Piercing as a sin?

[PerfectTiming]

I was talking with some Christian (not Catholic) friends on another forum sight and many of them expressed the opinion that piercings are sinful. I am half-Brazilian and we pierce girl’s ears at birth, though mine were not done until later due to my mother’s objections. I now have three piercings in each earlobe (and no intention of getting any more piercings), the most recent being a few months old. I’m struggling to find the Catholic teaching on this - can anyone help?

God bless you

 

[01Asian89]

just find your own God! If you are Catholic you should follow the rules catholic follow!
“When in Rome, do as Romans do”

 

[Debora123]

There is no Catholics teaching that says piercings are wrong - meaning you can just use your own common sense on this issue.

A few piercings here and there are completely ok. However, if you get to a point where you are excessively piercing your body, then you are probably closer to being in danger of sinning. Excessive piercing becomes self mutilation and harmful/destructive to the body, which would then classify it as a sin.

Other than that, you’re ok.

 

[catsrus]

If a piercing is a distraction of who you are and/or who you wish to be perceived as, then don’t do it.
For instance, I find it difficult to take seriously anything said by someone with a face full of bars and rings. Worse yet, someone flashing a big silver ball through the tongue while attempting to expound intelligibly on anything cerebral. Professor who?
Or my exSIL who had 10 (yes 10!) piercings in EACH ear.
That was 20 posts and rings I had to try not to notice while speaking to her.
Sorry, just my :twocents:

 

[TimothyH]

There is no Catholics teaching that says piercings are wrong - meaning you can just use your own common sense on this issue.

Debora, the Church may not teach about piercing per se, but it does teach about modesty and pride.

Consider when piercings become a spectacle to others and at that point one is probably being immodest. This falls within the context of the culture and age in which one lives and certainly some cultures will view more peircings as normal while other cultures will view any peircing as abnormal. A cloistered monk peircing himself is not modesty but a nose ring for someone who lives in Greenwich Villiage in New York City may not be immodest at all. In any culture, when one begins to become a spectacle to others, they are not being modest.

Consider what one puts into the piercings as well - accentuating beauty and drawing the eye toward a beautiful face is not a sin. When one has jewelry that says, “Hey everyone, look at me!!!”, that’s nothing but pride.

Piercing yourself to elicit a sexual response from those who look at you (as some do) is certainly not modesty and intentionally inciting lust in another is a sin.

Look around and you will see that most poeple’s common sense is no sense at all. Common sense is hardly the judge of morality. There is an objective moral standard and in the case of peircings, it is modesty.

-Tim-

 

[mdrummer5]

Personally, I don’t consider any piercings a sin. One being a spectacle to others or causing a distraction is just as much the others’ fault for their perception of someone who doesn’t necessarily conform to what most people find acceptable on the contrary I would say that a lot of those people are committing a sin as they are passing judgment. Also, since no piercings are necessary for any reason they are all purely for aesthetics so they would all by the logic of “if it’s pride it’s sinful” be a sin whether it be a woman with solitary diamonds in her earlobes or someone who has 10 piercings in their face. A woman does not need single piercings so why does she have them??? To alter her appearance… to look good… because she takes pride in the way she looks.

 

[Debora123]

Debora, the Church may not teach about piercing per se, but it does teach about modesty and pride.

Consider when piercings become a spectacle to others and at that point one is probably being immodest. This falls within the context of the culture and age in which one lives and certainly some cultures will view more peircings as normal while other cultures will view any peircing as abnormal. A cloistered monk peircing himself is not modesty but a nose ring for someone who lives in Greenwich Villiage in New York City may not be immodest at all. In any culture, when one begins to become a spectacle to others, they are not being modest.

Consider what one puts into the piercings as well - accentuating beauty and drawing the eye toward a beautiful face is not a sin. When one has jewelry that says, “Hey everyone, look at me!!!”, that’s nothing but pride.

Piercing yourself to elicit a sexual response from those who look at you (as some do) is certainly not modesty and intentionally inciting lust in another is a sin.

Look around and you will see that most poeple’s common sense is no sense at all. Common sense is hardly the judge of morality. There is an objective moral standard and in the case of peircings, it is modesty.

-Tim-

There is no specific written rule on this issue for when exactly it becomes a sin. I don’t see why you’re arguing with what I wrote.

You also forgot to add that I said this: “A few piercings here and there are completely ok. However, if you get to a point where you are excessively piercing your body, then you are probably closer to being in danger of sinning. Excessive piercing becomes self mutilation and harmful/destructive to the body, which would then classify it as a sin.”

 

[PerfectTiming]

Consider what one puts into the piercings as well - accentuating beauty and drawing the eye toward a beautiful face is not a sin. When one has jewelry that says, “Hey everyone, look at me!!!”, that’s nothing but pride.

Piercing yourself to elicit a sexual response from those who look at you (as some do) is certainly not modesty and intentionally inciting lust in another is a sin.

Well my piercings are covered by my hair so no-one really even knows about them except my family and a few friends. And I definitely don’t do it for attention or to incite lust. I just like having them.

If a piercing is a distraction of who you are and/or who you wish to be perceived as, then don’t do it.
For instance, I find it difficult to take seriously anything said by someone with a face full of bars and rings. Worse yet, someone flashing a big silver ball through the tongue while attempting to expound intelligibly on anything cerebral. Professor who?
Or my exSIL who had 10 (yes 10!) piercings in EACH ear.
That was 20 posts and rings I had to try not to notice while speaking to her.
Sorry, just my

That is a very good point. My brother is a tattooist and has so many piercings and tattoos it is distasteful and I do not see how if he changes profession anyone will take him seriously.

Thank you all very much for your responses.