The Latest Stats on Pornography and Why They Matter

A few years back, I was sitting at a conference for pastors, listening to a colleague talk about the epidemic of pornography use and compulsive sexual behavior among Christians. As he shared various stats on the topic, I began to click off the years in my mind: That stat is from 2015 … that one is 2012 … that research was done in 2009 … I knew because I had used all of these data points myself! At that moment, it occurred to me that any stat I was hearing on this topic—and indeed, what I was using in my presentations with Pure Desire Ministries—was severely outdated.

In a world where technology seems to reinvent itself every few years, and the major cell phone brands have a new model every single year, using data from a decade ago or more feels sadly out of date. I began to look around for the “new stats” on pornography use and compulsive sexual behavior. As I did, I quickly encountered a problem—there wasn’t any. Aside from a few anecdotal studies done at a college campus or two, no one had updated stats about porn use in America, particularly among Christians.

The last significant research done on pornography use among Christians was in 2015, when Josh McDowell Ministries and Covenant Eyes partnered with the Barna Group to release a report called, The Porn Phenomenon. This report created a new notoriety about the problem as it showed that a significant number of practicing Christians were dealing with issues around pornography. Since that time, our world has shifted greatly. Racial, economic, and political tensions have created new levels of division, anxiety, and fear in our culture. Progressive technologies like virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and streaming services have changed the ways we interact with one another. And to top it all off, a global pandemic altered life as we know it, causing shifts in the home, workplace, and the church. How had all of these cultural moments—and so many others like them—impacted our personal struggle with pornography?

Truth be told, no one really knew because no one had asked.

This realization set us on a quest at Pure Desire. We began to wonder, Is this a task for us to take on? Could we bring a spotlight back to this topic in a way that would inspire change and create transformation in the church? With this thought in mind, we reached out to Barna—the leading research group out there and the authors of the first study. Our interest matched their enthusiasm: “We get more requests to update this data than anything else we have done!” they said in an early meeting.

We sensed God was up to something, and that the timing was ripe for new data. Early in 2024, we commissioned the Barna Group to do new research, and by the end of the year, we released in partnership with them, Beyond the Porn Phenomenon: Equipping the Church for a New Conversation About Pornography, Betrayal Trauma and Healing.

What this data revealed is that our collective struggle with pornography and sexually compulsive behaviors has not improved: 75% of Christian men AND 40% of Christian women acknowledge that they view pornography to some extent. For the first time that I am aware of, a majority of practicing Christians (54%) say that they are viewing pornography.* Every Sunday when we gather in churches, most of us come into the room with an unresolved struggle around our sexuality.

As compelling as this number may be, the response by churches still greatly lags behind in terms of caring well for those who struggle. When asked, “Does your church have a program specifically for those struggling with porn?” just 10%—only 1 in every 10 churches—said they did.

In many ways, the survey reveals how isolation and secrecy is not only driving the problem, but also is what keeps us stuck. When self-identified porn users were asked, “Do you have anyone in your life helping you avoid pornography?” an overwhelming 84% answered, “NO.” What is more, when this same group was asked, “Who knows about your porn use?” nearly half—48% of practicing Christians—said “NO ONE.”

We are struggling alone.

So who can porn users talk to? When asked in the survey who they would feel comfortable going to, the first and second answers were a counselor and a doctor. These professionals can certainly offer helpful advice and be an expert on the topic for us. But think for a moment about what the survey respondents are saying: “When I have a problem with porn, I don’t go for help to someone I know in my real life—I go to a paid professional who is sworn to confidentiality.” Even in our recovery, we often stay isolated from those who know us and love us. In spite of all the helpful wisdom a counselor can give, we at Pure Desire have found that when someone only goes to a counselor for help, the likelihood of lasting change in this area is minimal.

These stats only begin to paint the full picture as revealed in Beyond the Porn Phenomenon. The data includes additional information on the deep impact porn use has on marriages, the vastly different experiences of men and women when porn is used, and the significant correlation between negative mental health issues and pornography use (among many other stats). But rather than continuing to spout numbers at you (I would highly encourage you to grab a full copy of the report), I want to give you five thoughts about why this new data really matters. We should all pay attention to these numbers, and here’s why.

