“You came into the world without one, so you should leave the world without one, your body belongs to God and you must not defile it.” It is normal for a tattooed person to feel this whenever they are in a conversation or debate with someone who is totally against tattoos. For a religious person, such actions of marking and cutting the skin are often considered a sin and deface the art of God. Since the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, it must be treated with respect, and modifying the body is an act of sin. Every person has the right to say what they want and believe what they want to believe. It's sad to think that there are times when some people can truly be so ignorant and so critical of the choices of others, especially when the choices made were opposite to their beliefs. Other members of our society still view people with tattoos negatively. In the current generation, there are still conflicting perceptions about tattoos, people who wear them are often negatively stereotyped. Yes, the popularity of tattoos has grown over the years, but that doesn't take away from the fact that people with tattoos are still looked down upon. Having grown up in a Catholic family, in a religious community, and in a country that has the third largest Catholic citizens of the world, in the Philippines, it is easy to get used to being around people who express their religious beliefs very openly. Considering this context, tattoos are still considered taboo, which is hard to believe because tattooing has been a part of our culture since the early 1900s, since pre-Hispanic colonization, in several tribes where tattoos were a representation of rank and achievement. So why do you... middle of paper... the piercings she wears. These changes only alter the person's external appearance, not his characteristics, not his moral qualities. Works Cited Bahadosingh, Sharon. "Some religions ban tattoos." Body piercing and tattoos. Ed. Sharon Bahadosingh. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. In question. Rpt. from "Young People Ask Me: Should I Get a Tattoo?" www.safepiercing.org. 2003. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Network. March 14, 2014.Phillips, Melanie. “Body modification is a sign of cultural depravity.” Self-mutilation. Ed. Mary E. Williams. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Why I Regret Anne's Facelift (and Beckham's Tattoo)." Daily Mail 24 May 2004: 10. Opposing views in context. Network. March 19, 2014.Leo, Giovanni. “The modern primitives”. Mirror on America. Ed. Leasa Burton. New York: Bedford St. Martins, 2012. 160-162