ST: Tattoos and Religion

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

This course explores tattoos as a religious practice, from a sociological perspective. There are no previous requirements for this class; we will read some sociology classic authors during the course. We start analyzing the relevance of tattoos in today’s society and search how sociologists of religion have understood tattoos so far. Later, we study tattoos from a lived religious perspective. Students will explore the history of religious tattoos in the Western world and the influences of other spiritual traditions on Western tattoos. As with many human creations, tattoos have also a ‘dark side’. They have been used as a tool of punishment. In that context, we will critically study religious mandates about tattoos. We will investigate contemporary religious, and spiritual tattoos in the U.S., the Americas, and Europe. After paying attention to the role of tattooists, we will explore sociological theories to discuss who has the power to define what is religion and what is not.