Addicted to Lust: Pornography in the Lives of Conservative Protestants

Few cultural issues alarm conservative Protestant families and communities like the seemingly ubiquitous threat of pornography. Thanks to widespread access to the internet, conservative Protestants now face a reality in which every Christian man, woman, and child with a smartphone can access limitless pornography in their bathroom, at work, or at a friend’s sleepover. Once confident of their victory over pornography in society at large, conservative Protestants now fear that ＂porn addiction＂ is consuming even the most faithful. How are they adjusting to this new reality? And what are its consequences in their lives?

Drawing on over 130 interviews as well as numerous national surveys, Addicted to Lust shows that, compared to other Americans, pornography shapes the lives of conservative Protestants in ways that are uniquely damaging to their mental health, spiritual lives, and intimate relationships. Samuel L. Perry demonstrates how certain pervasive beliefs within the conservative Protestant subculture unwittingly create a context in which those who use pornography are often overwhelmed with shame and discouragement, sometimes to the point of depression or withdrawal from faith altogether. Conservative Protestant women who use pornography feel a ＂double shame＂ both for sinning sexually and for sinning ＂like a man,＂ while conflicts over pornography in marriages are escalated by patterns of lying, hiding, blowing up, or threats of divorce. Addicted to Lust shines new light on one of the most talked-about problems facing conservative Christians.

Samuel L. Perry (Ph.D., University of Chicago) is the Sam K. Viersen Presidential Professor of Sociology at the University of Oklahoma. He is among the nation’s leading experts on conservative Christianity and American politics, race, families, and sexual behavior. Along with well over 100 peer-reviewed articles published in leading academic journals, Dr. Perry is also the author or co-author of five books, including Addicted to Lust (Oxford, 2019), Taking America Back for God (Oxford, 2020, with Andrew Whitehead), and The Flag and the Cross (Oxford, 2022, with Philip Gorski). His most recent book is Religion for Realists: Why We All Need the Scientific Study of Religion (Oxford, 2024).