This timeline was very difficult to put together. There are very few references that list examples of immorality. It’s unfortunate that most Christian organizations fail to document a history of the immorality that transpires around them. If they were to keep list of events, they’d noticed an ominous downward trend. Because we’re rapidly running out of perversions that have not been exploited, eventually the immorality timeline will stop or slow to a crawl.
1931
Nevada legalized most forms of gambling in the state. The Nevada legislature was motivated to build on the tourism boom that was expected in the wake of the completion of Hoover Dam.
1946
The Motion Picture Association of America withdraws its seal of approval for Howard Hughes’s movie “The Outlaw” after he refuses to submit film ads to the MPAA for approval.
1948
U.S. Supreme Court ruling, McCollum v. Board of Education:
The court found religious instruction in public schools to be a violation of the establishment clause and therefore unconstitutional.
1951
The Motion Pictures Production Code specifically prohibits films dealing with abortion or narcotics.
1952
Ruling that motion pictures are protected by the 1st Amendment to the Constitution, the Supreme Court overturns a New York court’s ban on the showing of The Miracle, which was accused of being sacrilegious.
1953
Playboy magazine first emerged on the scene. The original pictures in Playboy were tame by today’s standards. The magazine’s founder Hugh Hefner has been an active spokesman for the new morality.
1955
The nine story Riviera Hotel in Los Vegas became the first high rise casino on the strip.
1955
United Artists withdraws from the Motion Picture Association refuses to issue a Production Code seal to the company’s film The Man With the Golden Arm, which deals with drug addiction.
1955
The American Law Institute’s model penal code omitted sodomy laws for the first time – without fanfare.
1956
The film industry permits references to abortion, drugs, kidnapping, and prostitution under certain circumstances.
1961
The Illinois legislature revised their criminal code without prohibiting sodomy. The law went into effect the following year.
1962
Any kind of prayer, composed by public school districts, even nondenominational prayer, is unconstitutional government sponsorship of religion, so says the Supreme Court.
1964
New Hampshire was the first state to sponsor a lottery, New York followed threeyears later.
1965
“The Pawnbroker” becomes the first major Hollywood film to feature frontal nudity.
1966
“Georgie Girl” becomes the first film to carry the label “recommended for mature audiences.”
1968
The film industry announced a rating system: “G” for general audiences; “M” for mature audiences; “R,” no one under 16 admitted without an adult guardian; and “X,” no one under 16 admitted.
1968
U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Epperson v. Arkansas:
State statue banning teaching of evolution is unconstitutional. A state cannot alter any element in a course of study in order to promote a religious point of view. A state’s attempt to hide behind a nonreligious motivation will not be given credence unless that state can show a secular reason as the foundation for its actions.
1968
Park Theater in Los Angeles became the first theater to commercially show films with male nudity and gay themes.
1969
Midnight Cowboy becomes the first major X-rated film.
1969
Anton Szandor LaVey, called “the black pope” by many of his followers, publishes the Satanic Bible. Over the years the book has been translated into every major language, and it has been an inspiration for many well-known criminals.
1971
New Jersey launched the first financially successful modern lottery. The New Jersey lottery was successful because it stressed frequent action at low cost, and it returned a higher percentage of lottery revenues as prizes.
1974
In an effort to promote a chain of strip clubs, Larry Flynt started the Hustler Club newsletter as an inexpensive way to promote the club’s various dancers. Its popularity grew, and in 1974 he published the first issue of the magazine -Hustler. Flynt’s sleazy publication set many new lows in the field of porn.
1977
First published in February, Gambling Times became America’s first gambling magazine.
1977
After winning the post of supervisor for the City of San Francisco, Harvey Milk became the nation’s first open gay elected official. Two years later he became a martyr when he was shot to death by a fellow city supervisor.
1980
U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Stone v. Graham:
The Court said posting of the Ten Commandments in the nation’s schools was unconstitutional.
1982
After years of appeals, the Supreme Court ruled, in Board of Education vs. Pico, that “local school boards may not remove books from school library shelves simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books and seek by their removal to prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion or other matters of opinion.” The case was brought by students opposing a directive made by the Island Trees School District in Levittown, N.Y. ordering the removal of books considered “anti-American, anti-Christian, anti-Semitic, and just plain filthy” from school libraries.
1983
On June 15th Supreme Court struck down city ordinances requiring that all second-trimester abortions be performed in a hospital; a woman seeking an abortion delay at least twenty-four hours after giving written consent and receiving biased information from the attending physician; women under age fifteen must obtain the “informed” written consent of one parent twenty-fours hour prior to an abortion; and fetal remains must be disposed of in a “humane and sanitary” manner.
