Those who are more

They shame the adult industry, teach sexual abstinence and warn against lustful thoughts.

But the Bible Belt may have a hidden kinky side, according to a new study that claims the more Christian you are, the more likely you are to watch porn.

Compared to their liberal counterparts, those who are religious use more search terms on Google considered to be pornographic, according to the research.

the Bible Belt may have a kinky side, according to a new study that claims the more Christian you are, the more likely you are to watch porn

The study, by researchers at Brock University in Ontario, Canada, looked at two years of data from Google Trends from different states in the US.

The study distinguishes between states that are identified as religiously conservative and those the politically conservative.

The latter is more likely to look for sex specific terms, such as 'gay sex, free porn and xxx,' whereas those that consider themselves religious look for more generalised sex terms.

'Prominent political scandals and recent research suggest a paradoxical private attraction to sexual content on the political and religious right,' the researchers write in their study abstract.

CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL BLOCKS PORN SITES FROM ITS WI-FI Canterbury Cathedral has blocked access to porn websites to keep worshippers from temptation The church has long warned against indulging in the pleasures of the flesh. And now Canterbury Cathedral has blocked access to porn websites in a bid to keep worshippers from temptation. Managers at the cathedral have acted to deter people from visiting 'salacious' websites in its newly opened café. Canterbury Cathedral is worried that people might try and look at unsuitable sites on their laptops and smartphones over a slice of lemon drizzle cake after visiting the shrine of Thomas Beckett and saying a prayer or two However, the world heritage site, which dates from the sixth century is keen to offer patrons of its coffee shop internet access. Christopher Robinson, a spokesman for the cathedral, told the : 'It's really a safeguarding process. What we wanted is to provide free Wi-Fi for members of the public, but we didn't want salacious or debasing sites being accessed.' Canterbury is not the only cathedral to make moves to stop people looking at hardcore pornography on its grounds. Chester Cathedral had to shut down its Wi-Fi network after it was found that patrons could pay homage to the naked human body in its coffee shop. Advertisement

'Across two separate years, and controlling for demographic variables, we observed moderate-to-large positive associations between: greater proportions of state-level religiosity and general web searching for sexual content and greater proportions of state-level conservatism and image-specific searching for sex.'

While this suggests religious people may indulge more in porn, there could be another explanation, the study authors claims.

'It is possible that liberal citizens living in states higher in religiosity or conservatism search more for sexual content due to living in a more sexually-restricted environment,' they wrote.

In a separate study earlier this year, Homegrown Video revealed that about a third of all homemade sex tape submissions were created in the 'Bible Belt.'

In a separate study earlier this year, Homegrown Video revealed that about a third of all homemade sex tape submissions were created in the 'Bible Belt'

Meanwhile, California-based research group Barna, found that 64 per cent of Christian men and 15 per cent of Christian women admitted to viewing pornography at least once a month.

These figures compared to 65 per cent of men and 30 per cent of women who identified as non-Christian and said they watched porn the same amount.

Joel Hesch, president and founder of Prove Men Ministries, which commissioned the Barna study, said the results point to a frightening pattern of addiction.

'It needs to be openly addressed in the church, a safe place within the church,' Mr Hesch told Meredith Somers at The Washington Times.

'[Pornography] is addicting. It is a problem not just affecting individuals, but families.