# Are Tattoos a Sin for Christians? **URL:** \ **Category:** General\ **Created:** [October 21, 2026, 6:10pm UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/are-tattoos-a-sin-for-christians/1827 "2026-10-21T18:10:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SawdustAndCedar](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/sawdustandcedar/32/1321_2.png) [@SawdustAndCedar](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/SawdustAndCedar)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 6:10pm UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/are-tattoos-a-sin-for-christians/1827/1 "2026-10-21T18:10:54Z")
Someone in my family wants to get covered in tattoos. Personally, I’m uncomfortable with it. Are tattoos a sin according to the Bible, or are they a matter of personal conviction? ---
**Author:** ![Combatwombat](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/combatwombat/32/36_2.png) [@Combatwombat](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/Combatwombat)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 6:23am UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/are-tattoos-a-sin-for-christians/1827/2 "2026-10-22T06:23:12Z")
No. Leviticus 19:28 was aimed at pagan mourning rituals for the dead and Christians aren’t under that law. I’ve never wanted one myself though, and watching a family member go ‘covered’ feels uncomfortable, I get that. Uncomfortable and sin are two _different_ things (like [this one](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/can-christians-get-tattoos/1811)). ---
**Author:** ![Grimnir8](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/grimnir8/32/26_2.png) [@Grimnir8](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/Grimnir8)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 7:05am UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/are-tattoos-a-sin-for-christians/1827/3 "2026-10-22T07:05:56Z")
Not a sin, as far as I can tell. No more than coloring your hair or getting your ears pierced. If someone close to me wanted to get covered, I’d still hope they could thank God for the body they already have. A project that big can send the message that the skin they were given wasn’t enough. ![tattoo sleeve arm](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/uploads/default/original/2X/6/66cb77133302fa5895d625b04228148b19623d82.jpeg) It’s fine to tell your family member you’re uncomfortable with it. What they do with their body is still up to them. ---
**Author:** ![JustPray](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/justpray/32/61_2.png) [@JustPray](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/JustPray)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 8:15am UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/are-tattoos-a-sin-for-christians/1827/4 "2026-10-22T08:15:34Z")
What do the images mean? If a relative of mine wanted to get covered, I’d start there. I don’t think tattoos are sinful in themselves, and I’d try _hard_ not to turn my own discomfort into God’s command. ---
**Author:** ![starling.sky](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/starling.sky/32/1317_2.png) [@starling.sky](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/starling.sky)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 12:00pm UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/are-tattoos-a-sin-for-christians/1827/5 "2026-10-22T12:00:55Z")
Being uncomfortable with something and it being a sin are two different things. The point about pagan mourning rituals helps too. It keeps Leviticus 19:28 in its historical context. But the discomfort is still worth looking at, especially when it’s about someone you care about. Not by turning it into a judgment about their faith. ---
**Author:** ![ArkOfCedar](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/arkofcedar/32/1397_2.png) [@ArkOfCedar](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/ArkOfCedar)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 12:20pm UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/are-tattoos-a-sin-for-christians/1827/6 "2026-10-22T12:20:03Z")
Tattoos probably get a pass if hair dye and pierced ears do. That gratitude for the body you already have part stuck with me though. ---
**Author:** ![psalm-kettle](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/76d3ee/32.png) [@psalm-kettle](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/psalm-kettle)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 7:00pm UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/are-tattoos-a-sin-for-christians/1827/7 "2026-10-22T19:00:13Z")
I once spent a whole car ride explaining to a cousin why their sleeve was ‘unwise’ and halfway through it hit me that every argument I made boiled down to ‘I think it’s ugly.’ Not exactly chapter and verse anyone can look up. Asking what the images mean is a better opening than anything I managed… Half the time when I ask, the design turns out to be a Scripture reference or a memorial for someone and there I am, having already judged a tribute to somebody’s grandmother. ---
**Author:** ![SawdustAndCedar](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/sawdustandcedar/32/1321_2.png) [@SawdustAndCedar](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/SawdustAndCedar)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 6:48am UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/are-tattoos-a-sin-for-christians/1827/8 "2026-10-24T06:48:24Z")
The distinction between discomfort and sin was what I needed to hear. The discomfort hasn’t gone away, though. I want to think about it more. When you’ve felt uneasy about a choice someone close to you made, how did you sort out whether it was real conviction or your own preferences and upbringing talking? ---
**Author:** ![demonicwarning](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/demonicwarning/32/960_2.png) [@demonicwarning](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/demonicwarning)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2026, 7:09am UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/are-tattoos-a-sin-for-christians/1827/9 "2026-10-27T07:09:47Z")
> [@SawdustAndCedar](#): > > how did you sort out whether it was real conviction or your own preferences and upbringing talking? Honestly? Whether I’d feel the same if a believer I respect made the choice. Romans 14 helped too, Paul expects believers to land in different places on disputable matters and still welcome each other. ---
**Author:** ![Waitwaits](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/w/aeb1de/32.png) [@Waitwaits](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/Waitwaits)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2026, 8:39am UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/are-tattoos-a-sin-for-christians/1827/10 "2026-10-27T08:39:24Z")
I don’t think a tattoo is sinful by itself. One that works against God and His glory is a problem, same as a T-shirt with that message would be, just a lot harder to take off. ---
**Author:** ![Pursue](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@Pursue](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/Pursue)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2026, 8:45am UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/are-tattoos-a-sin-for-christians/1827/11 "2026-10-27T08:45:36Z")
It’s not a sin. I know a fairly well-known Christian, someone a lot of people go to for teaching, whose whole back is tattooed. When I found out, I still saw the same faith in them I always had. Still wouldn’t get one myself. ---
**Author:** ![olivecoder](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/olivecoder/32/28_2.png) [@olivecoder](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/olivecoder)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2026, 9:15am UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/are-tattoos-a-sin-for-christians/1827/12 "2026-10-27T09:15:55Z")
If your family member has prayed about it and has peace, the ink itself is fine. Romans 14:23, “whatever is not from faith is sin”. Getting covered in tattoos to get noticed or making them the center of your whole identity is a heart problem but nobody can judge that from the outside. ---
**Author:** ![KindEscape](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/kindescape/32/21_2.png) [@KindEscape](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/KindEscape)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2026, 9:21am UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/are-tattoos-a-sin-for-christians/1827/13 "2026-10-27T09:21:44Z")
I’d ask your family member why first. Plenty of people get tattoos because they like how they look, and some pick an angel or a cross on a hill. It doesn’t have to say anything about their faith. ---
**Author:** ![Easycomics](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/easycomics/32/978_2.png) [@Easycomics](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/Easycomics)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2026, 9:11pm UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/are-tattoos-a-sin-for-christians/1827/14 "2026-10-27T21:11:53Z")
I don’t see it as a sin. The pagans nearby were marking themselves with images of their gods back in Leviticus 19:28 and it reads like God wanted His people to stand apart from that. So I’d say your family member is fine as long as they’re not putting another god on their body.