Is it a sin for a woman to pray with her head uncovered or wear pants?
Short answer: No. After we read about instructions given for women to cover their heads, Paul goes on to say none of the other congregations have that custom (1 Corinthians 11:16).
There are some congregations that will ask women to cover their heads when praying or before entering for service. This tradition is not very popular among Christian churches but is more commonly practiced in many Hebrew centered groups. Although Muslims are known for having covered women, this tradition of women praying with covered heads is indeed from the Word.
When reading 1 Corinthians 11:4 we see that a man dishonors his head when he prays with his head covered. This should be our first clue that this is not a Hebrew custom.
2Sam 15:30 And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.
2Sam 15:31 And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.
2Sam 15:32 And it came to pass, that when David was come to the top of the mount, where he worshipped God, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head
David had his head covered while praying but there is no commentary that leads us to believe that what he did was dishonored. Paul’s instruction was not instruction that came from the Scriptures. When Paul does give an instruction that came from the wisdom of the Scripture, he usually references the Scripture to further prove his point. For example, when he wrote that women should not teach over men he proved this point by saying, “For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression” (1 Timothy 2:13-14). Another example is in 1 Corinthians 14, when Paul writes about women keeping silence and learning in obedience, he proves his point by writing “as also saith the Law” (1 Corinthians 14:34). However, in 1 Corinthians 11 he doesn’t reference the Law of Moses or anyone in the Scriptures. Instead, he references nature (1 Corinthians 11:14) and caps off his explanation by making it clear that neither him nor any of the churches have that custom (1 Corinthians 11:16). I assure you, it is not a sin.
When it comes to women wearing pants, this comes from the assumption that pants are exclusively for males to wear. The logic there is, pants were originally designed for males and therefore, are men’s clothing. Our Law teaches, “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man” (Deuteronomy 22:5). If we use this logic for pants then we would have to use the same logic for women’s dresses. Our men in the Scriptures wore open bottom clothing (like dresses). This is why Yah prohibited stairs for the altar (Exodus 20:26). Just like dresses, our clothing was opened at the bottom yet now we would not wear that type of clothing because those designs are almost exclusively for women. There are pants that are designed for women and pants that are designed for men. If you would have a problem with your son wearing women’s jeans then you acknowledge that there are jeans made for women and therefore, not pertaining unto a man.