1984
The Motion Picture Association of America and the National Association of Theater Owners creates the rating PG-13. The new rating would indicate: some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
1985
California passed a law which fined physicians up to $10,000 plus a year in prison if they violated confidentiality in regards to a patient testing positive for HIV. This meant, for example, that no doctor could alert any of his staff about a patient’s HIV status prior to surgery or treatment without breaking the law.
1985
U.S. Supreme Court ruling: Wallace v. Jaffree
State’s moment of silence at public school statute is unconstitutional where legislative record reveals that motivation for statute was the encouragement of prayer. Court majority silent on whether “pure” moment of silence scheme, with no bias in favor of prayer or any other mental process, would be constitutional.
1986
U.S. Supreme Court ruling: Bowers v. Hardwick
In this case the Court actually voted against immorality. In a 5-4 decision the justices found that nothing in the Constitution “extend a fundamental right to homosexuals to engage in acts of consensual sodomy.” The unfavorable decision proved be a blessing for gay rights groups. within a few shorts years, nearly all sodomy laws were struck down.
1987
Televangelists Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart became the centers of two major sex scandals. Bakker had an affair with a church secretary and Swaggart was found to be a frequent visitor of prostitutes.
1990
The movie rating standard NC-17 (No Children 17 or under) is introduced.
1991
The “Jerry Springer Show,” a daily, one hour talk show, which premiered on September 30. Springer helped pioneer what is commonly called trash talk TV. This is where guests of the show are encouraged to get into loud arguments orpublicly display some immoral behavior.
1992
U.S. Supreme Court ruling: Lee v. Weisman
Unconstitutional for a school district to provide any clergy to perform nondenominational prayer at elementary or secondary school graduation. It involves government sponsorship of worship. Court majority was particularly concerned about psychological coercion to which children, as opposed to adults, would be subjected, by having prayers that may violate their beliefs recited at their graduation ceremonies.
1991
Viewers first saw condom ads on TV, when Fox Television became the first major network to accept them.
1996
The cartoon program South Park begins airing on Comedy Central. The show quickly established itself as a tend setter for filth and blasphemy.
1995
Anticipating the role the internet would play in the future of gaming, Gambling Times establishes the industry’s first online gambling portal.
1997
On November 8, Oregon voters approved Measure 16, the “Death with Dignity Act”.Since passage of the law, few Oregonians have actually utilized it.
1997
President Clinton became the first sitting president to address a homosexual rights group when he spoke at a sold-out dinner speech to the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest homosexual and lesbian group.
2000
In a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Nebraska ban on “partial-birth abortion,” finding it an unconstitutional violation of Roe v. Wade.
2000
The successful derailment of the Dr. Laura Schlessinger TV show marks one of the first times a gay led boycott was able to muster enough influence to force an alteration to network programming.
2001
On its June 20 episode, animated characters on Comedy Central’s South Park used the s-word a staggering 162 times – more than seven times a minute.
2001
In Aug the four major broadcast networks ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX agreed to lower their standards on sex, violent, and language to complete with the already lowered standards set by cable TV networks.
2001
In Dec broadcaster NBC declared it would end a ban on distilled-liquor ads. The first ads were seen on the comedy program “Saturday Night Live.”
2002
Years of sexual abuse to minors by priests finally catches up with the Roman Catholic Church. The scandal was made all the worse by revelations of coverups and hush money.
2003
The US Supreme Court strikes down state sodomy laws. The 6 to 3 vote was an abrupt reversal of the Supreme Court’s long history of upholding laws that regulate homosexual behavior.
2006
The pornography industry nets $13.33 (billion) in the United States. China came in 1st with a pornography revenue of $27.41 (billion), followed by South Korea at $25.73 (billion) and finally Japan at $19.98 (billion). In the 15 countries where data was collected, the industry pulled in a total of $97.06 (billion), making it’s revenue larger than that of Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo!, Apple, Netflix and EarthLink combined. (toptenreviews.com)
2007
October 9- The first episode of A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila aired with a rating of TV-14 for the MTV audience, which is overwhelmingly comprised of teenagers. The program is a bisexual-themed reality dating show where sixteen straight men and sixteen lesbian women drink excessively and compete for the “affections” of a bisexual woman who goes by the stage name Tila Tequila. A sequel to the show is due to air in 2008.
