Editing Beard (section)

===Christianity===
[[File:A01 5873.JPG|thumb|right|[[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian Orthodox]] monk with a full beard playing the [[semantron]]]]
[[File:Antiochian Orthodox Founders, 1923.jpg|thumb|right|[[Antiochian Greek Christians|Rûm]] founders of the [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]]]]

[[Iconography#Christian iconography|Iconography]] and [[Christian art]] dating from the 3rd century onwards almost always portray [[Jesus Christ]] with a long beard. In paintings and statues most of the [[Patriarchs (Bible)|biblical patriarchs]] and [[Prophets of Christianity|prophets]] of the [[Old Testament]], such as [[Moses]] and [[Abraham]], and the [[Disciple (Christianity)|disciples of Jesus]] in the [[New Testament]], such as [[Peter the Apostle]], appear with beards, as does his predecessor [[John the Baptist]].<ref name="marginal">{{cite book|last=Meier|first=John|author-link=John P. Meier|title=Mentor, Message, and Miracles (A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Vol. 2)|publisher=Anchor Bible|year=1994|volume=2|isbn=0-385-46992-6|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/mentormessagemir00john}}</ref> However, Western European art generally depicts [[John the Apostle]] as clean-shaven, to emphasize his relative youth. Eight of the figures portrayed in the painting entitled ''[[The Last Supper (Leonardo)|The Last Supper]]'' by [[Leonardo da Vinci]] are bearded. [[Mainstream Christianity|Mainstream Christians]] believe that [[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]] {{bibleverse-nb|Isaiah|50:6|NASB}} is a prophecy foretelling the [[Crucifixion of Jesus]], and as such, as a description of Christ having his beard plucked by [[Passion of Jesus|his tormentors]].

====Eastern Christianity====
In [[Eastern Christianity]], members of the [[Priesthood (Eastern Orthodox Church)|priesthood]] and [[Eastern Christian monasticism|monastics]] often wear beards, and religious authorities at times have recommended or required beards for all male believers.<ref>Note for example the [[Old Believers]] within the [[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian Orthodox]] tradition: {{cite encyclopedia |last= Paert |first= Irina |editor-first= John Anthony |editor-last= McGuckin |editor-link= John Anthony McGuckin |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Eastern Orthodox Christianity |title= Old Believers |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=JmFetR5Wqd8C |access-date= 28 October 2014 |year=2010 |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |volume=2 |isbn=9781444392548 |page=420 |quote=Ritual prohibitions typical for all sections of the Old Believers include shaving beards (for men) and smoking tobacco.}}</ref> Traditionally, [[Saint Thomas Christians|Syrian Christians]] from [[Kerala]] wear long beards. Some view it as a necessity for men in the Malayali Syrian Christian community because icons of Christ and the saints with beards were depicted from the 3rd century onwards.

====Western Christianity====
At various times in the history of the [[Western world]] and depending on various circumstances, the [[Catholic Church]] permitted or prohibited facial hair (''barbae nutritio'', literally meaning "nourishing a beard") for [[Hierarchy of the Catholic Church|its clergymen]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02362a.htm |title=Catholic Encyclopedia entry |publisher=Newadvent.org |access-date=24 November 2011}}</ref> A decree of the beginning of the 6th century in either [[Carthage]] or the south of [[Gaul]] forbade clerics to let their hair and beards grow freely. The phrase "nourishing a beard" was interpreted in different ways, either as imposing a clean-shaven face or only excluding a too-lengthy beard.<ref>{{harvnb|Constable|1985|pp=103–114}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Nicholas |last=Rogers |chapter=English episcopal brasses, 1270–1350 |editor-first=John |editor-last=Coales |title=The Earliest English Brasses: patronage, style and workshops, 1270–1350 |location=London |publisher=Monumental Brass Society |year=1987 |isbn=0-9501298-5-2 |pages=8–68 (18) }}</ref> In relatively modern times, the first pope to wear a beard was [[Pope Julius II]], who in 1511–12 did so for a while as a sign of mourning for the loss of the city of [[Bologna]]. [[Pope Clement VII]] let his beard grow at the time of the [[Sack of Rome (1527)|sack of Rome in 1527]] and kept it. All his successors did so until the death in 1700 of [[Pope Innocent XII]]. Since then, no pope has worn a beard.

