Why can't men wear hats to church?

[Boggers]

My son is 13 and has a very cool style -- which includes wearing hats. He doesn't understand why he can't wear a hat in church. I have tried to explain that it is disrespectful but he wants the "reason." Where did this tradition start and why do we follow it?

[Michelle Arnold]

In the Christian tradition, men do not wear hats inside a church because of St. Paul's instructions to the Corinthians:

Any man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head.... For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God
(1 Cor. 11:4, 7).

In Western society, men do not wear hats in most buildings, particularly in the home, as a sign of respect; they also do not wear them in the presence of women, particularly older women, as a sign of deference.

I suggest though that you disabuse your son of the idea that every rule of etiquette requires a logical reason. Many rules of etiquette are in place simply because that is the code of behavior a particular society agreed upon as appropriate. Following social etiquette, even when it doesn't have a logical reason but merely is "the way we do things," is a necessary ingredient to social harmony.