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Actually, the above on black being humble is correct but there is another reason as well. The "Roman collar," the white band that goes around the neck combined with the cassock was once the clothing of those who were teachers. It marked you out as someone who could read. Christianity was the first religion of letters. Judaism required memorization but not necessarily reading let alone letter writing. In order to be a minister, reading was essential and as a consequence the modern equivalent of college professors were natural candidates as they could read and write. Since most people only owned one set of clothing at that time and most clergy could read and write, by accident of history the cassock and clerical collar were born.
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