Ashley and Bailee get candid about their complicated relationship with Lent and spiritual disciplines after deconstruction — calling out how evangelicals often pride themselves on rejecting liturgical traditions passed down through church history, while still emphasizing self-denial and moral performance.

They discuss how practices like fasting were framed through shame and sacrifice, why Lent was often dismissed as “too Catholic,” and whether spiritual disciplines can be reclaimed in a way that feels life-giving rather than guilt-driven.

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Ashley and Bailee return for Part 2 of their Amish series — this time stepping into the present.

They explore modern Amish life: gender roles, education, technology limits, rumspringa, and the quiet authority of the Ordnung. What does separation from the world actually look like today…and how does it function as both protection and control?

They also unpack the evangelical mom obsession with Amish movies — from G-rated romance plotlines to the suspiciously wholesome universe of Michael Landon Jr.. Why are bonnets and barns so deeply romanticized in Christian media? And what does that persistent fantasy of a “simpler” life reveal about evangelical longing for order, purity, and escape?

Sources:

Amish. (2026). In Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Amish

Amish Way of Life. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved February 2, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish_way_of_life

Old Order Amish Mennonite Church. (2026). In Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Old-Order-Amish-Mennonite-Church

Ordnung. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved February 2, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordnung

The World Data. (2025). Amish population in the U.S. 2025: Statistics & facts [Online article]. Retrieved from https://theworlddata.com/amish-population-in-us/

Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972). Retrieved from https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/406/205/

Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies. (2025). Amish population, 2025 (Population estimates by state and settlement). Elizabethtown College. Retrieved from https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/population-2025/

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Ashley and Bailee turn their attention to a community often romanticized but rarely understood: the Amish.

In Part 1 of this two-part series, they trace the movement’s origins in the Radical Reformation, unpacking Anabaptism, adult baptism, persecution, and the theological split that gave rise to the Amish. They explore how a desire for faithfulness and separation from the world shaped practices like shunning, communal discipline, and the Ordnung — and how those early convictions still echo today.

Sources:

• Amish Studies, Elizabethtown College. (n.d.). Amish origins. https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/religion/amish-origins/
• Anabaptists.org. (n.d.). Mennonites in Europe: Persecution. https://www.anabaptists.org/writings/excerpts/mennonites-in-europe-persecution.html
• Encyclopaedia Britannica. (n.d.). Anabaptists. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Anabaptists
• Encyclopaedia Britannica. (n.d.). Mennonite. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mennonite
• Pennsylvania Center for the Book. (n.d.). Amish history: A timeline. https://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/literary-cultural-heritage-map-pa/feature-articles/amish-history-timeline

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