What Explains Getting a Tattoo? Religious Beliefs in Body Adornment

Abstract

Since the 1970's, tattooing has become increasingly popular in American society, explanations for this phenomenon include expressing individuality and gaining acceptance into a subculture (Gagne 2009). Although research has demonstrated that spirituality influences tattooing practices (Swartz 2006), few studies explore the intersection between Christian beliefs and tattoos (Scheinfeld 2007). My research focuses on the relationship between tattooing practices and the changing values of 18 to 30 year old active Christians Greenville, NC. An active Christian is defined as a person who participates in his or her faith community at least 3 times a month. A class project during a previous semester had facilitated the proposal development, including literature review of tattoos and Christianity and the design of the data collection instrument, asking questions on personal faith, bible verse interpretations, tattoo stereotypes, tattoo symbolism, and opinions about tattoos. Data was collected using a semi-structured interview instrument asking open-ended questions, including free-listing tasks. To increase comparability, all informants were recruited from the same a non-denominational Christian organization in Greenville, NC. A quota sample was employed to reflect differences by gender and preference for tattoos. I interviewed eight females with tattoos, eight males with tattoos, eight females without tattoos, and eight males without tattoos. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. The resulting text was coded using a grounded theory approach, logging discoveries about frequencies and co-occurrences of themes in AtlasTi software and SPSS statistics software to establish similarities and differences between study participants. This project aims to present a model of Christian beliefs and values that explain the choice for or against a tattoo.