On The Front Lines

Rutherford Institute Attorneys File Opening Brief in Suit Defending Amish Farmers' Right to Religious Freedom

Brief Filed in Michigan Circuit Court on Behalf of Old Order Amish Farmers

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.-- Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute filed their opening brief in Michigan State Circuit Court on behalf of six Amish farmers who were denied religious accommodation by the Central Michigan District Health Department. The Amish, also referred to as the Old Order Amish or "Plain People," have practiced a way of life centered around their deeply held religious beliefs for over 300 years. The Amish believe in following the Bible literally and cite Romans 12:2, "Be ye not conformed to the world," as their chief tenet. Typically, they maintain an attitude of separation from the world, wearing plain clothing and generally opposing automobiles, electricity, telephones and formal higher education beyond the eighth grade. They also do not use gasoline, commercial chemicals or chlorofluorocarbons. However, because many in the Amish community are adamant about not compromising their religious beliefs, they continue to encounter opposition from various state interests.

When the Central Michigan District Health Department issued an order requiring the Amish residents of Gladwin County, Mich., to install complex septic and sewage disposal systems to prevent runoff from household wastewater, the Amish were reluctant to comply. The traditional Amish lifestyle is so simple that it does not include indoor plumbing aside from kitchen sink wastewater flowing into a tile-lined septic system in their yards. Aware that the health department's sanitary code allows for alternate systems, six Amish farmers proposed a simple alternate system of wastewater removal that would allow them safely and effectively to remove wastewater while adhering to their Amish religious beliefs and traditional practices. According to an independent hydrologist called in to investigate the farmers' proposal, the simple system not only met, but also far exceeded, the sanitary code's requirements. Nevertheless, the health department refused to grant the Amish their variance request. In their petition to the circuit court to review the situation, Institute attorneys argue that forcing the Old Order Amish farmers to introduce such modern amenities is unnecessary and would violate their constitutional right to freely exercise their religion.

"Tolerance of devout religious lifestyles, which the First Amendment recognizes and protects, requires that deeply religious persons such as the Amish, Quakers and Native American spiritualists be allowed to maintain a unique lifestyle that expresses their faith," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "A system that forces all people into the same mode of life is not a tolerant system."

The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.

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