Americans are not blasé about pornography.
As many as two in three think that watching adult videos and movie is morally unacceptable. But the country has not come to a consensus on what to do about restricting adult-only material more severely.
The Catholic Church, by contrast, has a firm position on pornography. “It is a grave offense. Civil authorities should prevent the production and distribution of pornographic materials,”
section 2354 of the Catechism says.
In the United States, Bishop Paul S. Loverde of the diocese of Arlington, Virginia has helped lead the fight, such as it is, against pornography. In 2006, Loverde wrote the pastoral letter “
Bought with a Price: Every Man’s Duty to Protect Himself and His Family from a Pornographic Culture.” The 80-page letter was re-issued and updated in March, and the nonprofit
Morality in Media named Loverde to its board of directors on December 5.
Now 74, Loverde said he hears objections to the Church’s strong opposition to pornography regularly. “Oh, that’s just a religious view,” Loverde recalls people telling him. But, he says to them, would it were so. “No, this is based on a very serious study of psychology. All this science shows what pornography does to the human brain. Why do we want to harm our brains with a drug?”
The bishop may have a point. According to the popular website YourBrainonPorn.com watching pornography releases a squirt of dopamine in the human brain that causes the viewer to feel pleasure and keep watching. Some researchers have found that porn can act in a way similar to a drug such as cocaine or heroin. “The current and extant findings suggest that a common network exists for sexual-cue reactivity and drug-cue reactivity in groups with CSB and drug addictions, respectively. These findings suggest overlaps in networks underlying disorders of pathological consumption of drugs and natural rewards,” a study published in
a University of Cambridge scholarly journal concluded.
The idea that porn is similar to a drug is by no means uniform among psychologists. According to some studies, casual consumers of pornography have brains no different from so-called sex addicts. “The problems and complaints reported by self-identified porn and sex addicts have to do with the context within which these individuals are expressing or pursuing their high libido,
not with a unique disease,”
clinical psychologist David J. Ley argued in Psychology Today last year.
Today, the adult film industry in the US makes an annual profit of
$10 billion to $12 billion. Although declining DVD sales have cut into the industry’s profits, pornography is easier to access and more graphic than ever before. Whereas men once traveled to movie theaters to watch their smut, now they do so on their PC, smart phone, or tablet at home.
The idea that porn is breaking into the mainstream of American culture is not new; from newsmagazines like ABC’s “20/20” to the New York Times, the media have highlighted porn’s growing acceptance. But there is another side to the story. As porn has become more popular, the backlash against it has too.
Yet unlike 30 and 40 years ago, when female activists argued that smut degraded women, today it is male activists who say that porn harms men.
The more intellectual among these activists say that porn is a public health hazard. YourBrainOnPorn.com is the leading popular advocate of this school of thought. Other male writers, such as
Brett McKay, founder and editor of the Art of Manliness website, argue that porn is more of a “sexual junk food” than an addiction. And there is a growing
“No Fap” movement on Reddit and
the euphemism for masturbation; this school argues that porn renders men emotionally and psychologically drained and less likely to form a loving relationship with a woman.
In the American church, Bishop Loverde has been the most outspoken prelate about the spiritual perils of porn, which he compares to a plague. “(T)his plague extends far beyond the boundaries of church or school,” Loverde writes in “Bought with a Price.” “The victims of this plague are countless. Today perhaps more so than at any time previously, man finds his gift of sight and therefore his vision of God distorted by the evil of pornography.” (
Matt Fradd, a leader of the lay Catholic wing of the anti-porn cause, wrote the introduction to the 2014 edition of the letter).
In a 22-minute telephone interview with Aleteia, Loverde struck a serious but not solemn note. He warned of the dangers of pornography to men and women, marriage, and family life. For example, he noted that in 58 percent of annulment cases filed in the diocese’s marriage tribunal, pornography use is cited as a reason for the petition.
Yet his tone, like much of his pastoral letter, was stern and exasperated rather than angry or upset. He quoted Pope Francis, while his letter cited a long quote from the British Christian apologist C.S. Lewis.
He added he would consider adding a video component, such as on YouTube, to the pastoral letter.
Why did you re-issue the pastoral letter?
One of the reasons is we wanted to update it and make it more accessible to people. The scourge of pornography has just increased over the years. It’s engulfing the whole society. It’s just ruining relationships.
Do Catholics who oppose pornography labor under the impression they are puritans?
They do. One of the reasons we Christians and Catholics oppose pornography is because we hold sex in high regard. We’re told we hate sex and hate the body. But the opposite is true. We understand the beauty of sex.
You write that porn is not like alcohol in that it can be consumed in moderation. Why can’t it?
No, because alcohol is something like beer that can be addictive. Watching porn is an addictive. You get that fix. Scientists tell us this. It changes the brain. It demeans people. People are reduced to their behaviors and desensitized to porn. They want more and more of it.
Many priests say they hear confessions in which men confess to watching porn. Why did you decide to lead a campaign against it?
Well, I talked to priests, and it’s true that in confession they said pornography came up a lot. These men were sorrowful. I see the devastating effects it has on couples. I say as a pastor that people need to wake up. People have bought into the idea of, ‘Well, it’s a personal problem for someone else’s kid.’ Parents need to wake up to see how pernicious this is.
Have you asked priests in the diocese to speak against porn in their sermons?
We’ve had sermons on the topic. I’m a member of
Religious Alliance Against Pornography. This is an ecumenical, inter-faith group of members who speak out against pornography. Sometimes I have someone come in and talk with my priests about the problem. We had someone in two years ago. And others don’t know the link between pornography and human trafficking, so we had a detective come in and discuss it.
What realistically can politicians and civil authorities do to restrict porn?
Well, it seems to me citizens support restrictions but they aren’t aware of them. This is an industry we’re fighting. Local groups have value; they are good in their jurisdictions. Our citizens need to be more involved on this. I don’t think people think about this enough. It’s not something people think about. I do bring this up at churches, and people say ‘Oh, you’re just making a religious argument. No, this is a very serious study of psychology. Why do we want to have drugs on the brain?
Have you seen any good campaigns against porn?
The Religious Alliance Against Pornography is good. We need to wake people up. There’s hope, but a lot needs to be done. As a Church, we need to be like a field hospital, as Pope Francis says, and serve people.
Can porn be a marital aid?
I have heard this. Pornography is demeaning. Persons are objectified. They are not loved for their whole being; they are not dignified and there is no real intimacy.
Mark Stricherz covers Washington for Aleteia. He is author of Why the Democrats are Blue.
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