Is It a Sin to Get a Tattoo? What the Bible Actually Says
The words in Leviticus 19:28 seem pretty clear at first glance. For many Christians wondering if it is a sin to get a tattoo, this verse is often the beginning and the end of the conversation. But the Bible rarely offers simple answers to complex questions, and this one is no different. The verse is part of a specific legal and cultural code given to ancient Israel, and understanding that context is everything.
TL;DR
The only Bible verse that directly mentions tattoos, Leviticus 19:28, forbids them in the context of pagan mourning rituals. Christians disagree on whether this Old Testament law applies today. The New Testament doesn't mention tattoos, but offers principles of Christian freedom, conscience, and honoring God with your body that should guide any decision.
Key Answers
What does Leviticus 19:28 say about tattoos? It prohibits making cuttings or printing marks on your body for the dead as part of ancient pagan worship. (Leviticus 19:28)
Does the New Testament forbid tattoos? No. No New Testament passage directly forbids or even mentions tattoos. (1 Corinthians 10:23)
How should Christians decide about getting a tattoo? Consider your motives, whether the tattoo glorifies God, and if it could cause a fellow believer to stumble in their faith. (Romans 14:13-14)
The One Verse Everyone Points To
When the debate about tattoos and the Bible comes up, the conversation almost always lands on one specific verse in the Old Testament.
'You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you. I am Yahweh.
Leviticus 19:28 (WEB)
On the surface, this seems like an open-and-shut case. "Nor tattoo any marks on you" sounds definitive. But context changes everything. This command is sandwiched between other laws that most Christians today do not follow. Right before it, God tells the Israelites:
‘You shall not cut the hair on the sides of your head or clip off the edge of your beard.
Leviticus 19:27 (WEB)
And just a few verses earlier in the same chapter, we find more prohibitions that sound unfamiliar to modern ears.
‘You shall keep my statutes. “‘You shall not cross-breed different kinds of animals. “‘You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; “‘Don’t wear a garment made of two kinds of material."
Leviticus 19:19 (WEB)
These are part of Israel’s ceremonial and civil laws, designed to set them apart from the surrounding pagan nations. The prohibition against "cuttings in your flesh for the dead" was specifically aimed at the mourning rituals of Canaanite cults. This practice is mentioned again in Deuteronomy.
You are the children of Yahweh your God. You shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.
Deuteronomy 14:1 (WEB)
For this reason, many Protestant and evangelical traditions see the tattoo prohibition in Leviticus as tied directly to idolatrous worship. They argue that since Christians are no longer under the Old Testament ceremonial law (we don't avoid mixed fabrics or offer the prescribed sacrifices), a tattoo that is not part of a pagan ritual is not forbidden. This view holds that the principle is about who you worship, not the ink itself.
Is the Body a Temple?
While the New Testament is silent on tattoos directly, it has a lot to say about our bodies. Paul the Apostle asks a pointed question to the church in Corinth, a city known for its sexual immorality and temple prostitution.
Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (WEB)
This passage is the cornerstone for a more cautious approach, common in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. The argument isn't that tattoos are explicitly sinful. Instead, it’s that our bodies are not entirely our own. They are sacred spaces, temples for the Holy Spirit.
Matthew Henry connects this idea directly to God's ownership.
Matthew Henry's commentary provides two main arguments against the sin of fornication in relation to 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. Firstly, it states that the bodies of Christians are considered "temples of the Holy Ghost." This means that they are yielded up to God, possessed by Him, and inhabited by His Holy Spirit through a purchase made of them. Therefore, because Christians are "bought with a price," their bodies are not their own but belong to God.
Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible
This perspective invites a different set of questions. Does a particular tattoo honor the sacredness of God's temple? Is it an act of good stewardship? Historically, this led some church councils to discourage tattoos, viewing them as a form of bodily mutilation. But this view is not monolithic. For centuries, some Orthodox Coptic Christians and pilgrims to Jerusalem have received tattoos of the cross as a permanent sign of their faith and pilgrimage.
The principle is about glorifying God in your body. For some, that means keeping the temple unadorned. For others, it might mean marking it with a beautiful symbol of their faith in the one who bought them with a price.
“All Things Are Lawful, But Not All Things Are Profitable”
This is where the conversation gets personal. For matters where the Bible doesn't give a clear command, the New Testament provides a framework of Christian freedom and personal conscience. Paul captures this tension perfectly.
“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are profitable. “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things build up.
1 Corinthians 10:23 (WEB)
Christ has set us free from bondage to the law.
Stand firm therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and don’t be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
Galatians 5:1 (WEB)
This freedom is not a license to do whatever we want. It is an invitation to maturity. It asks us to weigh our choices not just against a list of rules, but against a higher standard: is this choice beneficial? Does it build up me and the people around me? Does it glorify God?
Matthew Henry explains that this liberty should be exercised with great care for others.
The commentary stresses the importance of considering the consciences of others and refraining from actions, even if permissible in themselves, if they would lay a stumbling-block before others or encourage them in idolatry.
Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible
This brings motive to the forefront. Why do you want a tattoo? Is it to remember God’s faithfulness? To mark a significant spiritual milestone? Or is it from a place of rebellion, vanity, or a desire to fit in with a particular crowd? The same tattoo could be an act of worship for one person and an act of pride for another. The heart behind the ink matters.
Freedom, Stumbling Blocks, and Judging Others
Perhaps the most important biblical principle in this discussion has less to do with the person getting a tattoo and more to do with the community around them. In a letter to the church in Rome, which was deeply divided over matters of conscience like eating certain foods, Paul gives this powerful instruction:
Therefore let’s not judge one another any more, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block in his brother’s way, or an occasion for falling. I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself; except that to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
Romans 14:13-14 (WEB)
This is a two-way street. If you believe tattoos are wrong for you, then for you, they are. You should live by your conscience before God. But you are not to judge a brother or sister who has come to a different conviction. As Adam Clarke notes, this is a call to stop our "rash and uncharitable conduct."
Adam Clarke's commentary on Romans 14:13-14 states the following: Verse 13: "Let us not, therefore, judge one another any more" refers to abandoning rash and uncharitable conduct, as judgment belongs to the Lord.
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible
Conversely, if you feel the freedom in Christ to get a tattoo, you are also called to consider your brother or sister with a more sensitive conscience. Will your new ink become a "stumbling block," making it harder for them to follow Jesus? This doesn't mean giving others control over your decisions, but it does mean that love, not just liberty, must have the final say.
What About Those Other Verses?
Two other verses sometimes appear in this conversation, though their application is less direct. One is a beautiful picture of God’s faithfulness to Israel.
Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. your walls are continually before me.
Isaiah 49:16 (WEB)
This is powerful, poetic language. God uses the image of a permanent marking to describe His unbreakable commitment to His people. It shows that the idea of a mark on the skin is not inherently evil, but it's a metaphor, not a command.
The other is a dramatic vision of the risen Christ.
He has on his garment and on his thigh a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Revelation 19:16 (WEB)
Some suggest this is a divine tattoo. It is a stunning image of Christ's authority and identity. However, most scholars interpret this as a name emblazoned on his robe where it covers his thigh, a place where a mounted king’s identity would be visible. It’s hard to build a whole theology of tattooing on this one apocalyptic vision.
Ultimately, the Bible does not give a simple "yes" or "no." It gives us principles. It points us away from pagan worship, toward honoring God with our bodies, and into a mature freedom that prioritizes love for God and our neighbour above all else.
Whether you get inked or not, let your decision be an act of worship, guided by scripture, conscience, and love.
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