Analysis of credit card data and zip codes of a top adult entertainment seller’s subscribers showed states that have sanctioned conservative legislation on sexuality, such as same-sex marriage restrictions, have 11 percent more subscribers to adult entertainment sites than other states. The adult entertainment provider was not named in the study.

Conducted by Harvard Business School professor Benjamin G. Edelman, the study showed that among the 10 states with the highest consumption rates, eight were for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in the 2008 presidential election.

Higher subscriptions rates also were found in regions where residents reported more conservative stances on religion. According to the study, residents in these regions were more likely to agree with statements such as: Even today, miracles are performed by the power of God, and AIDS might be God’s punishment for immoral sexual behavior.

It’s hard to say why more conservative areas view porn, but it might be related to its availability, Edelman said.

It’s a complicated question, but one idea is that more conservative or more religious people might be able to more easily justify viewing pornography than partaking in other sexual acts, said Gary Stollak, an MSU psychology professor emeritus.

“If I do visit a prostitute, for some, that’s a sin. It’s very different if I watch it than if I engage in sexual behavior. I’m allowed to do it because I’m not touching a real person,” he said.

The privacy offered by online pornography could be another factor contributing to the consumption by more conservative people, MSU dietetics senior Leah Tundevold said.

“Maybe it’s because porn sites aren’t as public as going to a club — it’s more personal since it’s on your computer,” she said. “And if it’s hypocritical, they’ll want to do it more secretly.”

Though the study did not address other mediums through which porn is available, such as magazines or videos, some have interpreted the study to represent consumption of porn as a whole.

“Certainly, an inference is necessary that those who consume online adult entertainment also have correlated consumption of offline adult entertainment,” Edelman said. “Is that inference correct? It is hard to say for sure. My intuition is that it is probably correct, and it seems most folks tend to agree.”