01
Men
Men are to keep their hair short (1 Cor. 11:14) and not wear anything artificial on their heads—hat, scarf, etc.—when “praying or prophesying” (1 Cor. 11:4).
WHO WE ARE
Biblical, historic, charitable.
HCM is calling Christians to take 1 Corinthians 11 seriously, recover the biblical practice it teaches, and approach the topic with humility, conviction, and grace.
Biblical
Rooted in 1 Corinthians 11:2–16 and committed to faithful biblical exegesis.
Historic
Learning from the early church and the faithful witness of Christians throughout history.
Charitable
Welcoming Christians who differ on secondary questions of practice.
BELIEFS
What We Believe About
Head Covering
We believe that 1 Corinthians 11:2–16 teaches the following
for Christians in every age and culture.
02
Women
Women are to keep their hair longer than men (1 Cor. 11:15) and cover their heads with something artificial when “praying or prophesying” (1 Cor. 11:5–6).
03
Order & Authority
Husbands are called to lovingly lead their families, and wives are called to submit to their husband’s loving leadership (1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 5:22–33).
A Visible Symbol
God’s order, seen in worship.
We believe that head covering is a visible symbol of God’s order of authority, an order summarized in the Danvers Statement on biblical manhood and womanhood, which we affirm as a basic summary of what the Bible teaches on this topic.
ROOM FOR DIFFERENCE
Charity in practice.
Our movement extends charity to those who differ in how they practice this. Our movement welcomes people on both sides of these debates.
Some believe head covering is for church gatherings only, while others practice it in everyday life.
Some see it as connected to modesty, while others view it solely as a symbol of authority.
Some believe all hair should be covered, while others believe a partial covering is enough.
Some believe it applies to adult or married women only, while others encourage young daughters to practice it as well.
Some describe the principle behind the symbol as complementarianism, while others prefer the term biblical patriarchy.
OUR PURPOSE
Why HCM exists
The purpose of the Head Covering Movement is to recover, explain, normalize, and display the beauty of this biblical and historic Christian practice.
Initiate study
Initiate conversation and study of this neglected passage of Scripture (1 Cor. 11:2–16).
Make the case
Make a strong, positive case for practicing head covering today.
Answer objections
Provide biblical responses to questions and objections about this practice.
Remove stereotypes
Remove false stereotypes and negative associations connected to head covering.
Recover & normalize
Recover and normalize head covering as a biblical and historic Christian practice.
Build a resource hub
Make our site a comprehensive resource hub for people who want to study this topic.
Build community
Build a community where those who practice head covering can connect, encourage one another, and be reminded they are not alone.
Spark a movement
Spark a movement of theologically informed Christians who embrace this symbol with humility and grace.
WHAT WE VALUE
The fabric of our work.
The following values are important to us and are built into the fabric of everything we do.
Being faithful in biblical exegesis and relying on high-quality sources.
Valuing the wisdom of the early church and learning from those who have gone before us.
Communicating our beliefs in a respectful, non-combative way.
Responding charitably to those who disagree with us.
Representing opposing viewpoints accurately, as their supporters would wish to be represented.
Practicing ecumenism by serving and welcoming contributions from Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant Christians.
Loving the local church and keeping the gospel central.
Producing content that is beautiful and marked by excellence.
WHAT WE BELIEVE AS CHRISTIANS
United first by the Gospel.
The Head Covering Movement finds its unity with other Christians not in our view of head covering or even the principle behind it—though both are important—but in our shared understanding of who God is and what the Gospel teaches.
The Gospel
“The Story” is a faithful telling of the Gospel message. You can read it here or watch the video below.
Statement of Faith
The Head Covering Movement exists to serve the universal Church and welcomes contributions from all branches of the Christian faith—Orthodox/Oriental, Catholic, and Protestant/Evangelical.
We affirm the historic Nicene Creed as the foundation of our unity with other Christians. All contributors and team members affirm this creed and are active members of a Christian church.
START HERE
Study the passage. Read the book.
If you are exploring head covering for the first time, you can walk through our free guided study of the passage or read the full book-length case.