Mortal vs Venial Sin: The Difference, With Examples

1. What Is the Difference Between Mortal and Venial Sin?

The difference between mortal and venial sin is the difference between turning away from God and stumbling on the way to him. The Catechism puts it this way: "Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God's law; it turns man away from God." Venial sin "allows charity to subsist, even though it offends and wounds it" (CCC 1855).

The distinction comes from Scripture. John tells his readers to pray for a brother who sins, and then draws a line: "There is sin which is mortal... All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not mortal" (1 John 5:16-17). The Church has kept that line ever since (CCC 1854).

Think of a marriage. A sharp word at dinner hurts, and it needs an apology, and the marriage carries on. Adultery breaks the covenant itself. Venial sin is the sharp word. Mortal sin is the walking out.

2. What Makes a Sin Mortal?

A sin is mortal when three conditions are all present at once. The Catechism states them in one sentence: "Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent" (CCC 1857).

Take away any one of the three and the sin is venial. A grave act done in genuine ignorance, or under real pressure, or half asleep, is still a wrong act, and it does not carry the full weight of a mortal sin. The Catechism lists what can lessen responsibility: ignorance you could not help, strong feelings and passions, outside pressure, and some psychological conditions (CCC 1860). Fear, habit and duress can do the same (CCC 1735).

Two warnings keep this honest. Ignorance you chose does not count: "feigned ignorance and hardness of heart do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin" (CCC 1859). And while we can judge that an act is gravely wrong, the Church tells us to leave the judgment of persons, our own included, to "the justice and mercy of God" (CCC 1861).

3. Examples of Mortal Sins

These are examples of grave matter that the Catechism names directly. Each becomes a mortal sin when it is also done with full knowledge and deliberate consent.

• Murder, including abortion and euthanasia (CCC 2268, 2271, 2277).
• Adultery and fornication (CCC 2380, 2353).
• Pornography, making it or using it (CCC 2354). See overcoming pornography.
• Deliberately missing Sunday Mass without a serious reason such as illness or caring for an infant (CCC 2181). See missing Sunday Mass.
• Blasphemy, which the Catechism calls "in itself a grave sin" (CCC 2148).
• Theft of something significant, and fraud (CCC 2408-2409).
• Calumny: lying about someone to wreck their reputation (CCC 2477, 2479).
• Drunkenness that endangers others, such as driving drunk (CCC 2290).
• Anger that wants someone dead or seriously hurt, which the Catechism calls a mortal sin (CCC 2302).
• Envy that wishes grave harm on another person (CCC 2539).

Paul gives his own lists of works that shut a person out of the kingdom, including sexual immorality, idolatry, sorcery, drunkenness and envy (Galatians 5:19-21; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10). He writes them as a warning to Christians, and in the same letter he reminds the Corinthians that some of them had done these things and were washed clean (1 Corinthians 6:11).

4. Examples of Venial Sins

Venial sins are the everyday failures of love: real sins in a lighter matter, or grave matter without full knowledge or consent (CCC 1862). Typical examples:

• A white lie to avoid an awkward moment. See whether lying is a sin.
• Losing your temper and snapping at someone.
• Gossip about small things, or a little unkind teasing. See gossip and detraction.
• Impatience, grumbling and petty jealousy.
• Rushing through prayers, or being distracted at Mass through carelessness.
• Eating or drinking a bit more than you should.
• Small acts of laziness at work or at home.
• Using bad language in a moment of frustration. See swearing and cursing.

Is there a list of seven venial sins?

The Church has no official list of seven venial sins. The famous list of seven is the seven deadly or capital sins: pride, greed, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony and sloth (CCC 1866). They are called capital because other sins grow from them, and each one can be venial or mortal depending on the act. Our guide to the seven deadly sins takes each one in turn.

5. Is It Mortal or Venial? Common Cases

Most of the questions people actually ask are about acts that can be either, depending on how serious the matter is and how freely it was chosen. Here is how the Catechism draws the line on the ones we hear most.

