Why don't Christian women wear their head covering?

[whynotbrightstar]

I have never seen a Christian women wear their head covering and I am asked frequently why do I wear mine. My question to Christian women is why do you not wear your head covering or shave/cut your hair off the way it is said for you to in your holy book?

"Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head...If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head"
Corrinthians 11:3-6

"I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God"
Timothy 2:9-10

I mean this question with the up most respect to the religion, it just baffles me that you ask about something that you must do yourself but to a bit of a different degree. I don't mean to disrespect anyone at all, it is just out of curiosity. I never ask this question in person because I feel as if women will get offended. I know that some Muslim women do not wear their head covering, but most do. I haven't seen any Christian women at all do it. Even the ones that claim to be highly religious.

Why muslim women wear a head covering :

"O Prophet! Tell your wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad): that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
Quran 33:59 "

"...they (believing women) should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women...or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex..."
Quran 24:31

Thank you very much for your answers, I appreciate it more than you know.

 

[Rival]

The first quote concerns head covering while praying, which a lot of women still do in the tradition of always wearing a hat to Church (which I do). The second quote explains itself by saying that modesty is not just in dress but in action. You can dress modestly but still have an impure heart. Some Christian women do cover their heads (even I have been known to don a headscarf).

Also, the hair is not necessarily seen as sexual as, say, the breasts. As long as the body is covered, we in the West consider this modest, generally.

Back long ago, women did used to wear headscarves, hats or other such items. But I know that in England this was only custom once a woman was married, so that she was no longer appealing to other men in public. The virgins would modestly display their beauty as a way of attracting a man, along with decent modest behaviour and full dresses.

Lastly, the Christian women I feel would want to find a different sort of head-cover in order to distinguish themselves from the Muslimahs.

 

[whynotbrightstar]

The first quote concerns head covering while praying, which a lot of women still do in the tradition of always wearing a hat to Church (which I do). The second quote explains itself by saying that modesty is not just in dress but in action. You can dress modestly but still have an impure heart. Some Christian women do cover their heads (even I have been known to don a headscarf).

Also, the hair is not necessarily seen as sexual as, say, the breasts. As long as the body is covered, we in the West consider this modest, generally.

Back long ago, women did used to wear headscarves, hats or other such items. But I know that in England this was only custom once a woman was married, so that she was no longer appealing to other men in public. The virgins would modestly display their beauty as a way of attracting a man, along with decent modest behaviour and full dresses.

Lastly, the Christian women I feel would want to find a different sort of head-cover in order to distinguish themselves from the Muslimahs.

I understand what you mean and thank you for your answer .

I don't like assuming because it is not good to assume anything about anyone in islam and to respect other religions. But normally I assume it's because they don't read their bible and that's the only way it makes sense that they would ask me.

I was wondering, is this why girls do not wear it actively today? Do they not find it as an important part of the bible anymore and that's why they don't wear it when out like muslimahs do? Or is it because of being unmarried? Or has that changed as well?

I would love to educate myself more with the Christian religion. It has a lot in common with Islam and a lot that is different as well. Thank you once again

 

[Rival]

I understand what you mean and thank you for your answer .

I don't like assuming because it is not good to assume anything about anyone in islam and to respect other religions. But normally I assume it's because they don't read their bible and that's the only way it makes sense that they would ask me.

I was wondering, is this why girls do not wear it actively today? Do they not find it as an important part of the bible anymore and that's why they don't wear it when out like muslimahs do? Or is it because of being unmarried? Or has that changed as well?

I would love to educate myself more with the Christian religion. It has a lot in common with Islam and a lot that is different as well. Thank you once again

I'd say it's mostly cultural. Right up until about the 1960s (coincidentally the sexual revolution), women wore hats in order to respect this Biblical command. However, you know how people are when things fall out of fashion - they are afraid to look different. Also the decline in conservative Christianity and "liberal Christianity" has taken root in the West, where divorce is easy, gay "marriage" now legal, women walk around half-naked, you know the score.

Most Christians are nominal or cultural Christians, i.e, they don't actively practice the faith or read the Bible, nor even go to Church. So no, they will not be aware of things like this.

