Record Number Of Americans Think Porn Is ‘Morally Acceptable’
How many Americans think porn is morally acceptable?
43 percent, according to a Gallup survey, up seven points in a year and the highest since Gallup began that survey in 2011. Among men aged 18 to 49 the figure was 67 percent, and among unmarried people 50 percent. Even 22 percent of those who say religion is very important agreed. Changing attitudes do not change what porn does to the brain or to relationships.
According to a Gallup survey, 43 percent of Americans consider porn to be “morally acceptable”, a seven percent spike from last year and the highest level since Gallup’s Values and Beliefs survey began in 2011.
If this is on your church's radar, start a Conquer Group at your church is worth a look.
According to a new Gallup survey, 43 percent of Americans now consider pornography to be “morally acceptable”
The 2018 survey notes, “Compared with a number of demographic traits or characteristics that help shape a person’s moral perceptions of pornography — including gender, age, importance of religion in one’s life and marital status — two subgroups saw a big year-over-year spike in their acceptance of pornography. These are nonmarried individuals and men aged 18 to 49.”
Join the Conquer Series and help reverse these stats!
The percentage of nonmarried respondents who find porn morally acceptable was 50 percent, an increase of 15 percent. Married individuals accepting porn was at 35 percent.
Gallup reports 67 percent of men aged 18 to 49 said pornography is morally acceptable, up 14 points from 2017. But women’s age categories also revealed higher percentages. Women aged 18 to 49 showed a four-point increase and women 50-and-over jumped seven points.
Related Article: 15 Mind-Blowing Statistics About Pornography And The Church
The survey confirmed that the shifting perceptions of porn also affects the church.
The survey confirmed that the shifting perceptions of porn also affects the church. For those who claim that “religion is very important” to them, 22 percent said pornography is morally acceptable, a 6-point rise over 2017. Of respondents saying that “religion is fairly important”, there was an 8 percent increase (from 42 to 50).
Related Article: Our Porn Saturated Culture Is Drifting Further From God’s Plan For Sex
The Church Is Not Immune
These results are a wake-up call for the church. Christians must strongly proclaim that pornography is both morally unacceptable and also harmful to individual and relationships.
Dr. Richard D. Land, president of Southern Evangelical Seminary, said,
“Americans who want to see moral reformation or “re-formation” in their culture should do all they can to confront and minimize pornography’s impact on the nation’s citizens, especially its young people. Pornography is the propaganda for a paganized sexual morality which will submerge our culture in a tidal wave of sexual deviance if uncontested and uncontrolled. Every church, temple, mosque, and synagogue in America should consciously seek to be part of a pornography-free counter culture which attempts to inoculate its membership in age-applicable ways against pornography’s seductive blandishments.”
With 68% of men in the church viewing porn on a regular basis, it is hard for the church to take the moral high ground. Healing must start from within. Thankfully there is a movement of men who are breaking free from pornography through a powerful cinematic study called the Conquer Series.
Related Article: Why 68% of Christian Men Watch Porn
Related Article: Who’s Looking at Porn? The Results May Surprise You
Get the Best of Soul Refiner in Your Inbox
Join over 100,000 readers and receive practical insights, encouragement, and resources for healing, growth, and restoration delivered straight to your inbox.
No spam. We'll never sell or share your email, and you can unsubscribe anytime.
By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy.
Porn Affects the Brain
According to Madlen Davies, science reporter at The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, “When porn addicts watch X-rated material, the ‘addiction’ part of the brain lights up on scans, Cambridge University researchers discovered in 2013. The brains of young men who are obsessed by online pornography ‘lit up like Christmas trees’ upon being shown erotic images, a pioneering study has found. The area stimulated – the part of the brain involved in processing reward, motivation and pleasure – is the same part that is highly active among drug and alcohol addicts.”
Related Article: This is Your Brain on Porn
Dr. William M. Struthers, associate professor of psychology at Wheaton College, summarizes some of the dangers to both the brain and personal relationships:
“If we understand sexuality as being first about intimacy, then viewing pornography becomes a voyeuristic invasion of the sacred space of another. Instead of being life-giving, it becomes destructive for the viewer as well as the one involved in its production. It provides a false, or counterfeit, way of feeding the need for intimacy. On a cultural and social level, men and women are portrayed as objects for our consumption. The undeniable message here is that people are pieces of meat for our consuming pleasure and entertainment. If that is how the brain is being forced to respond to these images, the objectification and commoditization of people will seep into other parts of the viewer’s mind. It will affect the way he views people when he is not watching porn. The regular consumer of porn will begin to find that he fantasizes throughout the day about sex. Each woman he sees will be seen through a pornographic lens. People become an object of consumption or a competitor against whom they compare themselves. They will be evaluated as to their stimulating ability. It should come as no surprise that that these consequences can destroy a marriage, family, ministry, or career. While it offers the promise of intimacy and connection, pornography only delivers isolation, disconnectedness, and depravity.”
