Traditional living takes modern spin

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.

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