Christians, Porn and Culture




Is a porn platform plank just pandering to religious conservatives or is there a problem?

There’s a problem. But who should do what?

Republicans provided a 2016 political platform and porn is a part of the final document.

According to Judith Shulevitz writing in the New York Times (July 16, 2016), efforts to restrict access to porn have not fared well. Some attempts at legislation in the U.S. fell to First Amendment rights concerns. Software filters are not powerful or pervasive enough to limit exposure to porn for children. In the end, Shulevitz draws our attention to examples of current trends in porn and challenges parents—especially liberal parents—to consider what their children will be viewing at age 11—the average age of exposure to internet porn.

The Politics of Porn

Given Christian concerns about sexuality in the culture, it’s no surprise to see sexual issues arise in the Republican party where significant numbers of evangelicals find a political home. The question is, what about porn makes it a political issue?

I think Shulevitz has a point. Porn is a problem—at least the protection of children from exposure to porn is a social issue of concern to many parents. We limit speech rights when it comes to inciting violence or threats of harm. We have reasonable evidence that at least some forms of porn pose psychological harm. Reviewing the scientific evidence, or even funding new studies aimed at identifying the porn-harm connection, might be a reasonable path for legislatures to consider in dealing with porn in the United States. Government can also offer grants to support better filtering technology. Obviously, people with advanced technical skills will find ways around most digital controls, but that ought not to stop governments from trying to limit access.

Christians and porn

Instead of looking to government for assistance, Christians have resources available online to help them understand the problem and install software controls. There are controls on browsers and smart TVs. The limitations are not perfect but they are available. Keeping computers in public places in the home has been used by some though I do not know how effective that is.

Children will be exposed to porn regardless of what parents do. So, a comprehensive sex-education program is needed. You will need to start early. If your church does not address the issue, then consider a book study with other parents as a way to start a discussion. Think broadly about sexuality, morality, and culture (a not subtle hint at my book A House Divided). Then consider more details about a sex education program (see Chapter 7; More resources below).

Here’s a suggestion. Don’t lie to children about biblical morality and sexuality. Intelligent youth will see through the often flimsy arguments in Christian sex books and end up tossing the whole purity speech in the toilet. Honesty requires us to deal with the troubling stories in the Bible. And a sound program requires grounding in principles of morality, virtue ethics, and an appreciation of weighing real (not trumped up) consequences of risky sex.

Psychological Science and Porn

Human sexuality has been studied by psychologists for decades. Obviously, sexuality is not simply a biological process. The full range of psychological dimensions of functioning may be added to the biology of sex—thinking, feeling, personality, and social context. And I would add to these, the spiritual dimension.

The American Psychological Association (2014) has an online article you may wish to read because it includes some statistics. The article summarizes some studies revealing differences in how men and women use porn. It also reviews research suggesting how porn use interferes with relationships. Problems of intimacy and depression exist for some users.

The APA article discusses “porn addiction” or better "compulsive pornography use." In one study by Valerie Voon, the brains of compulsive porn users resembled the brains of alcoholics. Scientists debate the nature of the problem but that does not mean a problem does not exist. Here’s a quote from the article: Whether or not pornography is a diagnosable addiction, it's clear it hurts some people.

References and Resources


My book, A House Divided: Sexuality, Morality, & Christian Cultures is available from the publisher at https://wipfandstock.com/a-house-divided-13548.html  FREE copies are available to reviewers and teachers.  It is also available at a low priced Kindle book from Amazon.

I have provided a FREE study guide, which you can download from the book’s web page. https://sites.google.com/site/dividedchristians/resources


Here’s the link to the APA article on porn http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/04/pornography.aspx
  
The National Association of Evangelicals has an online booklet available "Theology of Sex." http://nae.net/theology-of-sex/  

A documentary that includes Voon's research on porn addiction is available on line along with other research studies from Cambridge University. The film is titled, "Your Brain on Porn." http://yourbrainonporn.com/porn-brain-documentary-uk-channel-4 






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