[Dominique]

To people of various religious backgrounds: how do you feel about pornography?

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Name : Dominique, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 17, City : n/a, State : MD Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[Augustine23652]

In Catholic moral theology, taking willful and deliberate pleasure in a desire to commit a sin is just as bad as actually committing the sin itself, in this case, sexual pleasure outside of marriage (Matthew 5:28). Pictures and books that have no purpose other than to provide illicit sexual pleasure are therefore condemned in Catholicism. The entire moral theology of sex in Catholic doctrine is oriented toward bringing together one man and one woman, ideally to bear and raise children, in a lifelong marital relationship. Anything else is off limits. A tasteful, non-photographic marital sex manual would be OK; likewise, fine art that portrays the beauty of the human body in a non-erotic way is acceptable. Incidentally, some say that pornography degrades the women who are portrayed. I have to think it degrades the reader far more. Many if not most pornography readers are men who cannot get sexual pleasure any other way, and that is pretty pathetic.

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Name : Augustine23652, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 42, City : Columbia, State : SC Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Mandy]

Pornography is wrong in so many ways. I, too, am a Baptist, and learned how bad porn was long before my religion taught me anything. As a young child, I saw pornography tear my parents apart. It also created a problem between my father-daughter relationship. Second of all, it's gross. Why would you want to see naked people? I guess for guys it's the whole eye-candy thing, but for girls ... I have no clue. As for the religious aspect, porn causes you to lust, and anyone you lust for other than your wife or husband is a sin.

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Name : Mandy, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Baptist, City : Sugar Land, State : TX Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Michael]

My own views of pornography have wavered through my various religious and philosophical views. Recently, after viewing a production of Sarah Daniels' 'Masterpieces,' I launched heavily into researching the debates surrounding porn's psycho- and sociological effects; during that time, I regarded deleting all the porn on my computer based on the chance that it supported an industry which weakened inhibitions of raped (I'm currently having similar questions regarding how far I should go with vegetarianism). However, I remember an instance back when I was Christian, when I caught a nonfiction softcore porn presentation, and I just lay there, admiring the mostly nude female in much the same way I now stop and admire squirrels, or a sunset.

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Name : Michael, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : bi-curious (mostly straight), Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 20, City : Livingston, State : LA Country : United States, Occupation : undergrad, Education level : 2 Years of College, 

[lh]

Pornography, where 'porno' means prostitution, is about depicting prostitution. Prostitution is sex for money. So, most of so-called 'pornographic' literature isn't. Most of pornographic films are. However, there are amateur pornograms that aren't: pair-bound couples coupling. Discerning this from pornography might be difficult. --- With this in mind, we could formulate the kinds of ethics there are. First, there are those who think their religion is against pornography. Those break down into political pornography haters ('should be banned by law') and the unpolitical ('a sin, but shouldn't be actively banned'). --- Then there are those who are against prostitution. Most cite women's abuse as a human rights violation. This view may or may not be connected explicitly to pornography, but by definition of pornography, it should be. --- Some value systems condemn sex in other people's view, e.g. Eastern religions. The reason for condeming pornography is that a naked body is unaesthetic. However, pornography isn't seen as an explicit sin, and prostitutes and their clients aren't persecuted. --- The liberals (not equivalent to U.S. Democrats!) think that pornography is perfectly acceptable, as long as its conforms to some general ethical contract. In the west, this excludes child pornography and bestiality from the 'accepted' list. (This isn't the general contract everywhere.) --- Normative statements (opinions and such) follow. --- I'm a liberal. So, in my view, considering that the persons involved are consenting, and good ethical and aesthetic judgment is exercised, pornography is perfectly acceptable. Restrictions to pornography should be in place to prevent the abuse of human rights. Pornography has some potential of a demerit good, but not all the time, like tobacco. It is most definitely not a sin. --- Pornography will be supplied by the market economy no matter what, and making it illegal ultimately harms the law. Actually, my reaction when pornography was LEGALISED in this country a few years ago was: I never knew was it ILLEGAL? What the hell have the politicians been thinking the whole 1980's and 1970's? --- I agree when someone says that there are problems in the porn industry. Abuse is commonplace, but this is not an inherit problem and doesn't provide sufficient grounds for a categoric condemnation of pornography.

