Christians and Pornography Research

Samuel Perry “Addicted to Lust: Pornography in the Lives of Conservative Protestants”

Have you ever felt that someone read your email? Or maybe they are tuned into your thoughts? Author and researcher Samuel Perry wrote "Addicted to Lust" about pornography in the lives of conservative protestant Christians: https://amzn.to/2OgMZW5. His perspective is right on, and explains well what many Christians are going through with the war of the soul.

What does the research show about how protestants react to and deal with the issue of pornography? This is part one of a six part series looking into the content of the book.

I enjoyed his “out of the box” take on the issue as a non-Christian, writing about Christians. It was well written and filled with interview testimonies. Perry also does not come across as disliking Christians. The books reads as a neutral observer to how the church responds to the issue of pornography.

Perry argues that the church has shifted from offense where we viewed pornography as primarily a problem “out there” in the world, to defense where we realize that pornography is in our lives among those in the pews. At this point it is difficult to believe that the church does not have a porn problem. As we have fully embraced the technology of our culture the temptations of the world have come with that technology.

Christian porn use decreases for those who are well connected to their church community

Christians were much more likely to use the term addiction when it comes to pornography consumption. But why is that? His research did not find one Christian who was willing to say that viewing porn was morally permissible, yet many of us view it. This incongruence of saying one thing and living another may explain why Christians refer to themselves as addicts.

Does the addiction paradigm within the church give us an excuse for sin? Or does it call us to radical life change in the life of the Christian struggler with pornography. I’ve always thought it was a good thing for someone to consider their "struggle as an addiction, so that they would take it more seriously. But Perry’s research has me second guessing that perspective. He had young Christians who were viewing porn once or twice a month referring to themselves as addicts. Is that the best use of that term?

Certainly pornographic content paired with masturbation is a toxic cocktail for addiction. But where do we draw the line between a personal struggle and addiction?