Is It a Sin to Get a Tattoo? Psalm 103 for the Tattoo You Already Have, and Leviticus 19:28 in Its Setting

A psalm for the tattoo you already have

Psalm 103:8-12 is a psalm of praise recalling God's character, and it goes on to say that he knows how we are made and remembers that we are dust:

Yahweh is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness. He will not always accuse; neither will he stay angry forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor repaid us for our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his loving kindness toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

It describes what God has already done with what a person carries, so mercy arrives before any task. Bible verses for guilt and shame reads the psalm at length. One question to hold: what are you still holding that this says has already been carried away?

A quiet shelf.

Leviticus 19:28 in its setting

In the World English Bible the verse reads, "You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you. I am Yahweh." The King James has "nor print any marks upon you," and the NIV "or put tattoo marks on yourselves." The lines on either side, verses 26 to 31, cover blood, divination, hair at the sides of the head, the edge of the beard and mediums, a neighborhood of commands about mourning and identity. Leviticus 21:1-5 gives priests the same rule about cuts for the dead.

The Hebrew behind "cuttings" is seret, a gash or incision, and "for the dead" is lenefesh. The word for the marks, ketovet qa’aqa’, is incised writing, which Brown-Driver-Briggs describes as an incision or tattoo mark, per Blue Letter Bible. Rashi, through Sefaria, says the cutting "was the practice of the Amorites" when someone died, and the writing is one "engraved and sunk into the flesh and which can never be erased because it is pricked in with a needle and remains black forever." Named commentators commonly connect the verse with mourning rites and the practices of surrounding peoples, while some Christian interpreters broaden it into a general ban. These remain different readings of the same words.

The Jewish tradition read it first. Makkot 21a records one view that requires both writing and incision, and Rabbi Shimon's view that applies the rule only when the name of an idolatrous object is written. Jewish authorities today differ on how far it reaches, including for non-Jews and existing tattoos.

The rest of the chapter, and what Christians do with it

The same chapter has Leviticus 19:19 on mixed seed, animals and fabric, and 19:27 on the edges of the beard. Most Christian traditions do not keep those in their ancient form, and many keep 19:33 to 37, the command to love the foreigner. Reformed and evangelical commentators often separate the moral, ceremonial and civil parts of the Old Law and treat tattooing as ceremonial or contextual; other strict interpreters read 19:28 as a continuing moral command. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says the Old Law prepares for the Gospel and is fulfilled in Christ (paragraphs 1961 to 1964), and its paragraphs 2288 to 2291 speak of health and temperance without mentioning tattoos. In Acts 15:19-29 the apostles ask Gentile converts to abstain from idols, blood, strangled animals and sexual immorality and lay "no greater burden" on them, and Galatians 3:25 says "we are no longer under a tutor."

Other verses are cited too. Paul writes "your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit" in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, in an argument about sexual immorality; some Christians use it against tattooing, others keep it to that setting. Revelation 19:16 has a name written on a rider's garment and thigh. Isaiah 44:5 and 49:16 use writing with the hand and engraving on the palms as images of belonging and memory, and in Galatians 6:17 Paul bears "the marks of the Lord Jesus," which commentators generally connect with the scars of suffering. These speak of belonging written on a body, and none addresses tattooing directly.

Christian tattooing has its own history

The Smithsonian reports small crosses on the inner forearms of Egyptian Copts, and also that tattoos were later regarded as disfiguring the image of God and banned by Emperor Constantine, in different times and places. Time Out Jerusalem and the Razzouk family describe Coptic wrist crosses and a Jerusalem pilgrimage tradition; Wassim Razzouk says a pilgrim's visit "leaves a mark on their soul, so that they want to leave a mark on their body as well." The Museum of Sicanje calls the Catholic Croat tradition of sicanje centuries old, though its age is debated.

For a memorial tattoo, Leviticus 19:28 names cutting "for the dead," and many people today understand a name or a date on their skin as remembrance rather than an ancient mourning rite. The verse does not describe a modern memorial tattoo.

What the traditions say now

• Catholic. The Catechism does not name tattoos, and Catholic writers commonly consider a tattoo's content, intention and health risk.
• Orthodox. Practice varies by jurisdiction, priest and bishop. Someone posted on Reddit in r/OrthodoxChristianity on 2024-04-03, "There isn't an official stance on tattoos, so it varies from person to person, priest to priest and bishop to bishop", and on 2020-07-19 the same subreddit quoted a priest, "The most important tattoo is what is tattooed on your heart."
• Evangelical. GotQuestions treats 19:28 as the main text and applies conscience, motive and content. A stricter evangelical reading applies the verse directly.
• Latter-day Saints. For the Strength of Youth discourages tattoos as a church standard for its own members.

For any one church, ask its own priest or pastor.

In people's own words

Pew Research Center surveyed 8,519 U.S. adults in July 2023: 32 percent have at least one tattoo, 22 percent more than one, including 41 percent of religiously unaffiliated adults and 29 percent of affiliated adults. Tattooed people sit in every pew.

These voices all come from Reddit's r/OrthodoxChristianity, one subreddit and one tradition. One wrote in 2025, "My priest has tattoos. I have tattoos. It’s not a big deal." Another wrote in 2026, "I have one tattoo and my priest likes it," and a 2024 reply said, "No it isn’t a ‘sin’, especially since you got it as an inquirer and you didn’t know…" A 2025 comment landed the other way, "The Lord made us in His image, and you are drawing with permanent marker over His creation," which turns a body into a verdict. Some lines in the site's own wording: "Tell me what it means to you." "I'm glad you told me; I'm not thinking less of you." To a teenager: "Walk me through why this design, and let's sleep on it."

A design on paper.

If you regret a tattoo, removal is a service and not a requirement. The American Academy of Dermatology says laser treatment is commonly used and can take multiple treatments, and the NHS calls it a specialist procedure and says complete removal is not always possible.

Where to go next

Tonight, read Psalm 103:8-12 once, aloud, with the question above, and if a person at church or home is the weight, choose one conversation with someone you trust. Bible Nudge gives a person one passage with the story around it, and Find a passage is where to start.

If guilt about a tattoo, a loss or an old life turns into something heavier, please reach a person. In the United States, call or text 988 for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. In Canada, call or text 9-8-8 at 988.ca. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans is on 116 123. In Australia, Lifeline is 13 11 14. Anywhere else, Find A Helpline lists lines by country.