The Seven Sins

• The Seven Deadly Sins are pride, avarice, lust, anger, gluttony, envy and sloth.
  
  

History

• Lists of serious sins are found in the biblical Book of Proverbs and St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians. The list of Seven Deadly Sins was formulated by Pope St. Gregory the Great (c. 540 to 604).
  
  

Theology

• In Catholic theology, the Seven Deadly Sins are offenses against God that often cause a proclivity to go on sinning. According the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "This results in perverse inclinations which cloud conscience and corrupt the concrete judgment of good and evil."
  
  

The Seven Virtues

• To combat the Seven Deadly Sins, theologians have urged believers to cultivate the Seven Virtues: humility, kindness, abstinence, chastity, patience, liberality and diligence.
  
  

Popular Culture

• References to the Seven Deadly Sins can be found in Dante's "Inferno," Chaucer's "The Pardoner's Tale," and Marlowe's play "Doctor Faustus." In the 1995 film "Seven," Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt track a serial killer whose murders are inspired by the Seven Deadly Sins.