Being married or unmarried seems to change nothing now. Sad.

I wear hats in order to comply with this and distinguish myself from Muslimahs.

 

[whynotbrightstar]

I'd say it's mostly cultural. Right up until about the 1960s (coincidentally the sexual revolution), women wore hats in order to respect this Biblical command. However, you know how people are when things fall out of fashion - they are afraid to look different. Also the decline in conservative Christianity and "liberal Christianity" has taken root in the West, where divorce is easy, gay "marriage" now legal, women walk around half-naked, you know the score.

Most Christians are nominal or cultural Christians, i.e, they don't actively practice the faith or read the Bible, nor even go to Church. So no, they will not be aware of things like this.

Being married or unmarried seems to change nothing now. Sad.

I wear hats in order to comply with this and distinguish myself from Muslimahs.

Mashallah, it is bad to be ashamed of God which is why this head covering/hijab has never gone out of fashion for the muslimahs. I highly respect you for doing your best in your religion and keeping to it even if others around you do not. I know how hard that is to do when you're the only one practicing the proper way. May God make it easy on you. [emoji4] Thank you very much for educating me on the topic and helping me rid my ignorance ☺.

 

[Shiranui117]

I understand what you mean and thank you for your answer .

I don't like assuming because it is not good to assume anything about anyone in islam and to respect other religions. But normally I assume it's because they don't read their bible and that's the only way it makes sense that they would ask me.

I was wondering, is this why girls do not wear it actively today? Do they not find it as an important part of the bible anymore and that's why they don't wear it when out like muslimahs do? Or is it because of being unmarried? Or has that changed as well?

I would love to educate myself more with the Christian religion. It has a lot in common with Islam and a lot that is different as well. Thank you once again

I should also note that many Eastern Christian women will wear headscarves at church--this is common among Eastern Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Christian women, even up to this very day. Funnily enough, the question about head coverings is still very frequent among these Christians, especially coming from converts and those in the diaspora!

Ultimately, as Anatolia pointed out, it has to do with different cultural standards of modesty. in the Middle East and in some Slavic countries, women wearing a hat or a headscarf is still something that the culture calls for, especially at church. But in Western Europe and the Americas post-1960's, modest clothing for women nowadays only calls for covering up from the neck to the knees--headscarf optional. St. Paul in the passages of Scripture that you posted was giving the cultural standards of modesty for Greco-Roman society in the first century AD, not necessarily laying down a commandment of God that was meant to endure for all time.

 

[Glaurung]

Catholic women traditionally wear a veil at Mass. Sadly with the liberalisation of the secular culture, a loosening of religious observance has inevitably followed. If I had my way, I wouldn't insist that women wear it, but I would insist that people (of both sexes) at the very least pick up the game in how they present themselves for Mass. There's such a thing as neat causal, then there's just outright lazy. I'm noticing an increasing trend towards laziness, and I'm not talking of just within church.

 

[Pegg]

I have never seen a Christian women wear their head covering and I am asked frequently why do I wear mine. My question to Christian women is why do you not wear your head covering or shave/cut your hair off the way it is said for you to in your holy book?

I dont know where the bible requires that a womans hair be shaved or cut off?? Can you direct me to the scriptural requirement for that?

As regards head coverings, the christian scriptures only require this if a woman is praying or prophesying before a congregation. The reason for wearing a head covering is to act as a sign of submission to mans authority over her. Women are not to be spiritual leaders, they are to be submissive to men in authority.

If women submit themselves to the leadership of the men in the congregation, she does not need a sign on her head because her submissive spirit will act as a sign of her submission to Gods law.

 

[Rival]

I dont know where the bible requires that a womans hair be shaved or cut off?? Can you direct me to the scriptural requirement for that?

As regards head coverings, the christian scriptures only require this if a woman is praying or prophesying before a congregation. The reason for wearing a head covering is to act as a sign of submission to mans authority over her. Women are not to be spiritual leaders, they are to be submissive to men in authority.

If women submit themselves to the leadership of the men in the congregation, she does not need a sign on her head because her submissive spirit will act as a sign of her submission to Gods law.