On gambling: people often ask whether gambling is one of the seven deadly sins. It is not on that list. It falls under greed and justice, and the line the Catechism draws is whether it takes what your family needs (CCC 2413). If you are past that line, the free gambling cost calculator and quit plan is the place to start.

On lying: a lie is venial in itself and becomes mortal when it does grave injury to justice and charity (CCC 2484). Our guide on lying works through white lies, lies in marriage and the hard cases.

6. Why Does Venial Sin Still Matter?

Venial sin matters because small sins left alone grow into big ones. The Catechism says deliberate venial sin that we do not repent of "disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin" (CCC 1863). It weakens charity and slows down the soul's progress in virtue.

St. Augustine, quoted in the same paragraph, warns against shrugging off light sins: "if you take them for light when you weigh them, tremble when you count them. A number of light objects makes a great mass; a number of drops fills a river" (CCC 1863). His answer to the question of what we can hope for is one word: confession.

Venial sin also keeps the same company as our habits. The person who never lies about big things but shades the truth all day is training a reflex. The person who never misses Mass but prays only there is letting the rest of the week drift. A daily look at your own heart, the examination of conscience, is how you catch the small leaks before they become a flood. Our examination of conscience walks through it.

7. How Is Each Kind of Sin Forgiven?

Mortal sin is forgiven in the sacrament of Confession, and venial sin can be forgiven in many ways, Confession among them. The details matter, so here they are plainly.

Mortal sin: go to Confession

Mortal sin "necessitates a new initiative of God's mercy and a conversion of heart which is normally accomplished within the setting of the sacrament of reconciliation" (CCC 1856). Catholics must confess every mortal sin they remember, by kind and roughly how many times (CCC 1456). Anyone aware of a mortal sin should go to Confession before receiving Communion (CCC 1457).

If you cannot get to Confession straight away, do not wait in despair. An act of perfect contrition, sorrow out of love for God together with the firm intention to go to Confession as soon as you can, obtains forgiveness of mortal sins even before you get there (CCC 1452). Pray the Act of Contrition tonight, and book the Confession this week. Our step-by-step guide to Confession covers what to say.

Venial sin: many roads back

Venial sins are forgiven through sincere sorrow and prayer, through acts of charity, and through the Eucharist, which "wipes away venial sins" (CCC 1394). Confessing them is not required. The Church still "strongly recommends" it, because regular Confession of everyday faults "helps us form our conscience, fight against evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ and progress in the life of the Spirit" (CCC 1458).

If you are afraid everything is mortal

Some people read a page like this and come away sure that every bad thought was a mortal sin. If that is you, the problem may be scrupulosity, a well-known affliction that the Church has treated with great gentleness for centuries. Choose one regular confessor, tell him about the fear, and follow his guidance. Our guide to scrupulosity explains the one-confessor rule and where to find real help.

8. How Do Other Christians See the Distinction?

Many Protestants, especially in the Reformed and evangelical traditions, do not use the categories of mortal and venial sin. They point to verses like "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23) and "whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it" (James 2:10), and they teach that every sin deserves death and every sin is covered by Christ for the believer.

The same traditions still teach that sins differ in seriousness. The Westminster Larger Catechism, a founding text of Presbyterianism, answers its own question plainly: "All transgressions of the law of God are not equally heinous; but some sins in themselves, and by reason of several aggravations, are more heinous in the sight of God than others" (Q. 150). See our page on the Westminster Confession. Orthodox Christians also recognise that sins differ in weight, and tend to speak of sin as a sickness to be healed more than a list to be sorted.

The Catholic answer starts from the same Scriptures. Paul says the wages of sin is death, and John says there is sin which is not mortal (1 John 5:17). Jesus himself spoke of a greater sin (John 19:11) and of the speck and the log (Matthew 7:3-5). Catholics hold that both truths stand together: every sin is serious, and some sins break our friendship with God in a way others do not.