Conservative politicians have been citing science to support anti-porn legislation, but according to surveys conducted from 1984 to 2018, the only Americans who still broadly support banning porn are biblical literalists — not science believers or skeptics.
In fact, an analysis found that a person's level of trust in scientific authority was mostly unrelated to favoring a ban on pornography.
Thus, he said, politicians cite science tactically, not sincerely: "You can't say anymore, 'We want to get rid of porn because it's wickedness.'
But it's completely legitimate to say, 'We want to get rid of porn because it's a public health crisis like opioids or meth.'".
The only group holding fast in their belief that porn distribution should be outlawed are the most theologically conservative Americans.
Across four statistical models, the odds that a biblical literalist would support a porn ban were roughly double that of other Americans.
Scientific authority, religious conservatism, and support for outlawing pornography, 1984–2018," published March 22 in Social Forces, was authored by Samuel L. Perry, University of Oklahoma. »
