Pornography use among Christians, including pastors, has now surpassed the national average for Americans in general and this rise is doing so largely unchecked. New data suggests a majority of Christian men and a rising percentage of Christian women view pornography occasionally, while a majority of pastors have struggled with porn use at some point in their lives. 

According to recently published research from the Barna Group and Pure Desire Ministries, 75 percent of Christian men and 40 percent of Christian women view pornography on some level. That is an 11-point rise for the men and a 25-point rise for the women over the last eight years. For comparison, Barna notes that 61 percent of adults in the general public use porn, a six-point increase in eight years, where the national average is about 64 percent for men and 44 percent for women.

In Barna’s 2024 study, “Beyond the Porn Phenomenon,” statistics also showed that 67 percent of pastors said they have personal history of porn use at some point in their past, with 18 percent of pastors admitting it is a current struggle. Despite the rising use of porn, 67 percent of the pastors surveyed felt that pornography was only a minor problem or not a problem at all in their congregations, and only 35 percent of pastors see themselves as “very qualified” to address the issue. The data gets worse. Many young adults and teens have shifting views of morality and are adopting a more neutral, accepting, or even positive attitude towards pornography believing it can coexist with a healthy sexual life. Then, when the survey asked Christians of all ages, “Who is helping you with your struggle with pornography,” 82 percent of them said, “No one.” Ultimately, the data shows the digital ubiquity of pornography through technology and social media is normalizing porn use in society where the efforts of churches and pastors are not enough to resist this pervasive spread.

Pervasive Rise

The saturation of porn into American culture accounts for approximately 40 million Americans visiting explicit websites on a regular basis and pornographic content making up 35 percent of all Internet downloads. According to 2015 data, online adult content raked in $3.3 billion in revenue and the top three porn sites in the U.S. receive more web traffic annually than Netflix, Amazon, Pinterest, LinkedIn and TikTok combined.

“Porn consumption is no longer confined to a specific demographic or subculture; it touches all segments of society (from young to old) with no regard to gender, social status or religious beliefs,” the Barna report stated.

Over the last eight years, Barna has studied the trends to shed light on pornography use by Christians. In 2016, Barna partnered with the Josh McDowell Ministry and published a then groundbreaking report titled, “The Porn Phenomenon: The Impact of Pornography in the Digital Age.” The researchers found at the time that 64 percent of self-identified Christian men and 15 percent of women, whether practicing their faith or not, viewed pornography monthly. As noted earlier, the statistics from the new “Beyond the Porn Phenomenon” show that porn consumption among Christians saw double-digit increases.

“The average Christian is not experiencing freedom in this area; 75 percent of Christian men and 40 percent of Christian women report that they are viewing pornography at least occasionally,” said Pure Desire Ministries Executive Director Nick Stumbo. 

Barna separately analyzed, “practicing” Christians, “nonpracticing Christians,” and non-Christians totaling more than 3,500 people. In the report, “practicing Christians” is defined as those who profess their faith is important to them and have attended church within the last month. The results showed that 54 percent of “practicing” Christians and 68 percent of non-Christians reported occasionally viewing pornography, a gap the researchers say is shrinking.

With pornographic content having become almost completely digital and accessible by any smart device, it is readily available to anyone. Barna revealed that almost half of young adults said they come across porn “at least once a week—even when they aren’t seeking it out.” And most teens are “sexting,” with 62 percent of teens and young adults having received a sexually explicit image and 41 percent having sent one, the report stated. 

The rapid shift in the cultural and digital landscape has pastors and churches struggling to help. In 2017, the Brushfires Foundation and a coalition of 24 other ministries produced a study involving more than 400 pastors titled, “Sexuality and the Church in America.” While the study reported that 64 percent of pastors had preached about God’s design for sex, about half had taught about sexual wholeness and brokenness, but only 44 percent agreed that the sexualized culture had an impact on Christians. The report showed that nearly a third of respondents did not see sexual issues as a concern. The study’s authors indicated that a departure from traditional Christian doctrine on sexuality in some mainline denominations could account for some churches failing to address deviant sexual behavior.  

