A religion gene? Holy genetics, Batman!

L

Limbo

Registered Member
I read this article and thought...uh-oh. What could this mean for religion? The implications, if true, are staggering.

I mean, does faith come from the gene? Or does the gene come from the faith? They could come up with an experiment to determine that.
 
I don`t bother to open that link. But one thing is for sure: if you are faithful, you must consider Jeremiah 17:5 of the Holy Scriptures.
 
Yeah, I picked up a copy of this New Scientist on the news stand and flicked through. I have always thought humans have a predisposition to 'belief' or 'faith' based upon their genes. Following the rules of natural selection I thought that people who held strong convictions would in a fight for instance, fight harder for their beliefs. Those who couldn't give a crap then got beaten. It's kind of like the perpetuation of left handers- of which I am one. There is pretty much no reason left handers should exist, apart from the fact they are unpredictable (therefore we shall say good) in a fight. We have a poorer immune system, and other problems which result in a worse rate of survival than righties, yet we persist.

I feel I am one of those few who does not have that religious gene. Not to mention the fact that I have no neural wiring towards religious beliefs or belief in god.

I reckon I could classify myself as the control in a science experiment- all the time religious people tell me they can 'feel it'. I can't, I never have, possibly barring devine intervention I never will. I am the result you get from the petrie dish that has no religious germs in it- I stay clean, and open minded ;D

staples
 
It is like saying that being GAY is in your genes.....


Come on people....

Science says beliefs or past thoughts cannot be handed down by genetics....

So why would religion be any exception?

You are who you are...
And your thoughts are the most independent, singular thing that anyone has... if religion is handed down by genes... then what the hell is the point of living...

If you do not get independance and free tought from yourself.... then why the hell are we all bothering to exist....
 
Being gay IS at least partially genetic. They are not saying that specific beliefs or thoughts are handed down, only a predisposition for religiosity. I think we will find that much more is influenced by our genes than we once thought.
 
What I want to know is this: Are all our genes the result of external stimuli? I mean, thats how we adapt to our environment, correct?

What external stimuli could prompt us to need a religion gene in the first place?
 
It's not that we need it, but that if you have it, you are more likely to fit into the dominate culture, which is better for your survival and mating chances. It could have developed as a result of religion, which created social forces that people needed to adapt to.
 
A Canadian: It is like saying that being GAY is in your genes.....
*************
M*W: Among other factors such as hormone surges in utero, genetics do play a role in the predisposition of homosexuality.
*************
A Canadian: Come on people....Science says beliefs or past thoughts cannot be handed down by genetics....
*************
M*W: No, science says genetic memory can be handed down from generation to generation.

http://www.awf.krakow.pl/konf/szysz.htm
So why would religion be any exception?
*************
A Canadian: You are who you are...And your thoughts are the most independent, singular thing that anyone has... if religion is handed down by genes... then what the hell is the point of living...
*************
M*W: See the article below:

Research on twins supports 'God gene'
By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent
(Filed: 22/03/2005)

Religious belief is in the genes and can literally be inherited from one's parents, according to new research.

While environmental factors were the largest influences on children, genetic make-up played a significant part in whether people continued to believe into adulthood, it found.

The research will refuel the controversy about the existence of a so-called God gene, which has been hotly disputed by clerics and theologians.

Based on an analysis of more than 500 identical and non-identical twins, the study at Minnesota University in America set out to discover whether spirituality was the result of nature or nurture.

It concluded that children's religiousness was primarily the result of whether they had been born into a religious household. "But during the transition from adolescence to adulthood, genetic factors increase in importance while shared environmental factors decrease," it said.

The twins answered questions about their religious beliefs, from the regularity of church attendance to how much they relied on prayer. While the identical twins reported similar patterns over time, the non-identical twins diverged as they got older, said the study in the Journal of Personality.

However, the researchers stressed that genes were not the only factors that determined how religious people were. Laura Koenig, a co-author of the research, said: "There is still room for cultural and environmental influences.''

The debate about the "God gene" was prompted last year by Dr Dean Hamer, the director of the Gene Structure and Regulation Unit at the National Institute in America. After comparing more than 2,000 DNA samples, he concluded that the greater people's ability to believe in a higher spiritual force, the more likely that they would share the gene, VMAT2.

© Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2005.
*************
A Canadian: If you do not get independance and free tought from yourself.... then why the hell are we all bothering to exist....
*************
M*W: Because we are the product of our genetics.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top