, we're between 140 and $180. We sell a lot of them. It's a good thing.

Roy has 30 employees, all Amish. They hand-make thousands of tables and chairs that are sold all over the United States. His turnover today is several million dollars.

For Roy, being successful is not incompatible with the Amish lifestyle. We're not limited on what we can make. The Bible says money is the root of all evil.

Well, it doesn't have to be the root of evil. I mean, not if you use it the way you're supposed to. The Amish have created their own bank and investment funds that are used to help less fortunate members of the community.

It's shared here a lot. There are always needy families, and that's the Amish community as a whole. They really chip in and help each other.

I have investments for retirement. We don't have Social Security when I retire. I need a retirement so that I can have money to live until we die.

In his business, Roy follows church doctrine to the letter. His factory isn't connected to the local power grid but runs on a diesel engine-powered generator. The women are allowed to work, but only until they get married or until the birth of their first child.

Martha is 22 years old. She's been working in this factory for three years, but she'll have to leave soon, to become a good traditional wife. Amish women don't work after marriage, not on a regular basis, do they?

No. They sometimes work part-time. When she gets married, her mind is going to shift, and she's going to have to take care of the home and the house.

She knows she won't get paid for it, but that's what she does for her hopefully coming family and her husband. -It's a big mind shift, isn't it? -I'm going to miss working.

They miss working with the people, they're all friends. Isn't it possible to raise children and work at the same time? Amish don't do that.

The belief is that if you have children, the mother should be the caretaker of the children and raise them. They don't want to let somebody else raise the children and indoctrinate them with something that the parents wouldn't agree with. Go out in the workplace regularly.

You just don't see it. We frown upon that. Martha has no choice but to obey the community rule.

Despite having made millions, this business owner visits his various factories not in a luxury car with a driver, but on an electric bike. His office is next to his house and he works there with four of his sons. The first computers arrived here ten years ago.

It's so hard to do business without at least using some of it. You have to progress a little bit. That means that there are times you have to let people use some things that they weren't previously allowed.

The church gives us our guidelines, so we try to do what the leaders want. The church has allowed the use of computers on the condition that they aren't connected to the internet. They can only be used for accounting purposes.

As for cell phones, only old models are tolerated, again, without internet access. A cell phone, as long as it's a flip phone and not a smartphone. Ohio's about the only place they sell these.

They're trying not to make them anymore. It's the Amish people that use it. For some Amish, the use of telephones or computers is totally unthinkable.

One subgroup in particular, the most conservative, refuses any intrusion of modernity into their daily lives. They're called the Swartzentruber. Their farms are recognizable by their red-colored buildings.

The work in the fields is done entirely by hand. No machines are allowed. There are only around 5,000 of them, and they're extremely private.

One family has exceptionally agreed to open its doors to us on one condition, not to show the adults' faces, again, for religious reasons. Hello, welcome, come on in. We're greeted by Harvey, 31 years old, a farmer and father of four children.

They've never seen a film camera before. In this house, time stopped in the 19th century. This is where we do our cooking and baking.

We put our wood here. We don't use any electricity, everything's wood fire. The family lives in quasi autarky.

They get their drinking water from the well. This is where we get our drinking water. Then we have the rainwater we gather from out here.

Water, everything runs from the roof into that cistern tank. It's not drinking water, but we use it for washing. Comfort is reduced to a strict minimum.

Everything here is austere, including their dark clothing. Harvey married Anna when he was 22 years old. They hardly ever leave their house.

They've never worked in the city as this is forbidden. I'd say it's probably more conservative. We don't use a phone unless we've got emergencies, we don't hire somebody to drive us unless it's like a doctor or something.

We believe throughout the world, we're more apt to get involved in things that would lead us into sin or lead us into immoral things. No leisure activities, no television or radio, nothing that could distract them from their beliefs. Upstairs, the monastic style children's rooms, bare walls, no photos.

Rules they obey blindly without really knowing why. I'm not even sure where, but I think the scripture says not to have photographs of our faces. -Do you listen to music sometimes?

-No, we don't listen to music. We don't have any musical instruments. The only music we have is what we sing.

One revolutionary element, much appreciated by Harvey, has recently been introduced into the household. It's in the basement. -Can you use this light?

-Yes, we can use the flashlight. The church started letting me use that. It's been a couple of years and we use it quite a bit in the barn.

A refrigerator, on the other hand, is forbidden by their church. All the family food has to be preserved in jars. We have Applesauce and fruits, and a lot of vegetables.

It will get us through the winter. Usually, about this time of the year, we start to make our meat like butchering a couple of pigs. Self-sufficiency and green energy.

