The Impact of Religion on Online Pornography: Evidence from Ramadan Using Google Trends Data

Abstract

This study examines the impact of religiosity on online pornography use in Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country. Ramadan, a holy month of fasting for Muslims, provides a unique opportunity to examine the impact of religiosity. To measure online pornography use, the Google Trends dataset between 2013 and 2023 was used and regression analysis was utilized. Online searches for pornography decreased by approximately 11% to 15% during Ramadan. Moreover, the impact of Ramadan is more pronounced in more religious provinces. This finding ­suggests that religiosity may be limiting online pornography use in the short term. The strength of this study comes from using a novel dataset from a country where research is scarce on this topic.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Zehra Allahverdi and participants of “The Religiosity East and West” conference in Münster/Germany.

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Data availability statement

The data and codes that produce the findings reported in this article are available at this URL link.

Notes

1 Children, travelers, women who are pregnant, nursing, menstruating, or who are taking medicine are exempt from fasting requirement.

Additional information

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.