Jump directly to the Content

Porn Okay, Except on Sunday?

Christians aren't committing themselves to sexual purity.

Do Christians buy less online pornography than non-believers? The Associated Baptist Press reports on a recent study suggesting "no"–except, that is, on Sundays.

Harvard Business School professor Benjamin Edelman took the zip codes of subscribers to a top-ten porn seller and analyzed the geographical distribution. He says that subscription rates in regions where more people report regularly attending religious services aren't "statistically significantly different" from subscriptions elsewhere.

In fact, subscriptions are actually more prevalent in states that have passed conservative legislation on sexuality, as well as in states where more survey respondents agreed with statements like "I never doubt the existence of God" and "I have old-fashioned values about family and marriage."

An interesting (or depressing) wrinkle is that, in regions of higher church attendance, a smaller proportion of porn subscriptions begin on Sundays. "This analysis suggests that, on the whole, those who attend ...

April
Support Our Work

Subscribe to CT for less than $4.25/month

Homepage Subscription Panel

Read These Next

Related
Penn State: A Not-So-Obvious Lesson
Penn State: A Not-So-Obvious Lesson
Instead of piling more opinion and outrage on this issue, let's examine a common-sense lesson that's easily overlooked.
From the Magazine
What Kind of Man Is This?
What Kind of Man Is This?
We’ve got little information on Jesus’ appearance and personality. But that’s the way God designed it.
Editor's Pick
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
Understanding God and our world needs more than bare reason and experience.
close