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Name : lh, Gender : M, Age : 21, City : Espoo, State : NA Country : Finland, 

[Gus]

im 18 years old and im not going to get married anytime soon. so are we still pathetic then? i have looked at porn before but i don't make it a regular practice. i think that porn can be used as a release of stress and other emotions. and my arguement is that it's better that you watch and self pleasure yourself then going out and doing those acts. you could say that we should just not do either, but we're 18 year old males full of hormones, i would hope you remember those days.

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Name : Gus, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 18, City : AC, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[Betty]

I'm atheist and the only problem that I see with the majority of pornography is that it seems to lower some men's opinions of women, who are frequently tarred with epithets like 'whore' and put in submissive positions in such productions. I won't say that I think it's degrading to all women, however, because I think that some of them enjoy that line of work. What I think is more important is the effect it has on how men see women. Used in moderation, without allowing it to lower one's opinions of women, and under the right circumstances, I don't think pornography is as evil as some people might see it.

User Detail :  

Name : Betty, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : Asian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 17, City : Medford, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Rita]

As an agnostic/atheist, I don't believe in 'sin' per se, but I do feel pornography is not a good influence for me. The majority of porn portrays sex as a completely joyless act - why would I want to fill my head with such negative images?

User Detail :  

Name : Rita, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 22, City : Dayton, State : OH Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Dina M.]

I'm not very religious but I enjoy it. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. And yes there is porn addiction- but honestly addictive people can become dependent on anything. You can't say it's bad because it harms some people. I think husbands should watch it alone and wives alone. And sometimes watch it together. some say god doesn't approve but it really is a paltry sin at most.

User Detail :  

Name : Dina M., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : unsure, City : Chicago, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : Poet, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[Exton]

I am a nontheist, which is akin to atheism. My moral code is based upon the question 'does it harm people?' This naturally can make ethical questions complex, but in the end, it is effective. As far as pornography goes, the answer is: it's not immoral, most of the time. I find that in order to be comfortable with one's self, it is necessary to accept that sexuality is a very large part of being human, and that one is only harmed by being afraid of it. There is no harm in arousal from images, providing the viewer is a sexually and intellectually mature adult. In children, pornography can cause a number of real problems to arise, for a number of reasons. In addition, the exploitation of children for making pornography also harms children, and so is immoral.

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Name : Exton, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : nontheist, Age : 18, City : Medway, State : MA Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[Hal]

I love it, the only reason it is frowned upon is because of Pompeii and the Victorians who thought it was too confusing for the un-educated, so it was hidden away behind curtains for the academics. The history of Porn is fascinating even if at times a little warped!

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Name : Hal, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Wiccan, Age : 35, City : New Zealand, State : NA Country : New Zealand, Occupation : Surfer, Social class : Upper class, 

[Jack19637]

From a Kemetic Recon. perspective, most ideas about sex (including pornography) are based on consent. As long as people in pornography consented to it (and hopefully were perfectly willing to do it), it is perfectly acceptable in my religion.

User Detail :  

Name : Jack19637, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 21, City : Oshkosh, State : WI Country : United States, Occupation : Camp Counselor, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[ShirleyAvery]

As a Jew, there's no prohibition i know of regarding porn. I think it's a legitimate outlet, esp. for males, sometimes a good substitute for cheating. However, if it becomes an obsession that replaces or harms a healthy loving relationship, it's a problem. Just Curious

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Name : ShirleyAvery, Gender : F, Disability : none, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 52, City : st. louis, State : MO Country : United States, Occupation : writer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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