clothing, religious

The symbolism and signifi cance of clothing worn for religious purposes. Clothes have always served not only the practical function of keeping people warm, and the universal function of making people attractive according to the canons of their society while preserving some degree of modesty, but have also shown through well-known indicators such things as comparative wealth, ethnic background, and social status. They have also had very widespread religious meaning, though the way they have done this has varied greatly. The conservative wings of most religions insist on modesty in dress, especially for women. In some cases all adherents of a religion, or all of one gender (most often women), have followed rules in dress, such as the AMISH use of "plain" clothes without buttons, or the Muslim prescription that women should be covered completely. In other cases, special clothes are worn only by religious specialists and leaders. The somber garb worn by MONKS AND NUNS is seen in some branches of CHRISTIANITY, especially Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican, and among Hindus, Buddhists, and Taoists. The color of the monastic "habit" or robe is often indicative of affi liation: in the West, Franciscans wear brown (see FRANCIS OF ASSISI AND FRANCISCANS), BENEDICTINES black, and TRAPPISTS and DOMINICANS white. Theravada Buddhist monks wear saffron (a yellow-orange), Mahayana Buddhist monks gray. Hindu monks or sadhus vary considerably (some have gone completely naked), but some modern orders use a reddish- orange gown. Priests and other religious leaders frequently have special dress too. In the Catholic-type traditions of Christianity, they often are attired in black or dark-colored suit or cassock (a long black gown) and round white collar. It is while conducting services, though, that the full richness of religious garb may become apparent, though it ranges from the simple sacred cord of BRAHMIN priests and the black pulpit gown of some Protestants, to the rich and colorful vestments of some Buddhists, or of Catholic priests celebrating mass in colors appropriate to the season of the church year, or bishops in cope and mitre (a high pointed hat), or the temple priests of biblical Israel. In all cases, the dress is part of the religious symbolism; it properly does not glorify an individual but the offi ce and the role in WORSHIP, and is a way by which that person identifi es with it.