The word “pornography” comes from the Greek words, “porne,” meaning a prostitute, and “graphos,” meaning a writing or depiction. If we put both words together we arrive at “A depiction or description of the activities of prostitutes.” Webster indicates that it also means “A depiction of licentiousness or lewdness.”
There are two generally recognized forms of pornography, “soft-core” and “hard-core.” The Supreme Court has equated hard-core pornography with obscenity.
The Harms to Your Soul and to Morality
We, of course, recognize that the consumption of pornography or the participation in its production and distribution is sinful and thus harmful to the soul and our eternal salvation. This has been the universal teaching of the Catholic Church.
Aside from the question of sin, there is another closely allied principle called “Morality.” Indulgence or participation in the pornography explosion can be labeled as unchaste, licentious and morally evil. As such it is destructive of Personal Morality. Pornography also violates Public Morality, and most countries have legislated against it as an evil. In the United States, the Federal government and most states have laws against obscenity.
The Harms to Marriage
Dr. Victor B. Cline, a psychologist and Professor Emeritus of Psychology the University of Utah has counseled numerous couples where one of the partners is addicted to pornography.
He has concluded that “the major consequence of being addicted to pornography is not the probability or possibility of committing a serious sex crime (though this can and does occur), but rather the disturbance of the fragile bonds of intimate family and marital relationships. This is where the most grievous pain, damage, and sorrow occur. If one asks if porn is responsible or causes any sex crimes, the answer is ‘Yes,’ but that is only the tip of the iceberg.”
Violence Toward and the Degradation of Women
In 1985, Congress authorized and President Reagan appointed a Commission, later known as the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, to determine the nature, extent and impact on society of pornography in the United States. In its Final Report, this Commission said:
“The clinical and experimental evidence supports the conclusion that there is a causal relationship between exposure to sexually violent materials and an increase in aggressive behavior directed towards women …”
Commission continues:
“An enormous amount of the most sexually explicit material … is material that we would classify as 'degrading,' the term we use to encompass the undeniably linked characteristics of degradation, subordination and humiliation…
“Substantial exposure to materials of this variety is likely to increase the extent to which those exposed will view rape…as less serious than they otherwise would have and will view the victims of rape and other forms of sexual violence as significantly more responsible … and will increase the acceptance of the proposition that women like to be forced into sexual practices.”
The Harm to Children
We are again indebted to the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography for this succinct statement, “We have little doubt that much of this material does find its way into the hands of children, and to the extent that it does we all agree it is harmful. For children to be taught …that sex is public, that sex is commercial and that sex can be divorced from any degree of affection, love, commitment or marriage is the wrong message at the wrong time.”
The Harms Caused by Rapists and Serial Murderers
Studies by social scientist Dr. W.L. Marshall found that almost half of rapists used pornography depicting consenting sex to arouse themselves preparatory to seeking out a victim. Other investigators have reported that rapists and child molesters use pornography both immediately prior to their crimes and during the assault.
Addiction to pornography can lead apparently normal people to commit the ultimate crime of murder. This is a hard saying, but its truth lies in the stories and confessions of serial killers.
For More Information
This article is taken from a 4,600-word report published online at ObscenityCrimes.Org by Morality in Media. The online report deals in depth with the issues described here, and is supported by footnotes referring the reader to authoritative source material. It is one of eight articles on the harms of pornography and five on obscenity and related laws to be found at here. Also posted at this useful site are articles on “How to Win Against Pornography in Your Community,” plus links to the work of other organizations and individuals in the fight against obscenity.
Morality in Media operates ObscenityCrimes.Org to give people a way to report what they believe may be illegal hardcore pornography on the Internet. MIM collects and analyzes these reports and sends them to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section in Washington, and to U.S. Attorneys in the field across the country.
