Is a Church Cashing In on Women's Porn Addiction?

By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

I must admit I fell right into the trap predicted by one church leader. But I have a hard time believing that "women addicted to pornography" is a growing problem and a trend that is going to exacerbate in the future.

The New York Times ran a story today about a Kansas mega-church that runs a program to help women addicted to pornography kick the habit. My initial reaction: How many women could be "addicted" to pornography? At best, I would believe it's a niche problem. One Craig Gross, a self-described youth pastor (apparently earning almost $10,000 per month selling 30-day online memberships to his program that helps people kick the pornography habit) told the Times some 20 percent of his customers are women:

…Mr. Gross said: “The problem is, most churches have male leadership, and if you want to pitch an event like that, they’ll say, ‘Our women don’t struggle with that.’ This is going to be the next wave, but you’re going to get a lot of blank stares. ‘Really? Come on, this isn’t a big deal.’”

So Mr. Gross predicted my reaction. We played "gotcha" and he won. However, it seems to me that the discovery of this niche market (females addicted to pornography) is just one more way for churches to gain followers. Porn addicts are convinced that a belief in Christ can save them. Psychological addictions are best treated by trained psychiatrists and psychologists, not pastors. Low-income people can't afford proper medical help. The church steps in and cashes in at the same time.

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