The Swartzentrubers have been practicing ecology for over a century. The family milk supply comes from a cow that Harvey milks daily. Like most young Swartzentrubers, Harvey had no choice but to work on the farm.

Nobody's really permitted to go out and work in town. We try to keep them from the environment. They'll get into more things and into temptation.

Every night before dinner, by the light of the kerosene lamp, the family prays in silence. By keeping their children isolated from the modern world, the Swartzentrubers have managed to maintain their lifestyle for over a century. Although they have no smartphone, radio, or television, the Amish do have a newspaper, The Budget.

Established in 1890, it's their main source of information. At its head, Marcus Miller. He isn't Amish himself, but his ancestors were.

The printing looked good this week. The budget is a 50-page weekly publication that doesn't contain a single photo. This is their sport, this is their television because they're not allowed access to those modern conveniences.

This is their Facebook, to keep up with what's going on in the community have a laugh or two, while still learning about what's going on. They announced births in the paper a lot, they announce deaths, they announce if somebody's been hospitalized. I mean, things you couldn't tell in these large families to be able to contact with everybody, they are able to put this in the paper so that their family all knows.

No journalists are employed here. The newspaper is composed entirely of handwritten letters sent by Amish people. Marcus receives 100 or so of them daily.

No mention of current news stories, just everyday events in the life of the community. A letter from a scribe in Webster, Kentucky. He opens by: "Leaves are steadily changing color," "transforming our wooded hillsides" "from deep summer greens to red and yellow hues of autumn.

" "Morning temperatures have us reaching for our jackets" "before going out the door. " They're writing about what's happening in their community, the weather, who visited, who had church. Any other anecdotal stories that may be happening in their community.

The newspaper is extremely popular. Each issue has a circulation of 90,000 copies, and sales are continuing to grow. The Amish don't want to depend on the American social system.

They have their own mutual aid funds and rely on the solidarity of all the members of the community. On Pete and Ruth's farm, the family's busy. They've learned that the newborn son of their former neighbor, Aaron, has had serious health problems.

They've organized a collection for him. I bought some denim fabric to put in Aaron's box… and some clothes pins as well. Oh, okay, I'll put it back in here.

They fill boxes with essential products and items that could be of use to the family, including toys for the children. We're still waiting for some more things. Ruth and Ivan haven't given us theirs yet.

Ten other families are participating in the collection. Katie brought some books and lots of other things. Some apples.

That's great. -My favorite. -Yes.

That is the community that we live in is helping each other out. It is and that's very important to me. -We've been on the receiving end.

-Yes, we have. It would be very independent for a needy family if we would just turn our backs and said: "Look for yourself, we don't care what you do. " That's not us.

Tomorrow, the family will travel over 100 kilometers to deliver these gifts. In the meantime, they gather together to sing. Pete's father plays a traditional Amish instrument, the dulcimer, which dates back to the Middle Ages.

The family sings German religious songs. In this life, there are choices to be made for each one of us but the Lord will guide you. Watch your step, we're going down.

The next morning, Pete and Ruth are eager to go and surprise their former neighbors. For the trip, they've reserved a car with a driver. The Amish are allowed to have a driver for long-distance trips.

The whole family takes part in the adventure. They have a two-hour drive ahead of them to reach the wooded valleys in eastern Ohio, where land is cheaper and where young Amish families are now attempting to settle. Aaron and Mary, Pete and Ruth's former neighbors, are surprised to see their friends arrive with all these gifts.

I hope you'll enjoy it all! There's a bit of everything There are a lot of things there! Yes, indeed.

Thank you so much. You're welcome. There's even an umbrella!

Our children each have an umbrella and as soon as it rains, they love to go outside with it. How did you guess? I didn't know!

The couple allows us into their home, a house they're renting until they have their own. Aaron and Mary have never been filmed before, but they're proud to show us their family and their newborn baby. That's my wife, Mary, and that's baby Levi.

Special person, I guess. Levi was born with Down's syndrome and physical deformities for which he had to be operated. His father took time out from his farm work to take care of him.

Thanks to donations from the community, the family's medical expenses of over $70,000 were fully covered. In the Amish community, children with Down syndrome have a special place. They call these children God's special children because they're not like everyone else.

You realize that the good Lord is in your life. We make the best out of what we can. We'll have fun with this child, but if we look at all the downsides, we'll cry the rest of our lives.

It's a matter of just not being so narrow-minded. You can't see the sunny side of a dark cloud, I guess. To me, it was not anything to accept when he was a baby.

