Amish Romance

Pass by the bookshelves in supermarkets - or the "Christian" shelves in bookstores - and you will notice a lot of Amish looking women on the covers.

I've been noticing these books proliferating in recent years. I read only one - a suggestion from a very religious student - but I have occasionally skimmed through some I've picked off shelves.

Some things are consistent about them:

They are clean. They avoid foul language and descriptions of sexual activity.

They are not graphically violent. People seek peaceful, respectful solutions to problems.

The characters are chaste. They avoid sex before marriage. They do not cohabit. They remain faithful to their spouses.

There's no confusion about gender or gender roles. Men are men, women are women, and they show respect for each other.

Family is important. The couples - married - work together to provide for their children and support each other. They have children if they are capable of doing so. They welcome them. They don't keep putting them off until they have all the "things" they want first.

Divorce, when it does come up, is viewed in a negative light and not as an easy out rather than dealing with problems.

The characters are religious in positive ways. Their faith nurtures and sustains them. While they live in the world, they are not controlled by the often selfish, self-centered values of that society.

Those are general observations. There may be some books that stray away from those traits - after all, I have not read a significant number of them - but I suspect they don't stray too far.

I've been thinking about why they have become so popular, especially among women.

Could it be that those women at some level recognize that they've been sold a bill of goods by our consumerist, self-centered, oversexed culture? Could it be that these women are longing for a more stable world where they are treated with respect and dignity? Could it be these women dream of dating and romance being about life-long love and not immediate-gratification lust? Could it be these women sense that a life focused on marriage and family and children are normal, natural, and good for you?

The thing is, such a reality is available for them. They can choose to live that way. There are such men out there. I see so many Christian enclaves developing where men and women work together to live out their faith. I teach at a school that was created by such people who wanted to provide a solid Catholic environment and education.

Here's hoping that the readers of these books don't settle for just fantasizing about such things while reading these novels.

Pax et bonum