Religious people more likely to think they're porn addicts

22 Feb mirror.co.uk

Very religious people are more likely to consider themselves addicted to pornography even after viewing Internet porn just once.

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University examined the link between perceptions of addiction to online pornography and religious beliefs in a study that was published Wednesday in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior."

We were surprised that the amount of viewing did not impact the perception of addiction, but strong moral beliefs did," said Joshua Grubbs, a doctoral student and lead author of the study.

Grubbs, who said he attended a conservative university as an undergraduate, became interested in the topic after seeing fellow students in distress because they thought something was terribly wrong with them after viewing pornographic images or videos online.

He also found that about half of the more than 1,200 books about pornography addiction listed on Amazon.com were listed under religious or spirituality sections including many personal testimonials about the perceived addiction.

However, another study published this month found little evidence such an addiction exists.Researchers at New Mexico Solutions, a behavioral health program in Albuquerque, said no evidence connected pornography use to erectile dysfunction or changes in the brain.