Pornography in various forms has been a part of human society for many centuries, from paintings and sculptures that crossed the boundaries of “art” in their day to today’s multibillion dollar industry that employs all manner of media to distribute a vast array of “products.”  The proliferation of the porn industry in recent decades attests not only to its financial success in that consumers keep supporting it, but also to its cultural success—viewing porn no longer carries the strict social taboo it once did.  When these factors mix with the speed and perceived anonymity of the internet, porn becomes easy, inexpensive, fast and streamed directly into our homes, libraries, classrooms and dorms, 24/7.  (For some arresting statistics on the prevalence of pornography usage, http://www.safefamilies.org/sfStats.php).

As all of us who work with college students know, our students enter school on a number of journeys (professional, spiritual, interpersonal, etc…) and everything they encounter will have some sort of influence on those journeys.  How will pornography affect them?  There is no one answer.  Some students will never look at it due to a lack of interest or religious convictions.  Others students will satisfy their occasional curiosity without getting “hooked.”  Others still will have minimal difficulties in school or with friends because of their involvement with porn.  A few, however, will become addicted, entailing potentially devastating consequences for their lives.  The differences between these “levels” of pornography usage (non-user, user, abuser and addict) are very important, especially for anyone a student might come to for help.  A quick internet search revealed many helpful sites for assessing the impact of porn usage on a person’s life; here are two of those resources: http://www.ncsac.org/addicts/addict_self_test_cyber.aspx and http://www.netaddiction.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=74&Itemid=88.  (I should say here that I am neither a doctor nor a counselor; I included these links because they seem helpful and because they occurred in a very basic search that troubled students themselves might use.)  Many other resources are available as well.

Because pornography of various types is so easily available through the internet, it is increasingly common for students to enter college with established patterns of problematic pornography usage.  The dangers here are many, since the hours spent with pornography are typically hours during which the student would normally be homework, making friends, working, resting or engaging in religious activities.  During these hours, the student is being shaped by the images they are viewing and as the old saying goes, a picture really is worth a thousand words.  Regarding pornography, the “words” associated with the pictures form a worldview in which sexual pleasure is seen as the most important part of life, that other people (especially women) are merely objects that can and should be used to attain pleasure and that friendship, love, religious devotion and all other constructive aims pale in importance to anatomical and biological drives.  The adoption of the mindset is usually gradual, generally coinciding with an escalation in the intensity of viewed content from mild to much more specialized and potentially even illegal.  (Journalist Pamela Paul has an excellent book on the consequences of porn addiction; my last point comes from page 227.  http://www.amazon.com/Pornified-Pornography-Damaging-Relationships-Families/dp/0805081321/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294623170&sr=8-1 Gail Dines has another good book on the topic; http://www.amazon.com/Pornland-How-Porn-Hijacked-Sexuality/dp/0807044520/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1294685807&sr=8-1).

So, with regard to our students, what does all of this mean, especially for ministers and chaplains?  It means that some percentage of our students are struggling with these issues right now.  Statistically, most of them are not on the path to addiction, though they may still experience problems such as missing class or work, falling grades and relationship troubles due to their porn usage.  These outward problems of porn abuse and addiction are often entangled with feelings of guilt, shame, loneliness, loss of control, fear of discovery and vulnerability.  As we care for students struggling with these issues it is of the utmost importance that we maintain a nonjudgmental, non-anxious atmosphere in which the student can trust and be trusted.  Only a small number of our students will experience enough difficulties to warrant (in their minds) seeking help.  Providing pastoral care for these students necessitates cultivating openness to talking through very personal issues while speaking on behalf of the Gospel and keeping one’s own judgment in check.  The students who would seek primary guidance from a chaplain or minister rather than a campus counseling service likely know what the Bible says about lust, sin, serving two masters, Onan, fornication and the rest of the oft-cited scriptures.  What they may be looking for by talking to us is the hope and love that Christ offers all who suffer, and resources to help them on their journey out of darkness.

An alternative is that these students have needs that exceed the reasonable expectations of pastoral care.  Most college campuses have free or low-cost counseling services for students, and in many cases, referring the student to such psychological help is the most responsible thing to do.  Pastoral support may be a necessary ally as the student learns to control their urges to relapse via both psychological and theological means.  Such referral also expands the student’s support network and bolsters their ability to handle temptation in the future.

Given that only a small number of students who are experiencing troubles with porn will seek pastoral help, that means that the vast majority are suffering silently.  Pastoral care for these students is more ambiguous since they are not sitting in your office.  Helping these students may take the shape of offering on-campus programs about healthy attitudes toward sex, sexuality, and relationships, in which the students can learn that the ministry/chaplain’s office is not staffed by judgmental Puritans, but by people who understand some of the intricacies of human sexuality.  Programs such as these will teach the students that help is available and that the topic of sex is not taboo around the campus’ religious staff.

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Derek Roe – Derek’s path to ministry started with an undergraduate degree in Psychology and has led him to Vanderbilt Divinity School, where he is a Master of Divinity student. Currently interning at Belmont University’s Office of Universtiy Ministries as a Graduate Assistant for Outreach and Spiritual Formation, his primary interests revolve around ways to help students find and explore their own spiritual paths. He lives in Nashville with his wonderful wife Jeannine and several house plants.

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