Beards have been associated at different dates with particular [[Religious order (Catholic)|Catholic religious orders]]. In the 1160s [[Burchard of Bellevaux|Burchardus]], abbot of the [[Bellevaux Abbey|Cistercian monastery of Bellevaux]] in the Franche-Comté, wrote a treatise on beards.<ref>''Apologiae duae: Gozechini epistola ad Walcherum; Burchardi, ut videtur, Abbatis Bellevallis Apologia de Barbis''. Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Mediaevalis LXII. Edited by R.B.C. Huygens, with an introduction on beards in the Middle Ages by Giles Constable (Turnholt: Brepols, 1985). Translation: McAlhany, J. ''Beards & Baldness in the Middle Ages: Three Texts''. (Brooklyn, NY: Leverhill, 2024), pp. 43-115.</ref> He regarded beards as appropriate for lay brothers, but not for the priests among the monks. In about 1240, [[Alberic of Trois-Fontaines]] described the [[Knights Templar]] as an "order of bearded brethren"; and, on the eve of the [[Knights Templar#Arrests, charges and dissolution|suppression of the order]] in 1312, out of nearly 230 knights and brothers questioned by the papal commissioners in Paris, 76 are described as wearing a beard (in some cases specified as "in the style of the Templars"), while another 133 are reported to have shaved their beards, either in renunciation of their vows or in a bid to escape detection.<ref>{{harvnb|Harris|2013|pp=124–125}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Nicholson |first=Helen |title=The Knights Templar: a new history |publisher=Sutton |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-7509-2517-4 |location=Stroud |pages=48, 124–27 }}</ref> [[Randle Holme#Randle Holme III (1627–1700)|Randle Holme]], writing in 1688, associated beards with Templars, [[Teutonic Order|Teutonic Knights]], [[Order of Saint Augustine|Austin Friars]], and [[Gregorian mission|Gregorians]].<ref>{{harvnb|Harris|2013|p=127}}</ref> Most [[Latin Church]] clergy are now clean-shaven, but [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin|Capuchins]] and some others are bearded. Present [[Canon law of the Catholic Church|Canon law]] is silent on the matter.<ref>{{cite web|last1=McNamara|first1=Edward|title=Beards and Priests|url=http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/beards-and-priests|website=Zenit news agency|date=13 January 2015|access-date=13 January 2015}}</ref>

Although most [[Protestantism|Protestant Christians]] regard the beard as a matter of choice, some have taken the lead in fashion by openly encouraging its growth as "a habit most natural, scriptural, manly, and beneficial" ([[Charles Spurgeon|C. H. Spurgeon]]).<ref>Spurgeon, C. H., ''Lectures to My Students, First Series, Lecture 8'' (Baker Book House, 1981) p. 134.</ref> [[Amish]] and [[Hutterite]] men shave until they marry, then grow a beard and are never thereafter without one, although it is a particular form of a beard (see [[Visual markers of marital status]]). [[Diarmaid MacCulloch]], professor of [[Church history|ecclesiastical history]] at the [[University of Oxford]], writes: "There is no doubt that [[Thomas Cranmer|Cranmer]] mourned the dead king ([[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]])",<ref>{{cite book |last=MacCulloch |first=Diarmaid |author-link=Diarmaid MacCulloch |year=2017 |orig-year=1996 |title=Thomas Cranmer: A Life |location=New Haven, Connecticut|publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |edition=Revised |page=361 |isbn=978-03-00-22657-7}}</ref> and it was said that he showed his grief by growing a beard. However, MacCulloch also states that during the [[Reformation Era]], many [[Protestant Reformers]] decided to grow their beards in order to emphasize their break with the Catholic tradition:
{{blockquote|it was a break from the past for a clergyman to abandon his clean-shaven appearance which was the norm for late medieval priesthood; with [[Martin Luther|Luther]] providing a precedent [during his exile period], virtually all the continental reformers had deliberately grown beards as a mark of their rejection of the old church, and the significance of clerical beards as an aggressive anti-Catholic gesture was well recognised in mid-[[Tudor England]].}}

