Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Get Tattoos?

There is no rule against it, but Witness publications discourage tattoos. Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that the Law of Moses, which banned tattoos in Leviticus 19:28, does not bind Christians. Still, jw.org calls the principle behind that law “worth serious consideration,” and asks anyone thinking about a tattoo to weigh modesty, motives and permanence first.

So the choice is left to each person, and the questions Witnesses are taught to ask go past the skin. Why do I want this? What will it say to the people around me? Paul asks Christians to present their bodies to God as “a living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1), and a tattoo, unlike nearly everything else we put on, does not come off at night.

Does Leviticus 19:28 apply to Jehovah’s Witnesses?

Not as a law. Leviticus 19:28 reads, in the Witnesses’ New World Translation: “You must not make cuts in your flesh for a dead person, and you must not make tattoo markings on yourselves. I am Jehovah.” It is the only verse in the Bible that mentions tattoos.

Witnesses explain the command by its setting. Their Bible encyclopedia, Insight on the Scriptures, says that Egyptians at times “tattooed the names or symbols of their deities on their breast or arms,” and that by keeping the law “not to disfigure their bodies, the Israelites would have stood out as different from other nations.” It adds that the ban taught “a proper respect for the human body as God’s creation.” Deuteronomy 14:2 gives the reason for Israel’s being different: “you are a holy people to Jehovah your God.”

Witnesses hold that Christ’s death ended the Law, since he “erased the handwritten document that consisted of decrees” (Colossians 2:14). An Awake! article of September 22, 2003, drew the line this way: “While Christians today are not under the Law of Moses, the prohibition it laid on tattooing is sobering.” It warned readers against any marking, “even temporarily,” that would “smack of paganism or false worship.”

What Bible principles do Witnesses apply to tattoos?

The jw.org answer “What Does the Bible Say About Tattoos?” points to three passages:

• Modesty: women should adorn themselves “with modesty” (1 Timothy 2:9). jw.org says the principle “applies to both women and men,” and that Christians “should respect the feelings of others and not draw undue attention to ourselves.”
• Motives: Paul asks Christians to present their bodies as “a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, a sacred service with your power of reason” (Romans 12:1). jw.org uses the verse to ask why a person wants a tattoo, and tells anyone who wants one to follow a fad or show membership in a group that “your feelings may prove to be less permanent than the tattoo.”
• Haste: “The plans of the diligent surely lead to success, but all who are hasty surely head for poverty” (Proverbs 21:5). jw.org notes that a tattoo decided in haste can affect relationships and employment, and that tattoos “can be costly and painful to remove.”

The Young People Ask article “Should I Get a Tattoo?” adds 1 Peter 3:3, 4, which tells Christians to let their adornment be “the secret person of the heart,” and Colossians 3:20, on obeying parents, for teenagers still living at home. An Awake! article of August 8, 2000, suggested that a Christian ask: “Even if my conscience were to allow it, what effect would my piercing or tattoo have on others within the congregation?” The same article said that those “who qualify to take the lead in the congregation” should be known for “moderate habits, soundness of mind, and reasonableness” (1 Timothy 3:2, 3).

What practical warnings do Witness publications give?

Health comes first. The Young People Ask article quotes the Mayo Clinic: “Tattoos breach the skin, which means that skin infections and other complications are possible,” including bumps called granulomas and raised scars called keloids, and contaminated equipment can pass on bloodborne diseases. The 2000 Awake! linked unsanitary needles with the spread of hepatitis and HIV.

The articles also ask whether a person will always like the design. They point out that weight gain and aging can stretch a tattoo, that tastes and affections change while the tattoo does not, and that “the booming business of tattoo removal” shows how many people come to regret one.

Can a Jehovah’s Witness have tattoos?

Yes. Some Witnesses were tattooed before they joined. The 2003 Awake! quoted one, Amy: “I got a tattoo before learning about Jehovah. I try to keep it covered. When others in the congregation happen to see it, I feel embarrassed.” The jw.org articles on tattoos treat the matter as a personal decision to be made by reasoning on Bible principles, and none of them speaks of congregation discipline for a tattoo. They do warn against any marking that suggests paganism or false worship.

How do other Christians view tattoos?

The Catholic Church has no law against tattoos. Writing for Catholic Answers in 2013, Matt Fradd said that “in principle, the Church does not oppose tattoos,” and compared Leviticus 19:28 to the ban on garments woven from two kinds of material in Leviticus 19:19, a ceremonial rule that Christians do not keep. He advised against images that are immoral or opposed to Christian teaching.

Protestants are divided over whether tattoos are sinful. A 2005 article in the Christian Research Journal noted that “traditionally, Christians have viewed tattoos as immoral,” while arguing itself that tattoos “are in themselves neither moral nor immoral” and that believers should first be led by their consciences.

Amy still has her tattoo, and she keeps it covered. Whatever is on the skin, the adornment Peter asks of every Christian is one no needle can reach: “the secret person of the heart” (1 Peter 3:3, 4).

Related reading

• Bible verses about tattoos
• How Jehovah’s Witnesses dress
• A Christian reader’s guide to Jehovah’s Witnesses
• What Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Believe?