Behold the Mighty Beard, a Badge of Piety and Religious Belonging

[rug]

Go ahead, picture a religious Jew.

Now picture a Muslim cleric.

Now an Amish farmer.

What do they have in common? Beards. And not neatly trimmed beards, but, in the popular stereotype, long, unruly beards, which connote piety, spiritual intensity and a life so hard at study that there is no time for a shave. The scholar, the mystic, the terrorist, the holy man — they all have beards.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/06/us/06beliefs.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

[kestrel91316]

1. Actually, the beard Amish men wear isn't about holiness and no time to shave.

They DO shave their upper lip.

It is to differentiate them (pacifists) from military men, who were customarily clean-shaven except for frequent mustaches back in the day.

It's also why they don't ride astride their horses or wear buttons (particularly metal ones).

[rug]

2. That's an interesting fact.

Usually, when you go beyond the surface of customs, no matter how superficially odd, there's a good reason.

[LuvNewcastle]

3. Most of the people I see with beards, i.e., the big

flowing kind, are artists and/or people who are marijuana enthusiasts. There aren't too many religious people around here -- at least, not the beard-sporting kind. A lot of people have goatees and other closely-cropped beards, but I don't think that really counts.