I have two special sisters. I'd say it's just part of life. To me, we just take care of them if they're special needs.

It's just something. For centuries, marriage among the Amish has been restricted to the inner circle of the community. This has resulted in a higher rate of genetic and hereditary diseases in this group.

This children's clinic, established eight years ago, focuses exclusively on these pathologies. Doctor Wenger, a pediatrician, belongs to a more modern church, but one that's close to the Amish. Today she has an appointment with a child who has a hereditary disease that affects the lungs.

How's Mark doing then? Oh, he's doing good. He has some nerve issues in school.

If it gets worse or he's really resisting going to school, then we should probably talk. I think he's getting on the way out. That's good.

This morning he had breakfast once. Oh, good, so sometimes you miss breakfast because your stomach hurts? Yes.

I think we're ready to get your blood work done now. Mark has been under the pediatrician's care since birth, in accordance with the values of the community. Amish couples don't want to know their genetic profile, nor do they want to use contraception in accordance with the rules of their church.

Doctor Wenger only discusses this choice with them if they ask about it. What working here gives me is a chance to fit how I grew up into something useful. I can understand what the community values and then sometimes be an interpreter.

Sometimes you get stuck in a conflict, but that's okay. We believe children are a gift from God, and we do have that in mind that CF can happen. It's still something that we love babies, but we still let God control it.

Put your finger out for me. The mother won't have anything to pay. Everything is covered by the community according to each family's income and number of children.

It was good to see you again. I'll tell your mom how things looked in your blood work. -Sounds good.

-All right. -Thank you. -Bye.

Bye. For the past ten years or so, Doctor Wenger has been analyzing the genetics of the Ohio Amish community. In terms of conditions with a diagnosis, down syndrome would be the most common.

Over generations, if people are very strict about who they'll let their young people marry, then just by default, things become more isolated in their genetics as well. Despite their daily contact with the modern world, the Amish almost never allow outsiders into the family. This leads some young people to distance themselves from the community.

This is the case with Cheryl, 30 years old. The young woman left the Amish community a year ago. She now works as a waitress in this busy downtown cafe.

I really enjoy it, yes. I started in, let me see. Was it February or March?

Yes, so it's not quite a year that I'm here. It's 111. I get to meet lots of new people.

It's thanks to this job that Cheryl was able to leave. She belonged to a very strict Amish group. With her savings, she bought a car, her lifelong dream.

By driving, she's doing something that's forbidden by her community, but she loves it. I feel like a free bird. I can go anywhere I want.

Cheryl is still religious and continues to wear the traditional bonnet and dress, but she's now joined a more liberal community. She could no longer tolerate living with her parents and obeying the ultra-strict rules of their church. I couldn't see myself Amish all my life.

They thought it was rebellious because I was the type of person that I always wanted something to do. For me to be at home a few evenings was just too much. They thought we should have more family time, be at home more, and do things as a family instead of always looking to do something with our friends or whoever.

I arrived at my home, now I live in the basement of this house. Cheryl has an appointment with a friend who needs comforting. -Hello, come on in, how are you?

-Good. How are you? I'm good.

Nieva is 26 years old. She too broke away from the pressures of the Amish community just a month ago. Do you want something to eat or drink?

For that, the members of her church threaten her with exclusion for two years. She won't be able to live with her family or participate in community events. If they put me in the barn, I would probably not be allowed to eat with my family or anybody else who is still Amish.

I always think I'm prepared for it, but then the thought of not being able to be with my family is still hard to accept. I wouldn't know what I would do without them. I still love my family.

I wonder sometimes, do you think they do the barn or whatever, so that people want to come back because it's easier than contending with the barn? Yes. Like Sheryl, Nieva has joined a more modern church, that of the Mennonites.

Close to the Amish, this group is more permissive. The young women can watch movies, and use the internet. They can also go out whenever they want.

Once a week, Cheryl meets up with a group of friends in a sports hall. Half are Mennonite, half are Amish. Her Mennonite cousin Lavon is among them.

He was the one who supported her when she left her church. In the Amish community, baptism takes place in adulthood. For the church, it's a conscious choice that can't be questioned.

Some of the Amish churches would use baptism as a trap, and then that way, if they ever decide to leave the church, they can use that as blackmail, basically to keep them there or to make them feel guilty about leaving. Thankfully, I had cousins and an uncle who helped me out or I would probably never made it, but I wouldn't want to do it again. Unlike Cheryl, none of the young people here want to leave their respective churches.

They accept the strict rules, and none of them can imagine marrying outside their community like Javen and Marcus. One is Mennonite, the other Amish. Say I would meet a girl from his church.

