Not Recycling, Immoral; Viewing Porn, No Problem

Most Millennials feel that there is nothing wrong with pornography and that the real culprit of immorality is not recycling.

That's one of the startling finds in a comprehensive Barna Group study done on pornography use among Americans and the Church.

Fifty-six percent of young people feel not recycling is bad while just 32 percent feel porn is bad.

Josh McDowell Ministries commissioned the survey. McDowell told CBN News that he isn't surprised at the results.

"We hear about recycling all the time, at schools, on television, Internet, everything: how bad not recycling is," he said. "We almost hear nothing about porn. Pastors don't talk about it for the most part, Christian leaders don't talk about it, 75 to 78 percent of all Christian parents have never talked to their kids about it."

The new Barna Group survey released in New York City this week finds porn use is much higher among young people than older generations.  One in 20 young adults and one in 10 teens say their friends think viewing porn is bad.

McDowell, known for his book New Evidence That Demands a Verdict, warned the problem of young people and porn is only going to get worse.

"Everything you see in porn will be dwarfed in six to nine months because of virtual reality," the Christian leader and author said. "But the heartbreaking thing to me is to see that the younger you go, the more acceptable porn is, the younger you go the more watched the porn, the younger you go the less porn is a moral issue or sin or outside God's loving plan for us."

Another finding is that many more young females are using porn than older women. Thirty-three percent of females 13 to 24 years old seek out porn at least once a month. Just 12 percent of women older than 25 use it.

And the Church is woefully unprepared to fight back. Only 7 percent of churches have any program to help members deal with pornography.

Josh McDowell Ministries and Covenant Eyes are now organizing a conference in Fayettteville, North Carolina, called the Set Free Global Summit.

The event, which is being held April 4-7, is to raise awareness of how the porn crisis is growing and to aid churches in battling against it. It's especially aimed at church leaders.

"Twenty percent of it will be on the problem and the extent and the consequences of the problem," McDowell stated. "Eighty percent will be on incredible solutions. And you must be able to present not just a biblical solution, but a scientific, medical and cultural solution."

"This is a different animal than the Church has ever dealt with, and it's going to take totally different approaches to it," he said.

You can find out more information at Set Free Summit.