From Obscenity Outside to Addiction Within

Abstract

Chapter 1 provides a historical and statistical overview of how the relationship between conservative Protestantism and pornography has changed over time. Conservative Protestants generally did not seek to confront pornography as a threat to the church until the 1960s and 1970s. Initially, conservative Protestants wanted to ban pornography through legal means. However, as pornography became more available to the general public and was accepted in the broader society, conservative Protestant leaders became more concerned that church members were also regularly viewing pornography. Today, conservative Protestants describe pornography use as an addiction and believe it is affecting a large proportion of churchgoers, especially men. Conservative Protestant leaders no longer operate under the belief that they can keep pornography away from young people but, rather, feel they must focus their efforts on helping those who are already addicted.