The Right Hand

Why do we make the Sign of the Cross using the right hand rather than the left? Is there a Scriptural preference for the right hand? If so, why?

Scripture has several words translated "right" and the use of the term "right hand" can have a variety of meaning: a direction; the opposite of wrong; what is just; or a place of honor or authority. In the case of bestowing a blessing in the Bible, the right hand or right side came first, and was the greater blessing. This is seen in Genesis 48, when Jacob, before he dies, purposely crosses his arms to put his right hand on the head of Joseph’s younger son, standing at his left, to give him a greater blessing than his brother.

The Bible contains over 100 favorable references to the right hand. In Matthew 25, Jesus places the sheep – who are going to heaven – on his right hand, but places the goats – who are not going to heaven – on his left. And we recite in the Nicene Creed that Jesus is "seated at the right hand of the Father.”

Where does this right-handed preference come from? To answer that question, we have to go back in history.

One theory is that in the hunter-gatherer period, women needed to hunt alongside the men and protect their young children. The woman carried the infant on the left side of her body where the heartbeat is stronger, keeping the infant more secure and quiet, leaving the right hand for throwing spears. This may have led to preferential right-handedness.

In Medieval times, an open right hand indicated you were not carrying a weapon. If two men met and displayed empty right hands, they could assume they would not be attacked by the other. This evolved into the handshake.

Scientists estimate anywhere from 70-95% of people are right-handed. Probably because of this, the right hand is traditionally the hand of blessing and greeting in many cultural settings.

By contrast, the left hand has, in many cultures, a different set of traditional associations. For example, in Islam, the left hand is seen as unclean, stemming from a Middle Eastern custom of using the left hand for hygienic purposes.

In Latin, the word for “right” is dexter while the word for “left” is sinister. Many people, even today, associate left-handedness with evil, but in most educated populations, this is considered superstition. Nevertheless, for many of the reasons listed above, the sign of the cross has traditionally been made with the right hand.