Veiled Women

Throughout history, the veil has been one thing that is common among woman of all major faiths. I'll also touch on the many purposes that veils are used for as well as some historical references across multiple religions. By following along here, you'll see the commonality of veil use by all major religions as well as some historical perspective.

Depending upon the culture, woman's veils serve different purposes. However, the common denominator in their use is that they are primarily for modesty. In many cultures, veils are tied strongly to tradition.

Veils are seen in all major religions. In Christianity, almost all depictions of the Virgin Mary show her veiled. The Old Testament refers to the use of veils. The Apostle Paul's call to universal principles is often interpreted to encourage their use as well. Veils are seen in wide use in churches at funerals and most Christian weddings. Up until the 1960s, veils were commonly seen during regular church service and you'll still see them in the more traditional churches today. Veil use is seen extensively among various orders of nuns thus the term "to take the veil" is used when a woman becomes a nun. Veil use among nuns varies depending upon the traditions of any given order. Amongst many Anabaptist denominations such as the Amish, Mennonites and Hutterites, the female head cover is seen in almost constant use.

In Judaism, we see the use of embroidered curtains used extensively. This material is used as a cover or veil for the Ark of the Law which contains the scrolls of the Torah.

In Hinduism a head covering is also often seen on woman. While not common in all parts of India, you will see them widely worn in northern India.

Women in Islam also commonly wear a head covering. A common one is the Hijab, sometimes referred to as a veil. In fact the word Hijab means the principle of dressing modestly. So the word can refer to the head covering or just the modesty principle of dress in general. Islam recommends that woman wear non-form fitting clothes such as long shirts or skirts if choosing western wear or the more traditional forms of modesty such as the Hijab.

Now that you've seen how a veil in many forms is used in all major religions, you may see it in a whole new light. We see that it is common among women all over the world and is primarily a style of dress that represents modesty.

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