<gallery mode="packed" widths="200" heights="200">
File:Johannes Bessarion aport012.png|[[Basilios Bessarion]]'s beard contributed to his defeat in the [[1455 papal conclave|papal conclave of 1455]].<ref>{{cite book|last1 = Soykut|first1 = Mustapha|chapter = Chapter Nine: The Ottoman Empire and Europe in political history through Venetian and Papal sources|editor1-last = Birchwood|editor1-first = Matthew|editor2-last = Dimmock|editor2-first = Matthew|title = Cultural Encounters Between East and West, 1453-1699|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=U5zTAHQfI4MC|location = Newcastle-upon-Tyne|publisher = Cambridge Scholars Press|date = 2005|page = 170|isbn = 9781904303411|access-date = 2014-10-28|quote = [...] Bessarion later embraced the Catholic faith and in 1455 lost the election to become Pope with eight votes against fifteen from the cardinals. One of the arguments that was used against the election of Bessarion as Pope was that he still had a beard, even though he had converted to Catholicism, and insisted on wearing his Greek habit, which raised doubts on the sincerity of his conversion.}}</ref>
File:Titian - Pope Paul III - WGA22962.jpg|[[Pope Paul III]] (Alessandro Farnese), [[Bishop of Rome]] and ruler of the [[Papal States]] from 1534 to 1549.
File:Thomas Cranmer.png|[[Thomas Cranmer]], Archbishop of Canterbury and architect of the [[English Reformation]], wore a long beard in his later years.
File:Thomas Bramwell Welch.jpg|[[Thomas Bramwell Welch]] was a [[Methodism|Methodist]] minister and [[Temperance movement|Temperance activist]]
File:Solanuscasey.jpg|Roman Catholic [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin|Capuchin friar]], blessed [[Solanus Casey]] (1870–1957)
File:Amish Man in straw hat, suspenders, and shenandoah beard.jpg|An Amish man with a [[Shenandoah (beard)|Shenandoah]] beard
</gallery>

====The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints====
[[File:Brigham Young by Charles William Carter.jpg|thumb|upright|Many early LDS Church leaders (such as [[Brigham Young]], pictured) wore beards.]]
[[File:Lorenzo Snow 2.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Lorenzo Snow]], Mormon missionary and [[List of presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|fifth president]] of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]

Since the mid-20th century, [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) has encouraged its male members to be clean-shaven,<ref name="oaks">{{cite journal|last=Oaks|first=Dallin H.|author-link=Dallin H. Oaks|title=Standards of Dress and Grooming|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/1971/12/standards-of-dress-and-grooming?lang=eng|journal=[[New Era (magazine)|New Era]]|date=December 1971|publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]}}</ref> particularly those that serve in [[Priesthood (LDS Church)|ecclesiastical leadership positions]].<ref>{{citation |first= Peggy Fletcher |last= Stack |author-link= Peggy Fletcher Stack |date= 5 April 2013 |title= How beards became barred among top Mormon leaders |url= http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/56042739-78/beard-beards-byu-church.html.csp |newspaper= [[The Salt Lake Tribune]] }}</ref> The church's encouragement of men's shaving has neither scriptural nor theological basis, but stems from the general waning of facial hair's popularity in Western society during the 20th century and its association with the [[hippie]] and [[drug culture]] aspects of the [[counterculture of the 1960s]],<ref name="Telegraph">{{cite news |last=Millward |first=David |date=18 November 2014 |title=Mormon students fight beard ban |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11239320/Mormon-students-fight-beard-ban.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11239320/Mormon-students-fight-beard-ban.html |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |location=London |access-date=23 February 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and has not been a permanent rule.<ref name="oaks" />

