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Originally Posted by Stephen Hoover
Sorry, but again I think this is misinformation.
They were likely rebelling... The girls smoking would not be tolerated in daily life at an Amish home. I see no evidence of "permission" granted in rumspringa. It is no different than non-Amish families giving an 16-18 yr old the liberty to get his own style haircut or choosing his own music. It is an acknowledgement that they are becoming adults and are making some of their own choices. If I had a seventeen yr old that was into headbanging, hard rock, it would not mean I gave permission to it.
Unless these Amish girls are church members the church has no control over them. The parents could boot them out (and they often do, depending on the case) but that may lesson the chances they will ultimately choose to join the church.
Now the guys may get away with smoking... but that is a different subject.
Also, most Amish view the men smoking as a OP would view caffine addiction, not good - but also not forbidden.
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During rumspringa, they are allowed to drink, party, and drive cars. According to Wikipedia:
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As is the case in many societies, 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 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 who use this term, however, rumspringa simply refers to adolescence. During that time a certain amount of misbehavior is unsurprising and is not so severely condemned (for instance, by 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 and Dordrecht confessions[4]. In a narrow sense the young are not bound by the 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 Ordnung, and there is no period when adolescents are formally "released" from these rules.[5][6][7]
A minority of Amish youth do diverge from established customs.[8] Some may be found:[9]
* Wearing non-traditional clothing and hair styles
* Driving vehicles instead of horse drawn buggies (for communities that eschew vehicles)
* Not attending home prayer
* Drinking, smoking, and/or drug use
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They consider this 'rebellion' as a typical way of life during this age, so they allow it.
Strangely enough, most of them make the commitment to be baptised in the church and no longer partake of those things after making that decision.
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