A new study shows childhood exposure to pornography has doubled in a
generation, and porn usage and addiction reaches far into Christian
churches.
“Pornography is not relegated to any particular community,
socio-economic class, or religion,” said Haley Halverson, director of
communications for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE).
“Thanks to the internet, it’s really everywhere.”
On Jan. 19, Barna Group released preliminary findings from
comprehensive research on American pornography consumption. Barna’s
research revealed 27 percent of millennials ages 25-30 reported seeing
porn before reaching puberty. Compared with the Generation X cohort,
early porn exposure has doubled in a generation.
NCOSE officials said early exposure to porn is particularly harmful
because it shapes the sexual template of young people as they learn
about sex.
The study used a wide-ranging, nationally representative sample of
nearly 3,000 participants in four online studies. Barna also conducted
in-depth surveys looking at American teenagers, Christian pastors, and
churches.
In the report, seven in 10 youth pastors said a teen had come to them
in the last 12 months seeking help with porn. With that said, 21 percent
of youth pastors and 14 percent of all Christian pastors reported
currently struggling with porn themselves. More than 66 percent of teens
and young adults reported sending or receiving sexually explicit
images.
Barna’s research also looked into thoughts and attitudes surrounding
porn consumption. Many Americans viewed “not recycling” as more immoral
than viewing porn. And most Americans had become desensitized to adult
content: Only 10 percent of teens and 5 percent of young adults had a
negative view of pornography, according to the survey.
“This research is confirming the fact that the vast majority of
Americans are being affected by pornography, and it is something that
needs to be addressed on a public level,” Halverson said.
Covenant Eyes, one of America’s largest internet accountability and
filtering providers, helped fund the research. Ron DeHaas, the president
of Covenant Eyes said that after 16 years of combatting porn, nothing
in the report caught him by surprise. But putting hard numbers to the
problem is an important step.
DeHaas explained many people do not realize how widespread the usage of
porn is in the United States, and those who do don’t view it as a
harmful activity. The survey included more than 800 pastors across many
different Christian denominations. Of those surveyed, 73 percent of
pastors said they felt somewhat prepared to help someone deal with a
porn addiction. But only 7 percent of churches actually had a program
dedicated to the ministry.
“The churches themselves need to have awareness and then the
understanding so we can have more programs dedicated to fighting
pornography,” DeHaas said.
Courtesy: WORLD News Service
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