After [[Joseph Smith]], many of the early presidents of the LDS Church, such as [[Brigham Young]] and [[Lorenzo Snow]], wore large beards. Since [[David O. McKay]] became [[President of the Church (LDS Church)|church president]] in 1951, most LDS Church leaders have been clean-shaven. The church maintains no formal policy on facial hair for its general membership.<ref>{{cite news |first= Lynn |last= Arave |date= 17 March 2003 |title= Theology about beards can get hairy |url= http://www.deseret.com/2003/3/17/19709622/theology-about-beards-can-get-hairy/ |newspaper= [[Deseret News]] }}</ref> However, formal prohibitions against facial hair are currently enforced for young men providing two-year [[Mormon missionary|missionary]] service.<ref>{{cite journal |title= FYI: For Your Information |journal= [[New Era (magazine)|New Era]] |date= June 1989 |pages= 48–51 |url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/1989/06/fyi-for-your-information?lang=eng |access-date= 18 February 2011}}</ref> Students and staff of the church-sponsored higher education institutions, such as [[Brigham Young University]] (BYU), are required to adhere to the [[Church Educational System Honor Code]],<ref name="BYUhouse3">{{cite book |last1= Bergera |first1= Gary James |last2= Priddis |first2= Ronald |year= 1985 |chapter= Chapter 3: Standards & the Honor Code |chapter-url= http://signaturebookslibrary.org/?p=13895 |title= Brigham Young University: A House of Faith |place= Salt Lake City |publisher= [[Signature Books]] |isbn= 0-941214-34-6 |oclc= 12963965 }}</ref> which states in part: "Men are expected to be clean-shaven; beards are not acceptable", although male BYU students are permitted to wear a neatly groomed moustache.<ref name="Telegraph" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Dress and Grooming Standards|url=https://policy.byu.edu/view/dress-and-grooming-standards|publisher=Brigham Young University|website=Policy.BYU.edu|access-date=17 October 2021|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927225321/https://policy.byu.edu/view/dress-and-grooming-standards |archive-date=2021-09-27 }}</ref> A beard exemption is granted for "serious skin conditions",<ref>{{citation |url= http://health.byu.edu/index2.php?page=services/beard.php |contribution= Services: Beard Exception |title= Student Health Center |publisher= BYU |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141125225757/http://health.byu.edu/index2.php?page=services%2Fbeard.php |archive-date= 25 November 2014 |url-status= dead |access-date= 16 December 2018 }}</ref> and for approved theatrical performances, but until 2015 no exemption was given for any other reason, including religious convictions.<ref>{{citation |first= Julie |last= Turkewitznov |date= 17 November 2014 |title= At Brigham Young, Students Push to Lift Ban on Beards |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/18/us/campaigning-to-change-the-cleanshaven-look-at-brigham-young-university.html |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141118191241/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/18/us/campaigning-to-change-the-cleanshaven-look-at-brigham-young-university.html |archive-date= 18 November 2014 |url-status= live }}</ref> In January 2015, BYU clarified that students who want a beard for religious reasons, like Muslims or Sikhs, may be granted permission after applying for an exemption.<ref>{{citation |first= Abby |last= Phillip |date= 14 January 2015 |title= Brigham Young University adjusts anti-beard policies amid student protests |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/01/14/brigham-young-university-adjusts-anti-beard-policies-amid-student-protests/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] }}</ref><ref>{{citation |first= Annie |last= Knox |date= 15 January 2015 |title= BYU clarifies beard policy; spells out exceptions |url= http://www.sltrib.com/2057823-155/ |newspaper= [[The Salt Lake Tribune]] }}</ref><ref>{{citation |first= Amy |last= McDonald |date= 17 January 2015 |title= Muslims celebrate BYU beard policy exemption |url= http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/education/college/byu/muslims-celebrate-byu-beard-policy-exemption/article_ed90845c-677a-5ade-9e24-9350ba33e68f.html |newspaper= [[Provo Daily Herald]] |access-date= 22 December 2017 |archive-date= 14 October 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151014203438/http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/education/college/byu/muslims-celebrate-byu-beard-policy-exemption/article_ed90845c-677a-5ade-9e24-9350ba33e68f.html |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref>{{citation |url= http://www.standard.net/Faith/2015/01/19/BYU-makes-clear-there-are-3-exceptions-to-beard-ban.html |title= BYU beard ban doesn't apply to Muslim students |newspaper= [[Standard-Examiner]] |agency= ([[Associated Press|AP]]) |date= 19 January 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150121001249/http://www.standard.net/Faith/2015/01/19/BYU-makes-clear-there-are-3-exceptions-to-beard-ban.html |archive-date= 21 January 2015 |url-status= dead |access-date= 21 January 2015 }} Reprinted by ''[https://www.deseret.com/2015/1/21/20476253/byu-makes-clear-there-are-3-exceptions-to-beard-ban/ Deseret News]'', [http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=33159783 KSL], and [http://www.kutv.com/news/features/local-news/stories/BYU-makes-clear-there-are-3-exceptions-to-beard-ban-69912.shtml KUTV] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150121023802/http://www.kutv.com/news/features/local-news/stories/BYU-makes-clear-there-are-3-exceptions-to-beard-ban-69912.shtml |date=2015-01-21 }}.</ref>

