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Do Christian women struggle with porn? What the research says

What the numbers actually say about women, faith and porn, and why so many women still believe they are the only one.

Updated 2026-09-26

If you think you are the only woman in your church who struggles with porn or erotica, you are almost certainly wrong. You are just the only one who knows about you.

Women's struggles in this area are real, common, and rarely talked about. In this guide you will see what the research actually says, why the silence is so thick, and what the numbers mean for you.

What the numbers say

A few studies are worth knowing. We have kept to the ones we could check, and worded each one carefully.

• Christian women and porn. Barna's 2024 research found that four in ten Christian women view porn at least occasionally.
• Women and compulsive sexual behavior. A 2018 national study of 2,325 US adults, published in JAMA Network Open by Dickenson and colleagues, found that about 7 percent of women (and 10 percent of men) reported real distress or trouble in life from difficulty controlling sexual urges and behavior. The lead researcher noted that women in particular need more study.
• Faith and seeking help. A 2017 study of 719 women by Lewczuk and colleagues in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions found that how religious a woman was helped predict whether she sought help for problem porn use. That was different from what earlier studies had found in men.

And none of these numbers count the quieter doors many women walk through: erotica, spicy books, fanfiction, and fantasy loops that never involve a screen.

Why it feels like nobody else struggles

If the numbers are this high, why does it feel so lonely? A few reasons.

• The sermons are for men. Most church teaching on lust assumes a male audience, so women conclude their struggle must be unusual.
• Women's doors look different. A romance novel or a daydream does not look like a problem from the outside, so nobody names it.
• Shame keeps it quiet. When a struggle is seen as a "men's issue," a woman who has it feels doubly ashamed, which makes her even less likely to tell anyone.

The result is a room full of women who each think they are the only one.

Why the research matters for you

These numbers are not here to make you feel better about a habit you want to leave. They are here to take away one specific lie: that you are uniquely broken.

One more study is worth knowing. A 2019 review by Grubbs and colleagues in Archives of Sexual Behavior found that when porn use clashes with a person's beliefs, it is linked to more distress. For Christian women, that means the struggle often comes with an extra weight of shame. That shame does not help you change. Grace does.

So the takeaway is simple:

• You are not the only one. Far from it.
• You are not beyond help. Compulsive patterns respond to support, practice, and time.
• You do not have to wait until you are fixed to tell someone. Telling someone is part of how it gets fixed.

What Made New does about this

Made New was built for the woman who thought she was the only one. It is a private, faith-rooted app for Christian women stepping away from porn, erotica and fantasy.

• A plan built from your answers, including erotica, spicy books and fantasy, not only video.
• Your Circle, a private group of up to 10 women you invite, so you are not carrying it alone.
• Steady Me for the minute the pull arrives.
• Be Still sessions with Scripture and the stories of women in the Bible.
• Progress that does not disappear after a hard day.

It is coming to iPhone soon. You can save your spot below.