Using swear words?

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Other posters have raised good points.

But I do wonder, why then is using bad/vulgar/inappropriate/indecent language listed under venial sins on various examinations of conscience, which can be found by googling.
 
Finally, profanity itself is wrong, even though such words may not specifically involve the name of God. God gave mankind the gift of language which should be used positively. Language should build good relationships with other individuals, and enable people to share their lives intimately with each other. Sadly, more and more, we hear in normal conversation profanity especially those four letter words, like s*** and f***. We also hear people speak profanely about good and holy topics; for example, they profane human sexuality or the act of marital love. Such language is not only negative, vulgar, impolite and offensive, but also debases the dignity of each human being. Moreover, this language reveals not only a person’s bad attitude and lack of respect for others, but also his own immaturity and insecurity in dealing with others. In using these words, the person builds barriers rather than bridges with another person.

Source: Why is bad language a sin?
 
This is splitting hairs a bit in my humble opinion but dont use words that are obviously offensive in your own culture. If travelling and you say something that offends then apologise. This seldom not accepted. Tourists are given leeway even in countries where we speak the same language. I think it’s an act of charity and kindness to train yourself not to swear at all and therefore a venial sin to swear on purpose or to be careless as to your use of such words. In the UK it is actually an offence against the Queens peace (technically) though in order to be prosecuted it would require further acts against the peace.
 
I mourn for the beautiful colourful poetic language we possess every time I hear someone expressing themselves in expletives.
 
There is cursing, profanity, and vulgarity.

Cursing is wishing evil on someone by ones words.
Profanity is using sacred language carelessly, or in anger, or impatience.
Vulgarity bad language as some of the words you gave an example for.

We always want to speak the truth and use good words. I would say using the word “Gosh” which is a derivative of God would be worse than saying a vulgar word.
 
In my case, my mouth is clean, but that’s because I don’t speak the words that are sometimes running thru my mind in reaction to whatever is happening. Frequently the words are not even in English, so nobody around here would understand them if I did say them. My second language is Russian, and Russian has a vast reservoir of некультурные слова – uncultured words.

D
 
It is possible to express anger, surprise, or excitement without the use of profane language. 🧐
But, we all struggle at times. 🤬
All we can do is try to amend the way we speak. 😇
And of course, there is always confession when we misspeak. 🙂
 
I’d say that if one bad word slips out, you’re not going to hell. I certainly would advise against making it a habit, though.
 
Here’s the problem with the “relativism is bad” argument: it erases our ability to work with our own culture. We can easily see over the years and places that what is considered a bad word changes. When “s**t” entered the English language, for example, it was simply a term for excrement. Obviously there was nothing immoral about saying it then. It’s only culture that tells us what is considered vulgar.

The Biblical standard that we must be charitable in our speech is immutable. But how that plays out is situational.
 
Theresalux said:
Clearly using the Lords name in vain would constitute a sin, but what about lesser words?

Like “what the h* ll?” “Aww da* m!” Or “sh*t!”
Clearly we recognize these words to be impolite, but is there any sin attached to using these words?
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Depending on the context, I would think possibly venial sins, although vulgar words such as, “sh*t” or sexual swear words could get dangerously close to the line (in my opinion). Vulgar swear words are best avoided, I think, but I don’t think substituting, “gosh”, “cripes”, “heck”, “blimey” etc is an issue.
 
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stpurl said:
??? Can’t imagine an appropriate setting for vulgar words, really.

Of course, I’m a woman. An older woman. OTOH, I can’t think of any really manly men who would curse in front of women and children. . .and frankly, not even in front of other men. What words ‘require’ or are enhanced by the use of vulgarity? Really? What satisfaction does a person get from using that kind of language? The thrill that, “my mommy wouldn’t let me say this when I was 5, but now that I’m 15, 25, 35, 95, I CAN say it, I’m the boss, yippee?”

