To watch this video on YouTube, click HERE.
Video Transcript:
Studying our Latter-day Saint sacred temple clothing over the years has left me with a deep appreciation for those clothes, but also a deep desire to learn more about everyone else’s sacred religious clothing. So that’s what I did. I found a lot of stuff that surprisingly sounded very familiar to me, but a lot of stuff was also very different.
I started out learning more about the Zoroastrian faith. I learned that when someone formally joins this religion, they are ritually washed or bathed, repent of their sins, and in a Zoroastrian temple are given a sacred white undergarment called the Sudreh. This sacred undershirt is considered to be a spiritual shield against evil that members are expected to wear throughout their lives. The color white represents purity. There is a small pocket on the front of the shirt that reminds the wearer to constantly fill their lives with good thoughts, good words, and good deeds — one of the central tenets of Zoroastrianism.
They also receive a sacred cord or girdle called the Kushti that they wear around their waist. It’s wrapped three times around their body, again representing good thoughts, words, and deeds. Very cool.
If we go a little closer to home — anyone serving in the liturgy of the Catholic faith may wear something called the alb — a white base-layer of clothing that represents equality in baptism and being cleansed through the atonement of Jesus Christ. Priests and bishops also wear a stole, representing the authority and yoke of Christ. The poncho-like piece of clothing is called the chasuble. It comes in many different styles. Among other things, it represents charity. There are a bunch of other types of Catholic vestments we could cover, but the last one that I wanted to mention is something that only the Pope and archbishops can wear, called the pallium. The pallium is made of lamb’s wool, and is meant to call to mind imagery of Christ, the Good Shepherd, with a lamb over his shoulders. It represents the Pope’s duty to act as the shepherd for the Catholic Church.
There are about 30 million Sikhs around the world. Those who are formally initiated in that faith through the Amrit Sanchar ceremony commit to observing the five Ks of Sikhism throughout their lives. Kesh, Kanga, Kirpan, Kara, & Kachera.
Kesh is the practice of allowing one’s hair to grow naturally without cutting it. Usually, it’s covered by a turban. Kesh acts as an identity marker and signifies respect for God’s creations. Kanga is a small wooden comb used to care for the Sikhs’ long hair, and is a symbol of cleanliness and discipline. The Kirpan is a dagger or small sword. It symbolizes courage, justice, and coming to the defense of the defenseless. In a more physical sense, it is considered to be an instrument of non-violence to be used as a last resort in the defense of others. It is not considered a weapon of aggression. The Kara is a round iron bracelet that “signifies the oneness and eternity of God an[d] to use one’s hands for the benefit of humanity.” Finally, the Kachera is an undergarment, visually similar to boxers with a drawstring waist, that initiated Sikhs wear throughout their lives. It serves as a reminder for Sikhs to control their sexual desires.
I learned that Jainism has about 6 million followers around the world, though mostly in India. Within Jainism, there are mainly two ecclesiastical traditions — there are monks belonging to the Digambara or “sky-clad” tradition, and there are monks and nuns who belong to the Śvētāmbara or “white-clad” tradition. Each group has its own sacred clothing… or lack thereof. The sky-clad monks wear absolutely nothing. They are clad with the “sky,” so to speak. Their nudity represents their complete dedication to detachment from worldly things. In contrast, the Śvētāmbara monks and nuns wear white robes. Their robes function as an identity marker, kind of like a Latter-day Saint missionary’s name tag. But their simplicity is also reflective again of their detachment from the world. Jains are extremely dedicated to nonviolence, or ahimsa. Orthodox members are vegetarians. Many monks and nuns will sweep the ground before them to hopefully avoid stepping on bugs. Many even wear a mouth-cloth to prevent inhaling flying bugs or harming even microscopic organisms. Many also view them as a reminder to be careful with the words they use, which can also cause harm. The bug thing is a bit much for me, but I can absolutely appreciate the overarching principle they’re trying to practice.
In Shintoism, the traditional faith of Japan, the priests and priestesses wear white robes during rituals performed at Shinto shrines. The color white represents spiritual purity. Other, more colorful articles of clothing are also worn, depending on the circumstances and rank or age of the wearer, and even the season of the year. Priests carry a baton or scepter called a Shaku [shock-uh]. The Shaku used to hold notes to help priests through rituals, but is now just considered part of the formal attire. They also wear ceremonial clogs and, depending on the situation or ritual, a variety of hats. These articles of clothing stem from ancient tradition, but in a ritual context, signify that what is happening is not ordinary. Priests in ritual are mediating formal interactions between humanity and the Kami, or the spirits associated with the shrine. Shrines are overseen by the Japanese Association of Shinto Shrines, but Shintoism doesn’t really have an overarching centralized hierarchy of doctrinal authority like the Pope in Catholicism, or the President of the Church in our LDS faith. So there’s never a “general conference” within Shintoism. Worship is highly localized, guided by local shrine leadership.
