Christian Women Opt For Traditional Modest Dress
Pastor Dale Morgan
Christian Women Opt For Traditional Modest Dress*
Updated 10/5/2006 9:40 PM ET
By Dan MacMedan, USA TODAY
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
Biblical scholars say the New Testament does not require women to cover
their hair while praying.
"I think it's mistaken but I appreciate (hair-covering women's) desire
to do what they think the Bible is telling them to," says Wayne Grudem,
research professor of Bible and theology at Phoenix Seminary and a past
president of the Evangelical Theological Society. He says covering the
hair was a sign of being married among women in the Roman empire.
Grudem, who was on the translation committee for the recent English
Standard Version of the Bible, says, "In light of that evidence, when we
came to 1 Corinthians 11, in every verse that had to do with head
covering, we translated it as wife and not as woman."
So the verse became "but every wife who prays or prophesies with her
head uncovered dishonors her head." Today, a wedding band identifies a
married woman, Grudem notes.
Rebecca Denova, professor of religious studies at the University of
Pittsburgh, says Paul is telling the women of Corinth that "if you're
going to stand up in church, look like nice, decent, matronly women,"
and in that time and place, that meant covering your head.
But they were wearing veils "because the culture said to, not because
they were Christians," Denova says.
Head covering "survives in sporadic, fragmented ways that people don't
understand historically anymore," says Hector Avalos, a professor of
religious studies at Iowa State University. But for daily wear in
America, only very traditional groups such as the Mennonites, Hutterites
and Amish still practice it, says Avalos.
It's not out of the ordinary to see Muslim women in veils or chador, or
Orthodox Jewish women wearing long skirts, long sleeves and wigs to
cover their hair.
But it is unusual to see an American Christian woman covering her hair
or adopting a distinctly modest style of dress that defines her as a
person of faith in a secular society.
However, a small but seemingly growing number of women are adopting the
garb of earlier times — form-concealing clothing and hair coverings that
range from bun covers to Little House on the Prairie-type bonnets — in a
movement fueled by the most modern of technologies, the Web.
There's no data on the number of women doing this, but more are finding
their way into Internet discussion groups. And women who operate
websites that offer modest clothing and head coverings report an
increasing corps of kindred spirits.
Many quote the Bible, specifically the Apostle Paul's admonition in 1
Corinthians 11:5: But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her
head uncovered dishonoureth her head.
For Wendy McDonnell of Lebec, Calif., who owns wendysmodestdress.com,
covering her hair represents a way of separating from modern society.
"It all kind of goes hand-in-hand. The modesty. The home schooling. The
home churching. Covering. Looking for the off-the-grid lifestyle. It's
part of a huge movement."
A support network
A review of Internet sites on the subject finds that the women come from
many denominations, including Baptist, Episcopalian, Lutheran and
Catholic. Many are even post-denominational, considering themselves only
Christians.
Via e-mail discussion lists and websites such as "Plain and Simple Head
coverings" and "Modest Dress," they give each other support for a
decision that can be at odds with more modern churches and ministers.
Though some have been "covering," as they call it, since the 1980s, many
have felt the call in the past five to 10 years, a time that has seen a
rise in religious conservatism.
For women interviewed and for others who shared their stories on
websites, covering is a symbol of their submission to both the will of
God and to their husbands. Most women contacted for this article sought
their husband's permission to talk to a reporter.
Marion Grau, a professor at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in
Berkeley, Calif., says it's not as paradoxical as it might seem to use
something as modern as the Internet to further a non-modern cause.
Evangelicals, for example, have embraced new technologies to preach the
Gospel, she says. "That has been true for revival tents, radio, TV,
Internet, etc. And one of the things that they're very good at is
reaching out to people that in other contexts have been outsiders," Grau
says.
Bill Leonard, dean of the Wake Forest University Divinity School, says,
"It's possible that we could see a renewal of this distinctive dress in
Christian families because it becomes its own kind of witness in a
highly plural and increasingly secularized culture."
Word on the Web
Modest dress is a much larger movement than hair covering within the
Christian community, with shops and websites devoted to long skirts,
long-sleeved blouses, cover-up swimsuits and even bloomers for little
girls. The desire is to find clothing that is traditionally feminine as
well as modest.
But hair covering is generating a lot of traffic on the Internet
highway. McDonnell started one of several online discussion groups for
Christian women who cover their hair. Another discussion group on Yahoo
has 177 members. Other groups are by invitation only.
Sarah Jones, 24, of Pensacola, Fla., grew up in a family in which women
cover their hair. Now she and her sisters run a home-based business
called She Maketh Herself Coverings, from Proverbs 31:22,
(headcoverings.com).
"We get all kinds of people. Some just wear it whenever they go to
church or when they're having a quiet time with the Lord. Some take it
all the way and cover up everything, to no hair showing at all and
wearing black stockings."
Like almost all women who cover, Catherine Levison of Tacoma, Wash.,
came to her decision through Bible study. She wears a scarf or hat
anytime she prays.
Her husband "was pretty Switzerland about it," supporting her
conviction. Others haven't been so accepting. She says she was attending
a home prayer group, and when the pastor leading it realized that she
hadn't just forgotten to take off her hat, he preached for weeks
afterward on how women aren't required to cover.
Only one of Levison's three daughters covers. "I use my children as
proof that I'm not a head-covering Nazi," she says.
And all the women interviewed were clear that they believe God hears the
prayers of women, covered or not. "If I was falling off a cliff, as I
was fluttering toward my death without my head covered, praying, God
would understand," Levison says.