Should I Wear a Clerical Collar to Work?

Reflections on a sincere look in an authentic age

I have been studying to become a lay Chaplain for the last couple of years. As I wrap up my chaplaincy studies, I am faced with a difficult question. Should I wear a clerical collar while at work in rehabs and prisons?

Wearing a collar runs counter to our culture’s instincts. We want everyone to be relatable, relational, and personable. We don’t like formality in dress, speech, or manners.

I have a picture somewhere that proves this point. It is a photograph of a company picnic at my grandfather’s business. In it, everyone from the sales staff to warehouse workers is wearing wool suits outdoors in the summer. At the time [the 1940s], there was a sense that everyone should aspire to dress formally.

Source: https://www.shorpy.com/node/90

NOTE: This is not from my grandpa’s company picnic. It is a BBQ in Pie Town, New Mexico. But it is roughly the same time frame. Notice the suits and ties.

If that photo were taken today, even the most prestigious person at the picnic would likely wear shorts and a baseball cap.

The trend toward relatability has also meant that clergy are dressing down. The clergy want to be seen as regular folk. They believe dressing up or wearing special clerical collars would seem prideful or unwelcoming. Thus, the trend of pastors wearing skinny or torn jeans.

[I decided not to share examples of Justin Beiber’s celebrity pastor with his shirt off and pants sagging. You’re welcome.]

Age of sincerity, age of authenticity

A clerical collar goes against our society's grain because we no longer live in an Age of Sincerity. German philosopher George Moeller describes the Age of Sincerity as the age in which our roles are more important than our individual preferences. A person living in an Age of Sincerity will accept the role assigned to them by the community and attempt to live it out with sincerity.

Think about the sense of decorum displayed by family and staff in the PBS miniseries Downton Abby. Everyone strove to fulfill the role assigned to them: the butler, the under butler, the head valet, the valet, the footman, and the second footman—each found purpose and dignity in fulfilling their role according to tradition.

In an Age of Sincerity, a collar makes sense. It identifies the wearer as clergy and helps the clergyperson enact the role appropriately.

But today, we are currently living in an Age of Authenticity. In an Age of Authenticity, the individual is primary, not a role. Each person is assumed to have a “self” which must be discovered, nurtured, and expressed. Internet Pastor Paul Vander Klay says people today believe they have a “Secret, Sacred Self.” In an Age of Authenticity, performing a societal role is an offense against our secret, sacred self. Roles are repressive; individuality equals freedom.

Holy Collar

A collar highlights a role, not the individual. The profession is foremost, not the person. We see the collar and think “clergy,” not “Kevin.”

So if I choose to wear the collar, I will be downplaying my personality while forefronting my position as chaplain.

I think that’s OK. I don’t want my personality to stand out. Instead, I want my role to be quickly recognizable.

My other option would be to wear clothing considered “business casual”. But, “business casual” clothing is a kind of catch-all category— a mental junk drawer for white-collar jobs. What I do as a chaplain is specific and holy.

Don’t choke on the word “holy”. Holy just means set aside for a special purpose. By that definition, your grandma’s good silverware and a country singer’s sequined jacket are holy. They are not for everyday use.

When I was growing up, it was common for families to treat one room as special and set aside from daily use by covering everything in protective plastic. You might consider that room holy—since it was set aside from everyday use.

I wonder if wearing a collar is the clerical equivalent of a shrink-wrapped living room?

Perhaps.

But, sin, crime, punishment, souls, and redemption are not ordinary concepts. Conversations on these topics deserve a little special treatment—and the collar makes that clear. But that’s my opinion. I wonder if a person in rehab or prison prefers to talk to someone with a clerical collar.

Which picture do you prefer?

I wanted to create a simple test so my readers could judge for themselves which clothing style they preferred. I planned to use Photoshop’s AI functions to create pictures of the same man in “business casual” and then in a clerical collar.

The results were interesting, but probably too weird to allow us to imagine the difference between “business casual” and a clerical collar.

I think AI was trying to be culturally inclusive by changing the race of the man and making a collar that is a synthesis of clerical dress from Christian and Muslim images. I know, I’ve never seen clerical collars quite like these.

The two pictures are the left are undoctored. The two on the right are Photoshop’s idea of a clerical collar.

But even when I specified “Anglican clerical tab collar,” AI still got all inventy on me.

So much for a side-by-side comparison of “Business casual” and a clerical collar.

The man in black

As I was reflecting on the clerical collar and whether to wear it, Johnny Cash’s song “The Man in Black” came to mind. In many ways, the symbolism of Johnny’s black jacket is similar to the symbolism of the clerical collar.

Johnny wears black in honor of the downtrodden. He wears it “for” them.

I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down
Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town
I wear it for the prisoner who is long paid for his crime
But is there because he's a victim of the times

He also wears it to remind the well-to-do that the downtrodden exist. By doing so he fulfills the request of the Rich Man who ignored poor Lazarus during their earthly lives: “Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, ²⁸ for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.” [Luke 16:27-28]

… Well, we're doin' mighty fine, I do suppose
In our streak of lightnin' cars and fancy clothes
But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back
Up front there ought to be a man in black

Finally, wearing black has a priestly function. Johnny carries away some of the world’s darkness by wearing it.

But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back
'Til things are brighter, I'm the man in black

I can’t decide whether the song’s sentiments are noble or prideful. To be a man in black is to be holy—to set yourself aside as a spokesman, chronicler, or custodian of memory.

How do you decide to take that type of role? Do you just declare yourself the Man in Black? Or is being the Man in Black something you try to get out of—something you run from until God catches you and consecrates you for that duty?

I am curious what my readers think of the collar. Is it a little “extra”? Is it too much? Too old-fashioned? A little prideful?