Straight White American Jesus It's in the Code ep 177: "Porn Again"
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Jan 28, 2026 A critique of right-wing certainty about pornography and its social harms. A close read of claims that porn undermines marriage and manhood. A look at how data is used to leap from correlation to cause. An exploration of religious reasoning and confirmation bias shaping moral panic around sex.
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Porn Framed As Cause, Not Correlation
- Josh Hawley links pornography to men's retreat from responsibility and failing as husbands.
- Dan Miller argues Hawley conflates correlation with causation in citing porn-related data.
Data Shows Correlation, Not Direction
- Studies show porn use correlates with lower relationship and life satisfaction, but they don't prove causation.
- Miller emphasizes social scientists caution that directionality or third variables may explain those correlations.
Theology Drives What Counts As Evidence
- High-control religionists adopt divine-command ethics but then seek empirical reasons to justify commands.
- Miller says they look for negative consequences to defend theological prohibitions like condemning pornography.
