Do women today have to wear a head covering in church?
No. The instruction about women covering their heads in church was tied to the customs of that day, when an uncovered woman in public was associated with prostitutes. Since that cultural setting no longer applies, women today are not required to wear a veil, hat, or head covering in church.
Les explains that Paul's instruction in 1 Corinthians 11 about women praying or prophesying with uncovered heads was addressing a specific cultural situation. In that day, a woman out in public without a head covering was typically flaunting herself like a prostitute. Paul was dealing with that mindset, where 99.9% of the population would interpret an uncovered woman that way. He was not establishing a universal rule for all time. Les notes that custom has completely changed our interpretation of some of these things. Today, we are not bothered with that cultural association, so women are not required to wear a head covering in church. The principle is to avoid causing misunderstanding or offense in the culture, not to mandate a veil or hat.
But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.
More Questions
Do women today have to wear a veil or a hat in church?
Les says no, women today do not have to wear a veil or a hat or something on their head when they go to church; he does not think that is what the passage is saying.
What was the expectation for women in worship in that culture regarding head coverings?
For the woman it is the other way around: you do not expect a woman to go into any kind of worship situation without her head covered.