Question:
Why do women cover their heads in church?
Answer:
“The head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoreth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoreth her head; for that is even all one as if she were shaven. For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn…. Doth not even nature itself teach you that if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering” (1 Corinthians 11:3-6,14,15).
With our short or long hair, and with our head appropriately covered or uncovered, we are able to act out, as it were, the truth of 1 Corinthians 11:3 that “the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man.” Here is how it works: (1) The woman’s long hair is a symbol of the man being her head; (2) the man’s short hair symbolizes the fact that he does not have a visible head, that is, that Christ is his head; (3) when praying or prophesying, the woman covers her head (which is the man) so that the man may not be on display or magnified on such an occasion but that Christ might be magnified; (4) similarly, when praying or prophesying, the man does not cover his head because his head is Christ, and He is the one to be magnified. Thus, if the woman cuts her hair short, she is essentially declaring (though she may not realize it) that she does not regard the man to be her head. And if the woman prays or prophesies with her head uncovered, she is declaring that either she desires the man to be magnified, rather than Christ, when praying or prophesying, or she does not regard the man to be her head. Just think what a testimony is presented to a man who is preaching when he looks out over the audience and sees a sea of men with their heads uncovered and women with their heads covered—a reminder that Christ, and not himself, is to be glorified through the preaching.