ok, so I am going out on a limb

I am an avid reader. (Actually I read a lot of stuff twice, which is what makes Rosjuane call me a re-reader, which she isn't ;P) I read a lot of true crime, and I read a lot of historical and biographical works. I am also intrigued greatly by the mafia, serial killers, amish lifestyles, and many other things. (I know, what a strange array of things to group in a list) So anyway, my curiosity about the Amish led me to read several books, to make me understand rumspringa, their belief in forgiveness, and also what makes them be resistant to modern conveniences. (I actually have several fiction books that seem to follow suit on what they believe as well) There are different ways that amish believe, some don't even use BUTTONS, but rely only on hooks. None, as far as I have read, buy insurance nor accept government assistance or draw any social security checks. They all believe faithfully in following ordnung. Because the Amish have no central church government, each assembly is autonomous and is its own governing authority. So, every local church maintains an individual set of rules, adhering to its own Ordnung, which may vary from district to district as each community administers its own guidelines. These rules are largely unwritten, yet they define the very essence of Amish identity. I wonder how well that works....... if people really don't like things sometimes, yet they can't or won't rock the boat because of fear of retribution by fellow church goers, or rejection from their pastor. They practice biblicism, which is literal interpretation of the bible. I could dig for a week reading about this.

So anyway, I hope none of that is viewed as stereotyping; since there's no denomination you can sum up in a couple paragraphs. (I will say, whether you agree with the Amish belief system or not, we would all benefit from being as forgiving as they are!!)

My next thing to learn about is going to be something I get my readers to pick for me. I am extremely interested in different denominations and belief systems. Does anyone have any suggestions for what I can research/read about next?