And for women, come on, sisters. . .dropping F-bombs (even if you served in the navy and ARE a sailor), makes you ‘as good as the guys’ because you have “my mommy wouldn’t let me say this” issues too?

Some of the best, most important, most heart-tugging, or funniest, pieces in languages world over .amazingly. . .contain no swear words, no crude vulgarities. Isn’t it incredible --manly men could express themselves in situations that would bring today’s metrosexual to his knees in agony. . .and do so without crudity. Women could express themselves in language clear as crystal and strong as steel. . .without anything ‘off-color’.

What happened???
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Oh no - for mine one of the funniest movie scenes ever is in ‘4 Weddings and a Funeral’ when Hugh Grants character is running late for a wedding where he is best man - a couple.of.minutes of pretty solid profanity, but hilarious in the context of the scene. We’ve all felt it if not said it.

And can anyone imagine Rhett Butler saying anything other than "frankly my dear I dont give a d–’ ? No polite terms would so well express how.fed up he must have been with Scarlett at that point.
 
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Theresalux said:
Ok, the consensus would say that using such words is uncharitable at least, and potentially venially sinful at most.

Next question, could any amount of this type of swearing constitute a mortal sin?
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Most likely if you direct the vulgar words toward God. F-bombing God would most likely be considered a mortal sin (unless you suffer some medical condition like Asperger syndrome).
 
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Theresalux said:
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rosejmj:
I doubt there is mortal sin involved unless you were using them to blasphème. In and of themselves the words are not sinful. They are just more vulgar, but I think it would be scrupulous to think it a sin if you just did it out if frustration or if you stubbed a toe or something.
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I’m thinking more so in a conversation I had recently. I was becoming frustrated with my mom and I angrily said “well what the h*** (and then the rest of sentence that is currently unimportant)?!”

I rarely use foul language around her and I later apologized for my language, but I can’t help but feeling bad about it. It was out of frustration and slight anger with her about something that transpired and I felt like using a swear would express my displeasure. Poor choice of words.
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That would be a venial sin of not honoring your mother and father. I wouldn’t consider it a mortal sin but a venial sin that you probably should bring up next time you go to confession.
 
I would include both. Yes, those who suffer from Tourette’s Syndrome curse uncontrollably but those suffering from Asperger Syndrome will also use curse words at very inappropriate times not knowing any better but not as frequently as those who suffer from Tourette’s Syndrome.
 
Well in my opinion i think swearing is completly wrong because that mess up our character we as people can do it withoud it to and you know why?

because when we pray for it that this stops its possible to completly remove cussing from our language indeed it is

here s what i learned when i saw on our Croatian sites

it said that we should pray to our lord like this

He also offers a “recipe” to counter the evil, and that is-prayer.

-Tell each day say de set, twenty times: ‘Jesus, release me from the swearing!’ And ‘Blessed Name of Jesus!’ go and get rid of this plague and God bless you to come to you - says vlc. Radigović. this is from Croatian priest message and here s what it says about bad language

Lack of emotional intelligence
  • Psovanje (swearing) is emotionally negative behavior. This is a lack of emotional intelligence. In other words, when people get into a state of affairs this means that they do not know how to handle their own negative emotions in a convenient manner - says psychologist Josip Burusic.
 
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I’ve pretty much weaned myself of bad language. But if the hammer hits my thumb, I’m not responsible for what I might say!
 
I can imagine Rhett (a Southern gentleman at heart) showing precisely how ‘fed up’ and drained he was by not even exerting himself to use bad language. IOW, that she meant so little to him that he was totally indifferent to her. That she wouldn’t be ‘worth’ the language. “Frankly, my dear, I could not care less”, in a tone of ‘you’re a woman so I’m polite as a matter of habit’ would have been devastating. However, Rhett probably still did care. For the persona of the fictitious character created by Margaret Mitchell that ‘character’ would have rejected Scarlett by his use of bad language, but in the fact that she still could move him to such a depth of rejection would seem to indicate he did care. The opposite of love- is indifference, not hate,
 
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