Is it against the pagan religion to get haircuts?

Question

I don't know much about paganism, except for what I have looked up on the internet or heard from others. Pardon me for being ignorant about the subject, but I felt I was being told things that were a matter of opinion or personal preference (depending on who you practice with). I've gotten different information. The information I'm looking for is in reference to haircuts. I have a male employee who works for me and because of our type of employment, he has to maintain a certain standard for haircuts. He stated it was against his pagan religion to cut his hair. Now I don't disrespect anyone's religion, my problem is.... if it's your religion then fine I will try my best to find a balance between his job and religion. But I do not like anyone lying about any religion or using it for their convenience. If someone can help me out I would greatly appreciate it. I tried looking it up and I couldn't find anything as of yet. Thxs

Answer 1

Of course the proper answer ,as stated by many on this message ,will come in his response to the exact faith he practices. BUT Some witches and gypsies also hold to an old belief that ones strength , power and/or sole is in ones hair and the length of the hair is important in their religious rituals and practices . Some refuse to cut their hair because of the belief that an "enemy" may obtain the hair and use it against them . Books like , The Golden Bough and Gypsy Sorcery and Fortunetelling tell of these and other beliefs concerning the importance of hair. Most individuals practicing a modern form of pagan religion do not hold to these practices BUT... there are those (such as my self) who do and have incorporated some old traditions and beliefs into their faith regardless of the "standard modern doctrines" commonly accepted by new age and neo-pagans. I hope this helps . Keep in mind Believe and Faith is a very personal thing. and He may truly Believe that cutting his hair violates his religious belief. That is the beauty of the Pagan faiths... they are open to individual interpretation and incorporation of faith and belief . Brightest Blessings , Lady Feoneafey

Answer 2

I'm honestly not trying to put your religion down, but I think the rational answer might be that you can't possibly believe what you claim to believe, at least in any real way. Pretend that you've never been in your attic, and for some reason you can't go there. You have no idea what might be up there. So what do you think? A Christian might say that there is something wonderful and patriarchal in the attic. Maybe their family told them that. Maybe they read it in an old book that, for whatever reason, about 2 billion people subscribe to. Anyway, it's a comforting thought. An atheist or agnostic might say that there's nothing in the attic. There's no evidence of anything in the attic, and while there might be, evidence is very important. At the very least, they can say they don't know what's in the attic. A pagan, however, might make up their own theory. A pagan might say that there's a banana split dancing with a gorilla while eating bacon and listening to the song "Big Poppa" by Biggie Smalls. That's a fun thought. Hell, if that was the case it would be frickin' sweet. But there is absolutely nothing to support that and no reason to believe it, since you literally made it up. You could say that it's as good an answer as any, but please understand why people of all races, orientations, and faiths might think what you claim to believe is a little silly. So, what do people have against pagans and those who start their own religions? It really doesn't have much to do with gay marriage. I think it has a lot more to do with what you guys think is in the attic.

Answer 3

Not that I've heard of. In fact, I tend to keep mine fairly short.

Now, depending upon which of the Pagan religions this fellow follows, and which tradition, there might be a rule against it for the particular group he's part of. If that's the case, he should have some sort of documentation. If he's going to do something that's against your work standards, then it's not unreasonable to ask for some sort of documentation on why he's doing that.

Now, he might be doing some sort of personal oath - there's some folks who make those from time to time. Laurie Cabot, Salem's "official witch", for example, always wears robes. Strikes me as rather impractical, but if that's what really floats her boat, I give it a rather big "Whatever." However, as this guy's boss, you can't just shrug it off, and if he's made one of these personal oaths, it's going to be hard to prove.

Answer 4

"paganism" isn't a religion. It's a group of religions. So if he's saying that "paganism states you can't cut your hair" he's flat out lying (and not doing a very good job).

I am not aware of any pagan religion that says you can't cut your hair, although that doesn't mean one doesn't exist. However, religions that generally identify as "pagan" also generally aren't big into dogma requiring people to do certain things or wear certain things or look a certain way.

If your business has rules about hair for sanitary reasons, this argument is largely moot. Hairnets (or beard-nets, in the case of orthodox Jews) generally get around hair issues. If it's merely a dress code issue, then the water is murkier, but my gut here is that he's making this up. It's certainly not the first time someone has. I've seen people dress goth or punk and then insist Wicca (a specific Pagan religion) requires them to do so, which is completely untrue too.

He may even be choosing to wear his hear long for religious reasons, but he's still almost assuredly choosing it, not required to do it.

The first step is finding out what specific religion he follows.

Answer 5

Depends on the pagan religion.
If he's a Sikh, then yes... it's against the religious views to cut one's hair.
Certain types of Amerind pagan religions are also religiously restricted from cutting their hair.
I don't know of any pagan religions from Europe that have that particular restriction.

Answer 6

Gods I hope not I have been pagan for 50 years and in the military for 30 of those.If its against some pagan rules I don't know of I'm screwed

Answer 7

No it's not because Paganism covers many religions. Now you'd have to know exactly which one of the Pagan religions he is. So really just find out which one he follows.

Answer 8

Paganism tends to be a very individual, personalized spiritual path that is notably non-adminstrative about such things. I know of no pagan doctrine against cutting hair.

The best sense I can make of his claim is that it contradicts his personal spirituality to get his hair cut. If that's so, he should at least keep it neat, as in a ponytail.

Answer 9

There are native American pagan religions that cutting of ones hair is a bad thing for men. So I'd check this out. If it is Native American it is truly a fact.

Answer 10

You do not give information about WHICH Pagan religion. There are literally dozens if not more.

In some religions, if you make a sacred vow to your God/s not to cut your hair it is binding. You would have to specify which religion to get a reliable answer on this issue though