Related Article: Sex Before Marriage Changes Brain Chemistry
Dr. Lawrence Tucker is a Psychiatrist and a diplomat of the American Board of Addiction Medicine. In the Conquer Series, Dr. Tucker shows how brain scans of a porn addict and a cocaine addict reveal significant areas of deactivation when compared to a normal brain. As America’s attitudes to pornography change, the brains of our Nation are being shut down.
Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance explains how someone will either change their attitudes and beliefs to match their behavior or change their behavior to match their beliefs.
The growing number of people viewing porn as morally acceptable is a symptom of a country hooked on pornography. The only way back from slipping headlong into moral depravity is for men to make a stand and find freedom from porn.
Related Article: C.S. Lewis On Porn And Masturbation
Cognitive Dissonance explains how someone will either change their attitudes and beliefs to match their behavior or change their behavior to match their beliefs.
Related Article: How Toxic Porn Is Poisoning Society
Freedom From Porn
A proven way to begin a process to combat porn in your life is the Conquer Series, a powerful two-volume cinematic study that uses Biblical teaching and proven principles to help men conquer porn and walk in freedom.
The Conquer Series is a no-nonsense, practical, and interactive experience that will enable men to break free from pornography addiction and live a life of freedom.
Get started today!
Related Article: College Offers Hard Core Porn As An Elective
Writing at the intersection of faith and neuroscience to help men and women break destructive cycles and walk in lasting freedom.
More articles by Jeremy Wiles →Frequently Asked Questions
What does porn do to the brain?
It activates the same circuitry that drugs do. Madlen Davies, science reporter at The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, summarizes the Cambridge University research from 2013: "The brains of young men who are obsessed by online pornography 'lit up like Christmas trees' upon being shown erotic images… The area stimulated – the part of the brain involved in processing reward, motivation and pleasure – is the same part that is highly active among drug and alcohol addicts."
How does porn change the way a man sees people?
It teaches the brain to treat people as products. Dr. William M. Struthers, associate professor of psychology at Wheaton College, writes that this objectification "will seep into other parts of the viewer’s mind. It will affect the way he views people when he is not watching porn. The regular consumer of porn will begin to find that he fantasizes throughout the day about sex. Each woman he sees will be seen through a pornographic lens."
Why does porn leave you feeling isolated?
Because it is a counterfeit of the very thing you were reaching for. Dr. William M. Struthers puts it plainly: "While it offers the promise of intimacy and connection, pornography only delivers isolation, disconnectedness, and depravity." He also describes viewing it as "a voyeuristic invasion of the sacred space of another." That gap is exactly why these consequences can wreck a marriage, a family, a ministry, or a career.
Why are attitudes toward porn changing so fast?
Cognitive dissonance offers a plain explanation. A person will either change their attitudes and beliefs to match their behavior, or change their behavior to match their beliefs, and most people find the first route easier. So a growing number of people calling porn morally acceptable is not really a shift in conviction. It is a symptom of a country hooked on pornography and adjusting its beliefs to fit.
What should churches do about changing attitudes toward porn?
Say plainly that pornography is both morally unacceptable and genuinely harmful to individuals and relationships, and then go further than statements. Dr. Richard D. Land, president of Southern Evangelical Seminary, urges that "Every church, temple, mosque, and synagogue in America should consciously seek to be part of a pornography-free counter culture which attempts to inoculate its membership in age-applicable ways." With 68 percent of men in the church viewing porn regularly, healing has to start from within.
How to Quit Pornand Find Lasting Freedom
Discover the biblical and neuroscience-based approach that has helped millions of men and
over 50,000 churches break the addiction cycle and pursue lasting freedom.
No Credit Card Needed
Recommended Articles
Porn RecoveryCan Christians Watch Porn? What the Bible Says
A straight biblical answer on whether Christians can watch porn — what Scripture says, why believing men still struggle, and where freedom starts.
MarriageMarriage Counseling for Porn Addiction
What to expect from marriage counseling for porn addiction, why couples counseling alone often fails, and what has to happen for healing to hold.
Porn RecoveryBiblical Manhood: What Scripture Calls Men To
Biblical manhood isn't about being tougher or more traditional. Here's what Scripture actually calls men to - and the integrity it takes to get there.