2008
Nude men engaged in multiple instances of public sex on a municipal street while police officers, on foot and bicycle, congregated nearby making no attempt to enforce public indecency regulations, according to a report on the latest homosexual-fest in San Francisco. (WND)
Dec- According to the results of a survey released today by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and CosmoGirl.com, 22 percent of all teen girls and 11 percent of teen girls ages 13-16 years old say they have electronically sent, or posted online, nude or semi-nude images of themselves. According to the survey, almost one in five teen boys (18 percent) say they have sent or posted nude/semi-nude images of themselves. One-third (33 percent) of young adults 36 percent of women and 31 percent of men ages 20-26 say they have sent or posted such images. (TODAY)
2009
Aug- A new category was introduced at this year’s Teen Choice Awards…Choice Fabulous. An award that “goes to an outstanding gentleman at the crossroads of high fashion, high society and high heels.” All but one of the nominees are openly homosexual men. The winner of the award thanked all the teenagers who voted and the gay, lesbian, transgendered, and bisexual teenagers of the nation.
2011
Increase in Number of Single Moms: The number of children born to single mothers is on the rise and has been since the 1960’s. In 1964,fewer than 10 percent of babies were born to single mothers. Today, that number is above 40 percent for the overall population and even higher among Hispanics and African Americans (50 and 70 percent, respectively). High-school-age girls are responsible for fewer than 10 percent of births occurring to single mothers, while women between 18 and 29 years of age are responsible for roughly 75 percent of out-of-wedlock births.
Freer Use of “F” Word in PG-13 Movies: PG-13 movies, officially allowed one nonsexual F-word per script, are making increased use of that allotment and more. “Filmmakers are certainly using it more often, taking advantage of it,” says Joan Graves, head of the Motion Picture Association of America’s Classification and Rating Administration.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/18/f-word-pg-13-movies_n_930165.html)
Illegal Gambling on the Rise: An estimated $10 billion are wagered on the Superbowl alone every year, and $12 billion is put down on the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Pregame.com, a sports betting information site, estimates that for every $100 bet on sports, $99 are wagered illegally. (Big Business of Illegal Gambling, www.cnbc.com/id/34312815?slide)
Immoral Behavior: A 2008 survey by The Barna Group said that younger generations are twice as likely to engage in immoral behavior than Baby Boomers. Younger participants were nine times more likely to engage in sex outside of marriage, six times more likely to have lied, three times more likely to have gotten drunk, three times more likely to have gossiped, twice as likely to have viewed pornography, and twice as likely to have engaged in some form of retaliation against someone.
(The Barna Group, “Young Adults and Liberals Struggle with Morality,” www.barna.org (8-25-08); Brian Lowery, managing editor, PreachingToday.com)
Living Together, Unmarried: The share of 30- to 44-year-olds living as unmarried couples has more than doubled in the U.S. since the mid-1990s. Adults with lower levels of education–without college degrees–are twice as likely to cohabit as those with college degrees.
Gay Marriage – Gay marriage was signed into law on June 24, 2012 in New York State after the Senate passed a “historic” bill 33-39. New York became the sixth and largest state to legalize gay marriage. Proponents of this legislation hope to send a message to other states to encourage similar laws to be passed by other states throughout the U.S.A. in an attempt to place gay “marriage” under the same accepted standards as traditional marriage.
Sexual Child Abuse – The tragic Penn State child sex abuse scandal broke in 2011 and became a widely publicized scandal once the truth started to leak out. The shocking discovery of longtime university, former football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky’s sexual assaut of at least eight underage boys which took place on or near university property. These molestations dated as far back as 1994-2009 (52 counts). Although some say that the abuse may have dated as far back as the 1970s. Grand jury findings charged several high-level school officials with perjury also resulting in suspension or dismissal from their duties. In the midst of the scandal school president Graham Spence was forced to resign and head football coach Joe Paterno was fired, late in the 2011-2012 season, while Sandusky still proclaimed his innocence.
2012
Sexual Child Abuse – On June 11, 2012 Jerry Sandusky’s trial on 52 charges of sexual crimes against children was held at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. Four charges were dropped, leaving 48. On June 23, 2012, Sandusky was found guilty on 45 of 48 counts of sexual abuse. Snadusky is now faced with a minimum sentence of 60 years, which is essentially a life sentence considering his age.Furthermore, the fallout from the Sandusky scandal has caused Penn State a host of a problems:
An independent investigation commissioned by the PSU board and conducted by former FBI director Lous Fench stated that Spanier and Paterno, along with althletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz had known about the allegations of Sandusky’s child abuse allegations and were complicit in failing to disclose them showing a total disregard for the safety and welfare of those who had been victimized by Sandusky for a span of 14 years.