Within Judaism, this skullcap, which I’m sure you’ve seen before, is called the kippah, which Jewish men wear throughout their lives. It represents respect and reverence for God. During morning prayers and on other occasions, you’ll also see Jews use a holy prayer shawl called the tallit gadol. But I also learned that there’s another article of sacred clothing that Jewish men most commonly wear underneath their clothes. It’s called the tallit katan, or small tallit. It’s a white undershirt complete with these fringes called tzitzit, which remind the wearer to keep God’s commandments. Normally, during weekday morning prayers, men also wear teffilin, or two black boxes containing Hebrew scripture that are strapped to the arm and head. This is one way Jews symbolically bind themselves to God. In some Jewish traditions, women also wear these sacred clothes, but it’s generally considered an expectation for men.
As I’ve studied these other faiths, I’ve learned a few important lessons. Religious clothing makes invisible beliefs visible. In a way, they’re kind of like a parable that you wear. Christ taught in parables so that those with ears to hear and eyes to see would understand their meaning and reap the benefits. Those who didn’t put forth the effort to understand were just listening to Jesus tell weird stories.
It can be easy to look at sacred clothing and shrug it off as weird-looking or culty — especially if you live in a culture where everyday religious clothing is uncommon. But studying these other religious traditions has broadened my view and helped me see that the world is bigger than my little Western bubble. Religious clothing is a powerful tool around the world. And that perspective has helped grow my appreciation for Latter-day Saint sacred clothing.
Latter-day Saints who receive the temple endowment wear the garment of the Holy Priesthood throughout life as a reminder of their covenants and of being covered by the grace of Jesus Christ. In temple ceremonies, we put on the robes of the Holy Priesthood, which in many ways mirror the style and symbolism of the vestments of the ancient Israelite temple high priest.
There are always going to be people who call Latter-day Saint temple garments “Jesus Jammies” and “Magic Underwear”. People come up with derogatory terms for the religious clothing of others as well. But the reality is that we live in a pluralistic world. And even though I don’t agree with many of the beliefs of these other religions, it’s not hard to see and appreciate the good that comes from them. I love that Zoroastrians are so focused on good thoughts, good words, and good deeds. I love that Sikhs are coming to the defense of the defenseless. I love that Catholic leaders are trying to shepherd as Christ would. And I’m sure that all of these faith traditions have their controversies and checkered histories. But God speaks to people around the world according to their language and understanding, and I have no doubt that God is at work in their lives. All good things come from Him, and I see a lot of good in these religions. If their sacred clothing leads them to do good and be good, I think God is all for it.
It’s important to stand up for what you believe in, and to invite others to learn more. But when it comes to other faiths, I’ve found life to be a lot more enjoyable when I allow diversity and unfamiliarity to lead to curiosity rather than disdain or mockery. After all, I certainly hope that’s how others would approach my faith.
If you are interested in hearing more about other faiths from an LDS perspective, I highly suggest you go check out this video. It’s one of my favorites. I’ll see you there!
Resources:
— Zoroastrianism is a decentralized faith tradition, meaning that it does not have a defined institutional leadership hierarchy (unlike the LDS or Catholic churches). Thus, they have no “official” website, but here are some of the sources I referred to:
— “Why is wearing the Sudreh and Kusti so important to our faith?” via zoroastrians.net: https://tinyurl.com/ycypnrur
— “Zoroastrianism,” by Paula Hartz: https://tinyurl.com/4mvbuh79
— More on the Catholic pallium: https://tinyurl.com/3fr6kewa
— More on Catholic vestments: https://tinyurl.com/mu9d7xbv
— “What does the Kasti [Kushti] symbolize?” via zoroastrians.net: https://tinyurl.com/nusspuk8
— More on Sikhism: https://tinyurl.com/77n72t7n
— More on Jainism: https://tinyurl.com/4jdpbefu
— “Jain Mendicant” via jainworld.com: https://tinyurl.com/vbhnzst9
— Walkthrough of some Shinto rituals: https://tinyurl.com/ychrk97u /
— Video on Shinto priestly vestments: https://tinyurl.com/4zpwb4jy
— “‘Shōzoku’: The Shintō Vestments,” via nippon.com: https://tinyurl.com/334vupb9
— More on the Jewish tefillin: https://tinyurl.com/3kyvf3m2
— More on the Jewish tallit: https://tinyurl.com/278zvfwc
— More on the Jewish kippah: https://tinyurl.com/36m3zyyw
— More on Latter-day Saint temple clothing: https://tinyurl.com/2y2m2erz