I would have to make the decision, do I want her or do I want to stay Amish? Does she want to join the Amish? It's very possible that anybody can join the Amish.

It rarely happens, but it's such a different lifestyle, so there would be a lot of adjusting to do. The fear of going out to the world culture. Whereas you might find a good Christian wife there, but the fear there is, will she stay faithful?

For these young people, it's difficult to open up to others to imagine a different life. Far from Ohio, there's a place where some Amish, seem ready to enjoy the attractions of the modern world. With its guaranteed year-round sunshine, Florida is a favorite destination for American tourists and retirees.

Surprisingly for the past few years, it's now become a popular winter vacation spot for the Amish. They gather here from December to March to enjoy the sunshine far away from the harsh climate of the northern states where they live. Their headquarters is 20 minutes from the beach.

Pinecraft, a small town about half a square mile in size. The first Amish settled here in 1920 and gradually created their own village, 100% Amish. During high season, the population increases from 100 to 2,000 inhabitants, mostly retirees.

Wilma is one of Pinecraft's local figures. She discovered this place 60 years ago, and lives here six months out of the year. Wilma works at the Der Dutchman Amish restaurant, which receives over 500 customers daily.

Wilma's specialty is the Amish fruit pie covered with a generous layer of whipped cream. How old are you? I'll be 78 in March.

Do you still like to work? Well, if I don't work, do you know what happens? I get old and moldy.

The restaurant is known for its typical Amish cuisine, but it's above all a place where families throughout the country gather together at vacation time. Okay, so here's where all these different groups are. At one time they always came with a driver, like a station wagon.

Then they graduated to the 15-passenger vans and now they come by the hundreds on buses. While Wilma's at work, at the other end of the village, her husband John indulges in his favorite pastime, shuffleboard. John's a leading member of his church in Kentucky.

Two of them! He's seen a Pinecraft change over the years with the arrival of younger and younger Amish people. Good.

Back when we were young, people didn't travel like they do now. They didn't have the money, Now, it's prosperous and people have money and they travel. Is vacation compatible with the Amish way of life?

Oh, yes. Would you say so? We don't encourage extravagance, but you heard what he said, people have more money.

I don't encourage young people with children to spend a lot of time down here. We wouldn't encourage that. We try to maintain our lifestyle even when you're traveling.

Most retired Amish stay in the village and don't even go to the beach but the new generation is determined to take advantage of the seaside leisure activities. In this residential district of Pinecraft, Ryan and Lisa have rented a large house for their entire family. They're 29 years old and have come here from Iowa with their four children and Lisa's parents and sisters.

Ryan, who has made his fortune as a poultry farmer, takes just one week of vacation a year. I don't think we're going to stay long. Well, we take it easy.

We don't do much, we do something when we're not working. Just put it in there. The house has all the modern comforts that the Amish don't have back home.

In particular, television. We don't have a television at home, we have it here because we rent the house. Can you use it even though it's… Yes, we would watch farm things and singing.

For their stay, Ryan's rented an electric golf cart. Hold on tight. A vehicle that the Amish community tolerates here.

The family has chosen Siesta Beach, the region's most famous beach. It's 28°C and crystal clear water for swimming. The children are seeing the sea for the very first time.

We're going to go in the water for a while. Are you coming in, Weston? Come on, come a bit closer.

How far does the water go? Well, when you go farther out, then it gets deeper, but around here, it's not. The whole family continues to wear their traditional clothes.

The Amish don't undress in public. Your eyes. We could wear something that would still cover us, but we wouldn't wear something that we wouldn't be covered.

-We would swim, I mean, we would… -Yes, but not here. I mean, if it's a private pond, we would have, but here with all the people, no. Even in sunny Florida, the couple follows the rules of their church.

The young people have more freedom, but this doesn't include going to clubs or bars. The most popular activity among the Amish youth is parasailing. These 20-year-old girls are from Indiana, and they're about to take to the air for the first time, while still wearing their traditional dress.

It's a once-in-a-lifetime deal probably. Thankfully. Great view of God's world.

All the temptations of the modern world are within reach here in Florida, yet no one on this boat seems willing to cross the line. There are a few things here in Florida that we might do. We might watch TV a little bit or do something that we want that we might not do at home.

It's one of those things where the rules might be slightly relaxed, but I still try to follow my convictions. We don't party too hard, no, we don't drink and things like that. According to a study conducted by an American university in 2021, when they come of age, more than 85% of young Amish people choose to stay in their community.

Each year, they settle in New Territories. Today in the United States, the Amish are present in about 30 states.