Q. When is drinking alcohol sinful?
A. Every question regarding morality can always be answered using the same method, namely, looking at the Object (the action itself), the Intention (why the action is being taken), and the Circumstances (the factors that surround the action). So, let’s walk through the process and see where we end up.
Starting with the object, that is, the consuming of alcohol, the consumption of alcoholic beverages is not inherently evil. Scripture warns repeatedly against drunkenness (more about that later) but also makes clear consuming alcohol can be done without committing a sin. While there are many examples of this, the clearest is that our Lord turned water into wine. He would not have done this if drinking wine was a sin. He would have then just materially contributed to the sinfulness of everyone in attendance which, given His whole mission was freeing humanity from Sin, seems like a very strange thing to do.
So we know that consuming alcohol is, at a minimum, morally neutral. (There are many, many quotes from saints extolling wine and beer as morally good, but we can settle on morally neutral.) Therefore, we move on to intention. This is where things get more complicated.
The best example of a morally permissible intention for consuming alcohol is enjoying the taste. Many people (myself included) enjoy the taste of certain types of alcohol, the same way people enjoy the taste of different kinds of food. Drinking is not about the feeling of inebriation or to help relax, but simply because it tastes good. It is why some barbecue sauces or other foods sometimes contain alcohol They are unique flavors that are enjoyable. Drinking to enjoy the taste of a drink that happens to be alcoholic is certainly at least morally neutral.
On the flip side, drinking to get drunk is certainly not at least morally neutral but is in fact evil. Consuming anything to deliberately lose our ability to exercise the gift of reason that God gave us is contrary to our good as human beings and is a mortal sin. It puts us in the occasion of sin by reducing our ability to make accurate judgements about right and wrong and can very easily lead us to do things or say things we would not normally do or say. Feeling “buzzed” is the body’s way of saying you have had enough, and if we deliberately push past that point, then we have freely chosen sin.
Deliberate drunkenness is also almost always tied to a desire to mask negative emotions. Stress, anger, sadness, loneliness, etc. all feel bad. Getting drunk is a way to take those away, at least for a time. Drunkenness is destructive not just because of the loss of reason, but because it keeps us from confronting our negative emotions and dealing with them in a healthy way through the grace of God. Getting drunk solves nothing and only creates more problems.
It can – and does – happen that someone gets drunk accidently or, rather, unintentionally. This can be because they drank without eating, or a drink was stronger than expected. This is very different from getting deliberately drunk and is not a mortal sin. It could be venial if we became drunk due to a lack of prudence on our part, but in general, if it was truly unintentional, it is not sinful.
We are left then with the circumstances. Circumstances “contribute to increasing or diminishing the moral goodness or evil of human acts… circumstances of themselves cannot change the moral quality of acts themselves; they can make neither good nor right an action that is in itself evil.” Circumstances cannot make a bad act good. Telling yourself it’s okay for you to get drunk because you had a hard day – even if you had a hard day – does not make it okay.
While it might seem like age is a circumstance, in the context of examining the morality of consuming alcohol, drinking under the legal limit changes the object of the act from consuming alcohol to breaking a just law. Much can be said about what makes a law just (that’s an article for another day) but for now, let’s just all agree that a government has the right to establish a drinking age for its citizens, and since the law does not force action contrary to the Good or prohibit pursuing the Good, it is just. Therefore, drinking when prohibited by law is sinful, not because of the inherent act of consuming alcohol while being a certain age, but because a just law has been violated.
This question was answered by Father Caleb La Rue, chancellor of the Diocese of Lincoln. Write to Ask the Register using our online form, or write to 3700 Sheridan Blvd., Suite 10, Lincoln NE 68506-6100. All questions are subject to editing. Editors decide which questions to publish. Personal questions cannot be answered. People with such questions are urged to take them to their nearest Catholic priest.
