- Authors: Irza Meliana
- From: Center for Religion and Cross Cultural Studies Graduate School of Universitas Gadjah Mada
Abstract:
This paper will elaborate about tattoo and Christianity, which is more concern on the way tattooed Christians negotiate their tattoo within the debate on tattooing practice. In some Christian denominations, they have different perspective on tattooing pract ice. In one hand they interpret that tattoo is prohibited in Christianity and they usually justify the tattoo prohibition through some verses in Holy Bible, which is the most used verse to legitimate the prohibition on tattooing is in Leviticus 19: 28. Moreover, some use 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20 as well. In the other hand, some Christians say that the verses do not have a big deal with term of tattoo; it is because they more take a look in the historical context of the verses’ passage. Regarding to some perspectives that tattoo is prohibited in Christianity; it makes tattooed persons become marginalized and less-religious person. In contrary, tattooed Christians have their own perspective about religious matter and see the verses in different way. Based on the concept of everyday religion from Ammerman’s writing, she seeks to the counter traditional of religion with “non-expert” experiences in term of religion. The way tattooed people explain their commitment to get religious tattoo symbol on their body is seen the creed as Christian. Within the emergence of debate on tattooing practice in Christianity, tattooed people have encounter argument that actually they already got their spirituality through their commitment as a tattooed person and they already religious in their own way through “mundane stuff”.
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