Rise of Atheism, discussion of pro-atheist topics, and disavowal of the 3 abramic faiths

[Torillian]

Lavamelon said:

Torillian said:

I read through that entire article and didn't see anything making the claim you are. Could you quote the specific thing you are talking about that seems to indicate that hedonism leads to atheism?

Try this link (long read)

Seeing is (Not) Believing: How Viewing Pornography Shapes the Religious Lives of Young Americans - PMC

"Among the more consistent findings in research on pornography use has been that religious commitment or religiosity tends to be negatively associated with viewing pornography. Though data are almost always cross-sectional or otherwise preclude testing for directionality, the general assumption in most studies that consider religious factors is that religiosity serves as the independent variable, diminishing pornography use among young Americans via internalized moral proscriptions and social control."

Alright, so with the caveat that I am a chemist and so this is by no means my field:

Doesn't religiosity being the independent variable mean that increases or decreases in religiosity impact porn use rather than the other way around as you are suggesting? That the two are correlated is probably relatively uncontroversial but which one leads to which sounds like what you are citing goes against your conclusions. 

A link for my understanding: https://soc.utah.edu/sociology3112/basics.php

"One way to think of variables is in terms of being either independent or dependent. In the social sciences, independent variables are typically thought of as being the cause, and dependent variables are often seen as being the effect."