1. Porn is Impacting the Church.

With a majority of Christians acknowledging some level of porn use, this means that every church is being deeply impacted. We cannot ignore this reality. At Pure Desire, we will often hear an attitude from Christian leaders that says, “Well, not in my church—not in my organization. We preach the Bible here—we have real faith!” Yet our experience has repeatedly shown that the more confident a leader is that their people aren’t struggling, the higher the actual rate of struggle tends to be within that group. Our belief that our people are doing well is usually unfounded—rooted in hope, but not truth. When we don’t talk about the issue or actually provide help, the struggle stays underground and continues to grow.

2. Porn is Impacting Marriages and Families.

In the cases where one spouse was aware of porn use by the other, they were asked if their marriage had fully recovered from this challenge. A majority of women (54%) said that they had not fully recovered. What this means is that even if we don’t hear about it, a large percentage of married couples frequent our ministries with an underlying level of pain and heartbreak over this topic. They don’t want this struggle in their relationship but they also don’t know how to fully get free of it. So they continue to suffer. Add to this that younger generations are struggling even more—74% of Gen Z men and 64% of Gen Z women say pornography is a problem for them. Our kids are struggling, and we have offered them little by way of help because we, the parents, are often struggling, too!

3. This Problem Doesn't Get Better in the Dark.

The stats from 2015 to 2024 show a disturbing trend toward greater porn use among Christians. In this time, the focus of the church, by and large, has been on other topics. And who can blame them? These have been trying, difficult times for Chrstian leaders and ministries as they strive to stay relevant amidst a rapidly changing culture. The issue of pornography can easily slip into the category of “peripheral issues” we hope people are addressing, but that we don’t collectively have time for as a church. Yet, in the silence where 90% of churches have no program to help, the struggle for men and women continues to deepen.

What if it’s time for this issue to get pulled off the periphery and into the central mission of the Church? What if sexual discipleship became a way of people encountering the love and grace of Jesus in ways they never have before? This can happen when we bring the topic fully into the light.

4. The Church is Perfectly Positioned to be the Agent of Change in People's Lives.

The sobering data on how many people struggle alone (84%) and how many say no one even knows they struggle (48%) actually hold an incredible silver lining for the church. At Pure Desire, we have recognized—and other research bears this out—that the single greatest factor influencing a successful addiction recovery program is connection. As author Johan Hari puts it,

The opposite of addiction isn’t sobriety—it’s connection.

When we are deeply connected in our struggle to people who know us, support us, and walk with us, lasting change can occur. No organization on the planet is more equipped for meaningful community and connection than the body of Christ. The church is the healing context we need. What might happen if not 10%, but 90% of churches had a program to help people specifically in this area?

5. The Wave of Sexual Devastation is Still Growing—But We Can Do Something about it!

I am typically one to avoid any hint of fear-mongering when it comes to issues around sexuality. I never want to try and scare someone into change. However, it is difficult for me to ignore the reality we are facing. In many ways, the new stats on porn use reflect the natural outcome of a society where the smart phone and social media accounts have become normative. What will happen in another 10 years, when technological advances in AI, virtual reality, deep fakes, and virtual sensory devices also become normative in our human relationships?

The truth is, technology can already create an imitation of sexuality that is far more enticing and pleasure-chemical producing than any real relationship can provide. We are beginning to see the early warning signs of this, as our young people increasingly avoid not only marriage, but any dating relationships altogether. We are losing the ability to have physical intimacy as God designed, and we are only on the very cusp of this. The time to do something is now. But churches and families must become the safe places to heal our broken sexuality. This is, in a nutshell, why Pure Desire exists. We are here to help!

The stats tell a story. And that story may frighten us or make us want to turn away. But this is the power of the numbers—they reveal reality. With the grace and courage of Christ, we can face this reality in our world and become beacons of hope and freedom.

May it be so. And another decade from now, may the numbers tell a new story of transformation and healing as the Church leads the way!

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To hear David Kinnaman, Barna CEO, discuss the survey results, click here.

To order your copy of Beyond the Porn Phenomenon click here.

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*For the purposes of the survey, a “practicing Christian” is someone who has self-identified as a Christian, and both strongly agreed that faith is “very important" in their life, as well as attended church within the last month.

The views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are those of the author alone and do not reflect an official position of Pure Desire Ministries, except where expressly stated.