California Bans “Gay Cure” Therapy – Lawmakers Say They Want to Protect “Sissy Boys” – A bill prohibiting the use of controversial therapy aimed at “curing” homosexuality on gay teenagers has been approved by California’s Assembly, bringing the state a step closer to becoming the first in the U.S. to outlaw the practice. The vote in the Democratic-controlled Assembly on Tuesday, August 28, 2012 represented a major victory for gay rights advocates who insist that so-called conversion therapy has no medical basis because homosexuality is “ not a disorder.” Democrat Richardo Lara, one of several openly gay legislators to push forward the bill during the debate, urged Assembly members to stand with “sissy boys.”
“Gay Kiss-In” Day – The vandalism incident came on a day gay activists called for a “gay kiss-in ”at Chick-fil-A restaurants. Supporters have stressed that gays have always been welcome at Chick-fil-A restaurants, and the real issue is about one’s First Amendment rights to freedom of speech to voice personal opinions.
Outright Lying by the U.S. President – On August 13, 2012 President Obama falsely accused Republican Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan of standing in the way of the farmers’ drought recovery bill. “I am told that Governor Romney’s new running mate, Paul Ryan, might be around Iowa the next few days,” he said while in Council Bluffs, Iowa. “He is one of the leaders of Congress standing in the way. So if you happen to see Congressman Ryan, tell him how important this farm bill is to Iowa and our rural communities.” This false statement was captured on videotape.
Truth: House Republicans passed the farm bill on August 2, two weeks prior to Obama’s accusatory false statement (Paul Ryan voted yes).
FAIL. Obama Slams Paul Ryan For Not Passing Farm Bill That He Passed 2 Weeks Ago (Video)
2013
The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Results – Results from the 2013 national YRBS indicated that many high school students are engaged in priority health-risk behaviors associated with the leading causes of death among persons aged 10–24 years in the United States. During the 30 days before the survey, 41.4% of high school students nationwide among the 64.7% who drove a car or other vehicle during the 30 days before the survey had texted or e-mailed while driving, 34.9% had drunk alcohol, and 23.4% had used marijuana. During the 12 months before the survey, 14.8% had been electronically bullied, 19.6% had been bullied on school property, and 8.0% had attempted suicide. Many high school students nationwide are engaged in sexual risk behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancies and STIs, including HIV infection.
Nearly half (46.8%) of students had ever had sexual intercourse. Results from the 2013 national YRBS also indicate many high school students are engaged in behaviors associated with chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes. During the 30 days before the survey, 15.7% of high school students had smoked cigarettes and 8.8% had used smokeless tobacco. During the 7 days before the survey, 5.0% of high school students had not eaten fruit or drunk 100% fruit juices and 6.6% had not eaten vegetables. More than one-third (41.3%) had played video or computer games or used a computer for something that was not school work for 3 or more hours per day on an average school day.
2014
Recreational Marijuana – Colorado began allowing the sale of recreational marijuana on January 1 to anyone age 21 or older. Residents can now buy marijuana like alcohol — except the cannabis purchase is limited to an ounce.http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/28/us/10-things-colorado-recreational-marijuana/
2015
The plague of immorality has so swept across the American landscape more than ever; there is virtually no place where its corrosive influence is not felt. The pervasive, immoral reach of popular media, which actively promotes every type of sexual misconduct imaginable, constantly agitates against the biblical norms of upright, godly behavior.
In many respects the American family is completely unrecognizable, courtesy of a failed sexual revolution that has left a devastating wake of destruction. In certain segments of American culture, more than 70 percent of children are born to single parents and remain in single-parent households. Nationally, more than one in four children today live in households with only one parent. Demographers predict that by age 18, nearly 50 percent of all children will have lived with just a mom or dad.
Studies show nearly half of all marriages end in divorce, and couples who cohabitate before marriage are even more likely to split. Some studies show that the proliferation of pornography available on the Internet has likely contributed to the declining marriage rate.
2016
Immorality has become “normalized” in American culture and throughout the rest of the world. This is evident from the overwhelming state-of-affairs in all aspects of society. During the 2016 presidential election an unprecedented flurry of lies and corruption from the media and the Democratic Party were overlooked by millions of people and given a pass. As foretold by the prophet Isaiah, we have reached a time of intensified acts of immoral bias and corruption: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20).
2017
News articles report shockingly immoral activities happening in your backyard. Should we be tolerant of such actions? Schools are teaching—even instructing—young people on sexual topics of all kinds. The NEA is promoting curriculums about transgender – treating it as completely normal behavior, and indoctrinating our children with this. What is the cause of this escalating immorality in society? And what will be its end?