There was a lot of thought behind the style — and controversy. Become a member of the Vox Video Lab! http://bit.ly/video-lab Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO What was the deal with that monk haircut? In this episode of Vox Almanac, Phil Edwards explores the history and controversy behind the style. Known as "tonsure," the typical monk hairstyle has many variations throughout religions. The particular hairstyle worn by Christian monks has its own variations and controversies as well. Three different types of tonsure were popular: a coronal tonsure, a Pauline tonsure, and a third Celtic tonsure that came to represent the differences between the Roman Catholic and Celtic Catholic church. The winding path of this tonsure is a new way to look at the division within the religion and the unpredictable ways something like hair can represent faith. Support our work and get a peek behind the scenes at Vox by joining the Vox Video Lab, our members community on YouTube. Not only will you help us create bigger and better explainer videos, you’ll get a ton of cool perks and access to your favorite Vox creators too. Sign-ups start at $4.99 a month. Learn more at https://www.vox.com/join. Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com/. Watch our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/IZONyE Follow Vox on Facebook: http://goo.gl/U2g06o Or Twitter: http://goo.gl/XFrZ5H