Our friends at Ellison Research have recently done some research on sin. (I am skipping the obvious joke that we all have done a lot of personal research on the subject.)

You can read their public studies here. The sin study (with charts indicating percents who agree something is a sin), is particularly interesting and can be found here.

When I grew up (Catholic), I often wondered how the priest would decide the severity of sin and thus the amount of penance. This chart may help... the more people who agree it is sin, the more Hail Marys you should recite for penance. (I always imagined there was a chart on the other side of the confessional wall, so this may actually be the evidence I was seeking.)

And, in case you are wondering who agrees with what sin, below are the sins. Enjoy!

The behaviors a majority of all Americans describe as sinful are:

Adultery 81%

Racism 74%

Using "hard�? drugs such as cocaine, heroine, meth, LSD, etc. 65%

Not saying anything if a cashier gives you too much change back 63%

Having an abortion 56%

Homosexual activity or sex 52%

Not reporting some income on your tax returns 52%

A number of other behaviors are considered sinful by a significant portion of all Americans, although not a majority. These are:

Reading or watching pornography 50%

Gossip 47%

Swearing 46%

Sex before marriage 45%

Homosexual thoughts 44%

Sexual thoughts about someone you are not married to 43%

Doing things as a consumer that harm the environment 41%

Smoking marijuana 41%

Getting drunk 41%

Not taking proper care of your body 35%

Then there are behaviors that fewer than one-third of all Americans see as sinful:

Gambling 30%

Telling a "little white lie�? to avoid hurting someone's feelings 29%

Using tobacco 23%

Not attending church or religious worship services on a regular basis 18%

Playing the lottery 18%

Watching an R-rated movie 18%

Being significantly overweight 17%

Not giving 10% of your income to a church or charity 16%

Drinking any alcohol 14%

Working on Sunday/the Sabbath 14%

Spanking your child when he/she misbehaves 7%

Making a lot of money 4%

Dancing 4%

Interesting that more people consider spanking a sin than consider dancing a sin. They must not have ever seen me disco in the 70's...

The Christian Post has the story here.

Most importantly, sin is sin. God is God. And forgivenes comes through Jesus work on the cross.