I recognise that here in the Bible Belt (Northern Ireland) we have probably the greatest heritage of the gospel in all the world (i stand to be corrected on that). Of course that heritage is currently slowly being taken away from us, and yet we have very much to be thankful for. I doubt that there is ANYWHERE in this whole country when no matter where you may be, you are no more than 20 miles away from a house where you will here sound teaching regarding salvation!
Because of this, there are many who still cling to the old paths (hallelujah) in spite of the onslaught of humanism, feminism, etc.
This can be seen in one way, that a good number of churches still have their women wearing a head covering. My wife wears a head covering at every appointed place of public worship, this includes the open air meetings she may attend as well as all church services and prayer meetings. Other than that, she does not wear a head covering as the scripture only indicates it at appointed seasons of worship.
The scripture is quite clear on this matter, even if it is difficult to swallow for those with backgrounds that may see this as demoralising, or even go as far to say it's misogynism.
1 Cor 11 is obviously where it's dealt with -
v3 - the head of every man is Christ and the head of every woman is the man
v4 - if a man has his head covered he dishonours Christ
v5 - but if a woman has her head UNcovered, she dishonours her husband
v6 - if a woman isn't going to cover her head, then shave off her hair. But if that is not appropriate (for whatever reason; choice, culture) then her head must be covered.
v7 - man is the image and glory of God (God is to get ALL glory in public worship). But the woman is the glory of the man (so she must be covered because man isn't to get any glory).
v10 - (this verse causes some problems) basically, the woman is to have "a sign of the husband's authority over his wife" (this is what "power means" here - quote is taken from strongs concordance) because the angels of God are watching (possibly to see whether God is being glorified in the worship).
v14 - nature even shows that long hair ought not to be found upon a man (sign of rebellion and evil, Read Rev 9:7,8 to confirm this if you like)
v15 - the hair of a woman is a special physical attribute that God has given to her. It is the highlight of her physical appearance and therefore is her "glory" given to her as a covering (or veil).
So if we particularly compare v6,7 and 15 we see firstly why it say a woman should shave her head if she's not going to wear a covering; because it is her "glory" and none ought to glory in the presence of God
Secondly, the woman is the "glory" of the man (our better half
), and therefore, again the man's glory ought to be covered.
Thirdly, in v8,9 we see that woman was taken from the man and is in subjetion to him (or ought to be) and therefore, this covering indicates the womans willingness to obey God in being subject to the man. Read 1 Peter 3:5,6 to further support the biblical view of womans subjection to the man.
I have just scanned the verses and tried to paraphrase them for easier understanding. The verses missed out are not because I don't understand them or anything, but because I feel their message is clear without me saying anything.
I'll just add this too - for the last year of my wife's degree, she had to go to London (this was the year just before we got married). When she got there, she finally decided to go to Spurgeons old church, the Metropolitan Tabernacle, now pastored by Dr. Peter Masters. On the morning service there is typically 700 people in attendance. The first day she went, she was the only woman wearing a hat. She continued to do so without ever asking anyone why they didn't wear hats and no one asked her why she did. I don't whether she was the reason or not, but after attending there for 6-7 months before she left, she counted roughly 15-20 women wearing a head covering.
An EXCELLENT message on the topic, from one of the best expositors of the Word I have ever heard, is by the Rev. John Greer -
www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?currSection=sermonssource&sermonID=1806134559 He has a series on the issue, but here he makes it simple and as condensed as possible for a Youth Meeting.
God bless you as you seek out truth for yourself.