A new study has found that watching
pornography more than once a week can cause people to hold stronger religious beliefs than those who only occasionally watch x-rated videos.
And researchers say this could be down to people compensating for guilty feelings with prayer.
Samuel Perry co-author of the research after analysing data from more than 1,300 people over a six-year period to find out how watching pornography affects religious belief over time, had this to say;
“Those who used pornography at the highest frequencies seemed to be more religious in terms of prayer frequency and worship attendance than those who used pornography at more moderate levels,”
This result was predicted by Dr Perry, who said: “For religious Americans, pornography use is at odds with their view of sexual morality. This is a huge moral problem for these folks, especially when they’re using it rather consistently.”
Dr Perry gave a number of different theories for why this might be, with most relating to guilt in some way.
Some people who watched pornography might have turned to religion for repentance, he theorised, while in some cases compulsive behaviour towards both religious participation and pornography use might be the cause.
But the result was more likely to be down to compensatory action, he said.
Religious people who look at pornography frequently “may be saying something like, ‘Ok God, I’m may be disobeying you in this area of my life, but look at all the religious stuff I’m doing over here!’”.