Barna also noted this problem finding that only a third of small church pastors (33 percent) and about two-thirds of large-church pastors (62 percent) believe porn use to be a major or significant problem in their congregations. These findings reveal a startling disconnect between pastoral perception and congregant behavior. In addition, 82 percent of Christians said they have no one helping them quit pornography and only 10 percent said their churches offer programs to help those struggling with porn use and addiction, reported Barna.

Many Christians Comfortable Viewing Pornography 

Forty-nine percent of those who profess to be Christians responding to the Barna survey said they were comfortable with their porn use as compared to 73 percent of non-Christians. Only 21 percent of Christians expressed a wish to completely stop using pornography. Additional statistics from Covenant Eyes, an Internet accountability service, suggest that: 

• 90 percent of teens and 96 percent of young adults are either encouraging, accepting, or neutral when they talk about porn with their friends.
• Just 55 percent of adults 25 and older believe porn is wrong.
• Teens and young adults 13-24 believe not recycling is worse than viewing pornography.
• Only 59 percent of Boomers, 44 percent of Gen-Xers, 51 percent of Millennials, and 31 percent of young adults believe porn is bad for society.

Barna noted that all generations have had a significant increase in daily increase in porn use in the last decade. Barna attributed these staggering percentages of Christians and non-Christians alike using porn to set the mood with a romantic partner, being curious, looking for sex tips, relieving stress and anxiety, or just being plain bored and finding it entertaining. 

Notably, the report stated that 44 percent of Americans believe “watching pornography has little impact” on other aspects of their life and that 62 percent of Christians agree that a person can view porn regularly and maintain a healthy sexual life. However, numerous studies and research prove that viewing porn regularly can further exacerbate health issues, such as anxiety, depression, sexual disfunction, and memory impairment, all while fostering unrealistic expectations about real-life intimacy and potentially straining or destroying relationships.

Pornography and Pastors

Barna reported that a supermajority of pastors, 86 percent, feel pornography use is common among the pastoral community. That perception nearly aligns with the data showing that two out of three (67 percent) pastors have struggled with porn in the past and nearly one in five (18 percent) currently do, with fewer and fewer pastors saying they have never struggled with it. The trend shows that pastors aged 45 and under are more likely to struggle with porn and are more likely to believe the struggle is common among other pastors. Since the issue is rarely talked about openly in churches, pastors struggling with porn use often do so in silence with a sense of shame and fear of being found out. For other pastors, Barna reported issues like “burnout, pride, marital problems, finances and disagreements” take higher priority giving the porn issue in general and altogether low urgency and a lack of openness in many churches. 

On an encouraging note, some Christians are approaching their pastors with sexual issues nonetheless. Barna indicated 75 percent of pastors were ministering to congregants struggling with porn use. Similarly, the Brushfires Foundation report showed seven out of 10 pastors (73 percent) in the study reported being approached several times a year by congregants with pornography-related issues. Of all the sexual issues brought to the pastors in the Brushfires study, 64 percent involved porn use by a husband, 59 percent by a teen, 57 percent by an unmarried adult, 24 percent by a minor, and 16 percent by a wife. Despite only 35 percent of pastors “feeling” they are “very qualified” to handle sexual issues, 86 percent of them reported conducting pastoral counseling and slightly more than half provided referrals to outside resources.

Both Barna and the Brushfires Foundation suggested biblical teaching, support groups, and partnering with professional counselors and professionals for a collaborative approach to understanding the spiritual battleground of pornography and the strongholds it can have in people’s lives in order to help them heal, and prevent others from porn use and its damaging effects.

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “Pornography use among Christians and in society is at a crisis level. Digital pornography that can be consumed ubiquitously and anonymously is ensnaring millions of people. The danger is that sexual pleasure can become an addiction, idol, or something people use to medicate shame, trauma, or other brokenness. Pastors and churches should remain steadfast in teaching God’s design for human sexuality and partner with professional outside counselors to confront this rising sin with a sense of urgency and openness.”