BYU students led a campaign to loosen the beard restrictions in 2014,<ref name="Telegraph" /><ref>{{citation |first= Whitney |last= Evans |date= 27 September 2014 |title= Students rally for beard 'revolution' in Provo |url= http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865611874/Students-rally-for-beard-revolution-in-Provo.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140928143332/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865611874/Students-rally-for-beard-revolution-in-Provo.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= September 28, 2014 |newspaper= [[Deseret News]] }}</ref><ref>{{citation |first= Annie |last= Knox |date= 26 September 2014 |title= BYU student asks school to chop beard ban |url= http://www.sltrib.com/58458452-219/university-beards-beard-campus.html |newspaper= [[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |access-date= 22 December 2017 |archive-date= 25 November 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141125224803/http://www.sltrib.com/58458452-219/university-beards-beard-campus.html |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref>{{citation |first= Whitney |last= Evans |date= 27 September 2014 |title= Students protest BYU beard restriction |url= http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=31728643 |publisher= [[KSL-TV|KSL 5 News]] }}</ref><ref>{{citation |first= Annie |last= Cutler |date= 26 September 2014 |title= 'Bike for Beards' event part of BYU students' fight for facial hair freedom |url= http://fox13now.com/2014/09/26/bike-for-beards-event-part-of-byu-students-fight-for-facial-hair-freedom/ |publisher= [[KSTU|Fox 13 News (KSTU)]] }}</ref> but it had the opposite effect at [[Church Educational System]] schools: some who had previously been granted beard exemptions were found no longer to qualify, and for a brief period the [[LDS Business College]] required students with a registered exemption to wear a "beard badge", which was likened to a "[[badge of shame]]". Some students also join in with shaming their fellow beard-wearing students, even those with registered exemptions.<ref>{{citation |first= Annie |last= Knox |date= 24 November 2014 |title= Beard ban at Mormon schools getting stricter, students say |url= http://www.sltrib.com/1867918-155/beard-ban-at-mormon-schools-getting |newspaper= [[The Salt Lake Tribune]] }}</ref>