Is it a sin to get a tattoo?
One verse, and what it actually forbids
In short
One verse in the Bible mentions marks on the skin, and it addresses a specific mourning practice rather than tattooing as we know it. Most Christian traditions therefore do not treat a tattoo as sin in itself - though they do ask what it is for.
What the text says
Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.
1 Samuel 16:7 was the verse of the day on January 24, 2026. See that day
Often brought in1 Corinthians 6:19
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
Paul writes this about sexual conduct, not about appearance. It is the passage most often brought into this discussion, and it is worth noticing what it was answering.
The counterweight1 Samuel 16:7
But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. outward...: Heb. eyes
Whatever one concludes about the skin, this is the measure Scripture keeps returning to - and it cuts against judging anyone by what they wear.
What Christians agree on
Across traditions, Christians hold that the body is not a neutral thing to do as one pleases with, and that what a mark means matters more than the mark itself.
Where they disagree
Most Protestant traditions
Leviticus 19:28 belongs to the ceremonial law given to Israel, fulfilled in Christ and no longer binding on Christians.
Some conservative and Adventist traditions
The verse expresses a lasting principle about the integrity of the body, not a temporary rule, and the principle still applies.
Catholic teaching
There is no prohibition; a tattoo is judged by what it expresses and by the respect owed to the body.
Questions worth asking
- Is this mark tied to a grief you have not been able to leave behind?
- Does it name something you want to belong to, and would you still want that in ten years?
- Is it a considered choice, or a way of punishing yourself?
If you already have one and the question weighs on you: nothing in the New Testament makes a mark on the skin an obstacle between you and God.
Also relevant
Deuteronomy 14:1 · 1 Peter 3:3 · Romans 14:5 · Galatians 5:1 · 1 Corinthians 10:23
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