Is it a sin for a woman to cut her hair?
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| Tradition | Verdict | Primary Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Roman Catholic | Permitted | 1 Corinthians 11:15 |
| Mainline Protestant | Permitted | 1 Corinthians 11:6 |
| Conservative/Holiness Protestant | Discouraged | 1 Corinthians 11:5–6 |
| Apostolic Pentecostal | Forbidden (cutting) | 1 Corinthians 11:5–6, 15 |
Protestant view
Key takeaways
- Scripture calls a woman's long hair her 'glory' and a natural covering (1 Cor 11:15), but contains no verse that explicitly forbids trimming 1 Corinthians 11:15.
- Being 'shorn or shaven' is described as shameful in 1 Corinthians 11:6, which is the key text driving stricter interpretations 1 Corinthians 11:6.
- Apostolic Pentecostal churches treat cutting women's hair as a sin; most mainline and evangelical Protestants do not 1 Corinthians 11:5.
- Paul's appeal to 'nature' in 1 Corinthians 11:14 is used by conservative interpreters to argue the principle transcends culture 1 Corinthians 11:14.
- 1 Timothy 2:9 addresses modest styling, not hair length, suggesting the Bible's primary concern is attitude and propriety 1 Timothy 2:9.
FAQs
Does the Bible explicitly say women must never cut their hair?
No verse says 'thou shalt not cut thy hair' to women. What Scripture does say is that long hair is a woman's 'glory' and natural covering 1 Corinthians 11:15, and that being 'shorn or shaven' is presented as shameful 1 Corinthians 11:6. The application—whether any trimming counts as sin—is where Christian traditions diverge.
What does 1 Corinthians 11:15 actually mean by 'covering'?
The Greek word translated 'covering' in 1 Corinthians 11:15 is peribolaion, meaning something thrown around or a wrap. Paul says the hair itself is 'given her for a covering' 1 Corinthians 11:15, which Apostolic readers take to mean the hair replaces a veil, while others see it as an additional argument for wearing a head-covering during worship 1 Corinthians 11:5.
Is the Leviticus 21:5 prohibition on cutting hair relevant to women?
Leviticus 21:5 says 'They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard' Leviticus 21:5, but this command is addressed specifically to Israelite priests, not to women generally. Most Christian interpreters don't apply it directly to female hair-cutting today.
Does 1 Timothy 2:9 say anything about hair length?
Not directly. It instructs women to 'adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array' 1 Timothy 2:9. The concern is elaborate, attention-seeking styling—not hair length per se.
Why does Paul say a shorn woman might as well be uncovered?
In 1 Corinthians 11:6, Paul uses a reductio-ad-absurdum argument: if a woman refuses the covering, she should go all the way and shave—but since that's shameful, she should cover up 1 Corinthians 11:6. He reinforces this by noting that nature itself treats long hair on a man as shameful 1 Corinthians 11:14, implying the reverse for women.
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