Porn as a Threat to the Mythic Social Order: Christian Nationalism, Anti-Pornography Legislation, and Fear of Pornography as a Public Menace

Abstract

We propose contemporary support for sweeping anti-pornography legislation is driven, in large part, by Christian nationalism―an ideology seeking to politically enforce a mythic Christian sexual order, but not one’s own sexual behavior. We show Christian nationalism strongly predicts a desire to outlaw pornography, but not actual pornography use. Moreover, Christian nationalism is also the strongest predictor that Americans believe pornography leads to a breakdown of morals and to rape, but is unrelated to views about porn’s individual consequences. Unlike indicators of personal piety, which connect pornography to individual behavior, Christian nationalism relates to pornography almost exclusively as a societal threat.