Religiously Speaking, is there such a thing as Good Plastic Surgery and Bad?

Here you are, three months after having given birth to twins, feeling special and motherly and grateful for every moment you are alive. Except for when you get to see the effect that the experience has had on your abdomen. What used to be a firm, flat, and admirable abdomen, is now definitely squishy. You do know that Hollywood actresses make a point of proving that they are still in the game after a baby by taking up projects that show a good bit of skin. You certainly don't have the stomach for that kind of an exercise regimen (or the cash for a personal trainer). And then it occurs to you - maybe those Hollywood actresses have recourse to more than just a good personal trainer. Maybe they have access to good plastic surgery as well. Couldn't you do that as well? How bad could a tummy tuck procedure be? Even Oprah says that cosmetic surgery is nothing that women should be guilty about.

What does religion have to say about plastic surgery though? Even in this day and age, with everyone seemingly in hot pursuit of a good plastic surgery practitioner, conscientious objectors do exist. And for good reason. If you happen to be religious, in general, religion doesn't take a wholly liberal view of plastic surgery. Spending thousands of dollars on vanity, altering one's God-given body, are all looked down upon by religious authorities (even if, understandably, the Scripture has nothing specific to say about plastic surgery).

If altering one's God-given body is where the problem is, one does wonder why the church doesn't have anything to say about coloring one's hair or putting on perfume. It could be because pursuing plastic surgery needs a lot more personal determination than coloring one's hair. You have to accept the risk of death - that's how intent on personal vanity you need to be to accept plastic surgery. Actually, a tummy tuck is supposed to be one of the most risky cosmetic procedures on Earth.

Major religions, Catholicism, Islam and Buddhism, seem to have a particularly nuanced view of cosmetic surgery. Basically, Islamic clerics are okay with good plastic surgery – which would mean surgery that helps a person gain back normal function. Surgery for mastectomy or surgery after a burn accident would make for good examples. As far as vanity surgery goes, the Catholic Church doesn't ban it. They leave it to one's personal sense of right or wrong. Buddhism, surprisingly, for a liberal religion, specifically terms it an offense. But they are completely okay with body piercings and tattoos.

Basically, the major American religions don't dismiss cosmetic surgery out of hand. While the major religions don't exactly approve of vanity, as with any other personal decision, you get quite a bit of leeway.