Are Jehovah's Witnesses allowed to tip their hat to a woman?

Answer 1

This seems like an odd question since as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I have never heard any such subject ever mentioned.

It may be that in certain parts of the world that this is considered an improper gesture by the society at large, therefore it would be discouraged by the brothers in those congregations, as it would have some negative effect such as a sexual underlying meaning.

However, in the particular area in which I live, this gesture would have no improper connotations, but it is by and large out of vogue in my geographiical region.

It is the woman that is commanded to show respect and recognition of the man's position of headship, and women who rebel at it are not so much rebelling against men as they are against God

Absolutely not. See the Watchtower 15th April 1952 Questions from Readers

Many customs are harmless, but when they contradict a theocratic principle Satan is behind it to discredit God. He is a past master at such deception. (2 Cor. 11:14) In this particular matter of hat-tipping he appeals to the vanity of women.

Specifically, why would a woman want this special show of respect from a man? One woman said in response to this question: "You don't know how important it makes a woman feel to have a man tip his hat to her." That is sufficient reason for Christians to refrain from the custom.

When a customary show of respect is performed between men as well as between man and woman, when it does not set the woman apart for special honor because of her sex, then it does not seem Scripturally objectionable. Hat removal would be too inconvenient for the woman? Then why is it the man that is supposed to rise when a woman enters a room or comes to or leaves the table, and never the woman? Is it too inconvenient again? Is she pinned to the chair, as the hat is pinned to her head? What custom does exist whereby women show respect to men? The absence of any is not just by chance, but is by satanic design to untheocratically elevate the woman above the man. In many ways Satan has taken the woman from the position assigned her by God, taken her from the home and its duties and put her into politics and commerce and religious leadership, and thereby caused much of the modern breakdown on the family front.

A LITTLE MORE REASONINGThe above er quotes from an issue of the WT that is over a half century old. When it comes to matters this minute, we do not teach from our publications that are that old. Our understanding of things improves over the course of time. This is in line with Proverbs 4:18 which states that "the path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established."

As an example of this, when that 1952 WT was published, the danger of smoking was not understood by the WT Society, and they did not understand that smoking was a defilement of the flesh and violated such Bible passages as 2 Corinthians 7:1, where it tells us to cleanse ourselves of every defilement of flesh.

Frankly, this subject of hat tipping has already been discussed here on this forum more than it has in the 20 plus years that I have been one of JW's, and my 43 years of existstence, which was never. It has never been discussed in my lifetime at the Kingdom Hall. It could be because it isn't even a custom in the western world anymore. People don't even remove their hats at the dinner table, let alone tip their hats to someone.

Maybe there is something about this archaic practice that violates Bible priinciples. But, believe me, JW's are not currently concerned with whether some of us may be tipping their hats to women or not. There are a whole lot more significant things going on in the world than this. The entire world is falling down around our ankles. The Bible prophecies of Jesus in Matthew 24, Luke 21, and Mark 13, and the visions in the Bible book of Revelation are being fullfilled at an epic rate. This is what Jehovah's Witnesses are concerned about. We are busy telling people about the fact that the propheciies about God's Kingdom are on the verge of coming to fruition. That is what we are focused on, not some trivial custom.

Nevertheless

Until the Society come up with a newer understanding of this (i.e. newer light) then this is still the current stand of Jehovah's Witnesses if this issue arises albeit very rarely today. As the Society have said it is of satanic design then the fact that this practice is rarely seen today must not mean we can let our guard down even in little ways.

Unlike the Society's limited knowledge on the dangers of smoking in the fifties I cannot see any ambiguity whatsoever in the Society's response to this direct question.

Just because the world's standards may change doesn't mean ours does.

This just proves how crafty Satan is.

Answer 2

Absolutely not.

The Watchtower addressed this problem in a Questions from Readers article 15th April 1952 page 254 'Is it proper for men to tip their hats to women?'

It is the woman that is commanded to show respect and recognition of the man's position of headship, and women who rebel at it are not so much rebelling against men as they are against God Many customs are harmless, but when they contradict a theocratic principle Satan is behind it to discredit God. He is a past master at such deception. (2 Cor. 11:14) In this particular matter of hat-tipping he appeals to the vanity of women. Specifically, why would a woman want this special show of respect from a man? One woman said in response to this question: "You don't know how important it makes a woman feel to have a man tip his hat to her." That is sufficient reason for Christians to refrain from the custom. When a customary show of respect is performed between men as well as between man and woman, when it does not set the woman apart for special honor because of her sex, then it does not seem Scripturally objectionable. Hat removal would be too inconvenient for the woman? Then why is it the man that is supposed to rise when a woman enters a room or comes to or leaves the table, and never the woman? Is it too inconvenient again? Is she pinned to the chair, as the hat is pinned to her head? What custom does exist whereby women show respect to men? The absence of any is not just by chance, but is by satanic design to untheocratically elevate the woman above the man. In many ways Satan has taken the woman from the position assigned her by God, taken her from the home and its duties and put her into politics and commerce and religious leadership, and thereby caused much of the modern breakdown on the family front.