Swedish church fights against pornography

The problems are too big for one church to solve, says Johanna Lindhult from Salvation Army. Therefore, the organisation has gathered several church denominations to fight the problem.

The representatives of the different churches come together in a Zoom meeting to speak about the problem. "I think we have a tsunami ahead of us; a tsunami of people stuck in the net of pornography", says pastor Torbjörn Freij from the Vineyard congregation. He speaks at the meeting at which the Swedish medium Dagen was present.

Other denominations that partake are the Evangelical Free Church, Pentecost, the Equmenia Church and the Swedish Alliance Mission. The Catholic Church was also invited, but its representative could not attend the meeting due to another appointment.

Johanna Lindhult from Salvation Army has been helping people with a porn addiction for several years already. "Many people contact us and want help. Our discussion groups are almost always full", she says to Dagen. "That's the reason why we have started this new network."

Harder for Christians to seek help

Lindhult sees the fight against pornography as a duty of the church. "On the one hand, the church must always fight for human dignity, and thus against the porn industry that breaks people down. On the other hand, Christians addicted to porn find it even more difficult to seek help for their problem than people who do not believe. The shame doubles when you know deep down that the girls or boys you consume are people whom God loves."

Pastor Freij, who himself struggled with porn addiction, emphasises that it is important to work against porn from a human rights perspective. "This is not about the church pointing fingers and saying that porn is so sinful. We want to help those who consume porn. Watching pornography affects the brain. For me, porn became like an accelerating disease."

Freij is worried about the way the porn industry develops itself. "It is becoming more and more accessible, and movies are becoming more violent." According to him, the development of technology is another threat. "The more advanced the technology is, the more porn can access the brain of the viewer.”

Link between human trafficking and porn

Lindhult sees a link between human trafficking and the porn industry, Vartland writes. "At Salvation Army, we receive many victims of human trafficking. Their stories consistently show a connection between porn consumption and sex purchases. I do not mean that everyone who watches porn buys sex, but that everyone who buys sex also watches porn."

According to Lindhult, porn consumption normalises buying sex. "By watching porn online, one gets used to consuming another person for his own pleasure."

The Christian network plans to organise a digital seminar in the spring.

Battle in Switzerland

In Switzerland has the Stiftung Zukunft CH (foundation future Switzerland) announced new steps in the battle against pornography, as Livenet reports. According to Zukunft CH, the consumption of pornography has long-term negative consequences.