"Am I normal? Almost anything can turn me on, not just my wife. A woman's smile, the flash of nudity on TV, my own thoughts, a sexual joke, even animals doing it. I think about sex all the time or at least it feels like all the time." -Glenn, pastor of a large church

Pornography and Christians

The Downhill Slide

After three years dating the same woman in college, Sam felt the relationship was heading toward marriage. Understandably, he did not take it well when his relationship slipped away and his former girlfriend married a lawyer. After experiencing this loss, Sam began trying to recapture the closeness he had lost with this relationship. He soon took to viewing pornography and quickly became addicted. In another story, Ken assumed his pornography and masturbation habits would end after marriage and they did- for a while. After four years of marriage, he entered a stressful period and they returned.

Christian Reality

Four in every five Christians believe pornography to be morally unacceptable, yet these stories are not so far from those told by many Christians. For a time Christians may escape the allure of pornography, but all too often the problem is as significant for Christians as non-Christians. In fact, 47% of Christians admitted pornography was a major problem in their home in a survey conducted by Internet Filter Review. Even more discouraging are the 53% of men belonging to the Christian group Promise Keepers who admit to visiting pornography sites every week. Christians may claim a different standard, but they still struggle with the same pornographic issues.

Unfortunately, the situation is not much better among Christian pastors. A survey of evangelical Protestant clergy conducted by The Leadership Survey in 2001 found that 40% of those responding struggled with pornography. Another survey in 2002 conducted by Rick Warren of Saddleback Church found that in the previous month, 30% of pastors had viewed pornography.

Apparently pornography does not show bias toward one's religious affiliation or lack thereof. Some positive statistical differences exist between Christians and non-Christians. For example, Christians have a slightly later age of first exposure to pornography. However, Christians still seem to have all the same issues with pornography non-Christians experience.