Many of the more liberal-minded blogs are indulging in a snarkfest over the results of a new study that shows slightly higher consumption rates of porn in more socially conservative regions of the country. It’s good fodder for Stewart and Colbert, but it’s probably overblown. Americans have a healthy appetite for the naked Internet ladies (and dudes); it’s silly to expect conservatives to be any different. Yes, the disconnect between their words and actions is a legitimate target for criticism, but the study may be more interesting for what it says about the current state of American cultural conservatism and where it’s going.
American evangelicals and fundamentalists have embraced the Internet as much as the rest of us. It provides so many tools for reaching out to the faithful and bringing people into the churches. They are not walling themselves from the rest of us. But the rest of us are becoming more secular. And all the things that make the Internet such a useful tool for conservatives–its ubiquity, accessibility, and versatility–are tremendously disruptive to religious communities. It’s all too easy to stumble upon material that contradicts their faith or is considered verboten.
It’s not easy to keep your gaze fixed on heaven when a click of the mouse can serve up videos of beautiful women doing all kinds of crazy things to the pizza delivery guy. People of faith have always been challenged to maintain fidelity to their beliefs while being assailed on all sides by the bright lights and come-hither looks of the secular world. But, as this study underscores, technology is making it a lot harder to keep the secular world at bay.
It is considered “verboten”….
Oh, is the English language really that rich that it has some German words?
No wonder I experience great trouble lifting my Webster’s dictionary from the dictionary shelves at my left side.
Hi, Your way with words is refreshing and I enjoy reading your website. I am so glad that I bookmarked the 19th Floor. I hope you get paid for keeping interesting and provocative subjects in perspective!
Well, conservatives are probably more likely to patronize porn online because of the relative privacy of doing so. If you’re out at the strip joints or buying magazines in a book shop, your habits are very visible. If you are concerned about being condemned those behaviors, as conservatives may be more likely to be, you’ll probably do it in a way that’s not so overt. Much the same, I’m sure there’s a higher proportion of gay pornography being “consumed” online than would be expected from its use in other media.