1 Corinthians 11:10 NASB:
Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels

This is the full context:

3But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. 4Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head. 5But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved. 6For if a woman does not cover her head, let her also have her hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, let her cover her head. 7For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. 8For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man; 9for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake. 10Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. 11However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12For as the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God. 13Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, 15but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her for a covering. 16But if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the churches of God.

 

[Kolibri]

The passage has been mentioned dealing with head covering. In full this is 1 Corinthians 11:3-16. Rather than it being always in every situation, Paul focused on 3 factors: (1) the activities that call for it; (2) the settings in call for it; and (3) the motives for doing so.

Verses 4 and 5 limited the activities to prayer and prophesying.

"Every man who prays or prophesies with something on his head shames his head; but every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered shames her head, for it is one and the same as if she were a woman with a shaved head."
- 1 Corinthians 11:4,5

Prayer, of course, is worshipful address to Jehovah.
Prophesying would apply to any Bible-based teaching that a Christian minister does. (Prophesying does not have to be new information. In its most basic meaning, it is a retelling of God's thoughts.)

Verses 3 and 5 limit the settings to the family and the congregation.

Family:
"But I want you to know that the head of every man is the Christ; in turn, the head of a woman is the man; in turn the head of the Christ is God....but every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered shames her head; for it is one and the same as if she were a woman with a shaved head."
- 1 Corinthians 11:3,5

Congregation:
"However, if anyone wants to argue in favor of some other custom, we have no other, nor do the congregations of God."
- 1 Corinthians 11:16

With regard to the family, there are certain responsibilities that Jehovah assigned to the husband - such as addressing Jehovah in a family prayer (perhaps the husband has been rendered mute by an illness), or conducting some sort of family worship or a bible study in the presence of her husband (believing or not). Out of respect for Jehovah's arrangement, she would give due recognition that what she is doing is not meant as a usurpation of responsibility - a head covering is an appropriate way to show that respect.

Within the congregation, headship is given to baptized males. (See 1 Timothy 2:11-14; Hebrews 13:17) Only males are appointed with responsibility to care for the flock of God. (Acts 20:28) Occasionally though, a Christian woman may called on to perform a duty normally performed by a qualified baptized male. Or she may be conducting a bible study with a minor son who is dedicated and baptized, or another prearranged bible study in the presence of a baptized male. In these sort of situations she would appropriately where a head covering.

Only when the activities and settings are combined is the head covering needed to fulfill the directions given with this custom.

But why? Verse 10 gives 2 motives for why a Christian woman would want to do this.

"That is why the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels."
- 1 Corinthians 11:10

1) She acknowledges authority. It is an added way she can show love for and loyalty to Jehovah.
2) She affects the onlooking angels in the spiritual heavens. They benefit from these women as examples of submissiveness to Jehovah's arrangements. Many of their own number failed to remain submissive in the past (Jude 6). Think about it, please. The angels may see a Christian woman who is more experienced, more knowledgeable, and more intelligent than a baptized male in the congregation; and yet she readily shows submission to authority. If this woman has a heavenly hope, she will eventually serve in a position of higher rank than the angels watching her now. Her submissiveness now will encourage the angels to stay loyal to Jehovah's arrangements regardless of any shifting in ranks or any beginning thoughts of self-importance.

 

[Pegg]

1 Corinthians 11:10 NASB:
Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels

This is the full context:

3But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. 4Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head. 5But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved. 6For if a woman does not cover her head, let her also have her hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, let her cover her head. 7For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. 8For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man; 9for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake. 10Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. 11However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12For as the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God. 13Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, 15but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her for a covering. 16But if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the churches of God.

This is not saying a womans hair must be shaved off and its not something the christian congregation ever practiced. Paul is speaking of a custom of his time. In ancient times, if women were taken as captives during a war, their heads were shaven by their captors as a humiliation to the defeated side. So Paul is saying that if a woman is prophesying or praying in a congregation 'without' a head covering on, she is the 'same as the woman whose head is shaved' and should feel humiliated. Why? Because of the headship arrangement. Women are subject to men, therefore she must wear a sign of her subjection if she is doing what a man would normally do in the congregation.