Is it a visible
demonstration of their piety to their particular God that by so doing enhance
their standing with him/her/it? Does God have a favorite hat? All would agree that
deities in general are expected to possess the omnipotence, wisdom and insight to
see inside each individual’s mind and soul. Therefore, since nothing can be
hidden and every thought like an open book, on this basis, the choice of headgear seems redundant. The only logical reason must be a desire to advertize or flaunt their
specific faith set to each other. This exacerbates existing schisms between
them, each holding the fervent belief that the millinery mandate of each
religion is (-like their faith) the only one acceptable to the Almighty.
The origins
of some are equally puzzling. In the case of Orthodox Jews, what could possibly
be the connection between their large brimmed black fedoras and Abraham or
Moses? Their hair ringlets pose the same enigma. The conventions of the
Anglican Church in which I was immersed at an early age decreed, with a novel example
of sexism, that whilst women are required to wear hats in church, men must take
theirs off! The notion that God would be sensitive to the relative merits and
configurations of various pieces cloth headgear seems ludicrous.
This
argument can be extended to other items of attire. The range of sartorial
elegance across the faith groups is also varied but -and here is an element
of logic. In many cases it is not practical whilst in formal religious attire
to fulfill the multifarious job commitments of today’s modern society and hence
the wearing of hats provides a visual if superficial identification of each
group.
To honestly
confront their Maker in a state of pure humility and supplication, surely the sole
configuration would be to appear as God made us -“au natural” or completely
naked, thus removing any inequalities in social status or relative affluence.
However, for various reasons of culture, convention, tradition or to be
subjected to sex-obsessed moralizing, this is clearly a non-starter. Some
compromise would be required.
Ideally, a
simple, loose but all-embracing garment similar to those worn by those visiting
Mecca for the Hajj would be a step in the right direction. In addition to satisfying the moral imperatives
of the non-nudists, it would also camouflage the effects on many who have over the years indulged in abundant living, hence becoming progressively less (-more likely more!) than God had
made them! It could be argued that now, apart from variations in skin tone and bone structure it would introduce an sizeable element of uncertainty in identification of religious or racial background. The general acceptance of this “uniform”
garment would perhaps help to reduce the exercising
of much of the cross-cultural prejudices and intolerant attitudes of one national or religious group over
another.
