It might sound strange, but I am so glad every time someone shares about their struggle with pornography. There are certainly other natural emotions, too—grief, for them and for their spouse if they are married, and anger at the many forces seeking to ensnare us. But I feel glad because opening up to another person is a huge first step toward freedom from pornography. As Nick Stumbo, Executive Director of Pure Desire Ministries writes, “Isolation is the enemy’s playground.”[1]
Seeing men and women find freedom from pornography and other unwanted sexual behaviors has been one of the deepest joys of my ministry. I am convinced that helping men and women in this effort is one of the greatest ministry opportunities we have before us as a church. Why? Because pornography is a massive problem—far greater than most of us realize.
As a follow-up to their 2016 report The Porn Phenomenon, the Barna Group partnered with Pure Desire Ministries to publish Beyond the Porn Phenomenon in 2024. The data is sobering, but as the authors state, the porn phenomenon “isn’t just a collection of data and insights—it is a call to action.”[2]
Porn Use Continues to Rise
Barna Group’s 2024 follow-up research found that pornography use continues to rise. In 2023, 61% of US adults reported viewing pornography, up from 55% in 2015. This increase applied to both men and women. Women’s use of pornography increased from 39% in 2015 to 44% in 2023. Men’s use increased from 72% in 2015 to 78% in 2023.[3]
Many attribute the rise in pornography use to the anonymity and accessibility provided by the internet and smartphones. Viewing pornography happens overwhelmingly online, so much so that “In the U.S. alone, the top three porn sites receive more web traffic annually than Netflix, Amazon, Pinterest, LinkedIn and TikTok combined.”[4] That is a stunning amount of web traffic to these sites.
Christians View Porn Less, but Not by Much
The insight from this report that most arrested my attention was that, though Christians do view pornography less than non-Christians, it’s not significantly less. Among practicing Christians (“self-identified Christians who agree strongly that faith is very important in their lives and have attended church within the past month”), 54% report viewing pornography at least occasionally (compared with 68% of non-Christians), and 22% report using pornography daily (7%) or weekly (15%).[5]
Among Christian men, 75% report that they are viewing pornography at least occasionally, and 40% of Christian women report the same.[6] Sadly, 55% of practicing Christians agree that a person can regularly view pornography and live a sexually healthy life.[7]
What Can We Do?
Barna found that 84% of people who view pornography reported having no one who is helping them to stop. Among practicing Christians, this number was still a whopping 74%![8]
An important first step for us to take would be to make it as easy as possible to share vulnerably with a Christian brother or sister. College Park, what if our church community was the safest place possible for someone to admit to their sexual struggles?
Help for Christian Men
If you are a Christian, are trapped in the repetitive cycle of porn use, and haven’t reached out for help—I plead with you to seek help today. There is forgiveness and acceptance in Jesus, and there is practical, relevant help available. At College Park, we offer two groups to help men seeking freedom from any unwanted sexual behavior:
- Sexual Integrity 101 – These are shorter-term recovery groups for men seeking freedom from unwanted sexual behaviors. They are led by trained volunteers who have personal experience walking the road to freedom from pornography.
- 7 Pillars – These are longer-term recovery groups for men battling sexual addiction. These groups take the principles and tools learned in Sexual Integrity 101 and go deeper. These groups are also led by trained volunteers who know what it’s like to walk this journey.
In these groups, you will experience this important truth: You are not alone. A huge part of the battle is facing shame, and the only way to fight is to be both truly known and deeply loved and accepted. But this can’t happen as long as you stay isolated and in the dark. So I urge you to reach out to a friend, pastor, or counselor, and to consider joining the waitlist for the next Sexual Integrity 101 group.
You may ask: What about help for Christian women trapped in pornography addiction? We’re hoping to launch Sexual Integrity 101 groups for women in the near future as well.
Would you help us be the kind of church community that is as safe as possible for anyone to admit they need help with a sexual struggle?
[1] Barna Group, Beyond the Porn Phenomenon (Ventura, CA: Barna Group, 2024), 6.
[2] Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell, The Porn Phenomenon: The Impact of Pornography in the Digital Age (Ventura, CA: Barna Group, 2016), 6.
[3] Barna Group, Beyond the Porn Phenomenon, 22.
[4] Barna Group, Beyond the Porn Phenomenon (Ventura, CA: Barna Group, 2024), 21, citing Dorothy Neufeld, “The 50 Most Visited Websites in the World,” Visual Capitalist, January 27, 2021, https://www.visualcapitalist.com/the-50-most-visited-websites-in-the-world/
[5] Barna Group, Beyond the Porn Phenomenon, 41.
[6] Barna Group, Beyond the Porn Phenomenon, 6.
[7] [7] Barna Group, Beyond the Porn Phenomenon, 35.
[8] [8] Barna Group, Beyond the Porn Phenomenon, 6.
