It Runs in the Family? - Part 2

 

We know we inherit physical characteristics through our genes. What about psychological or behavioral characteristics? Do genetics impact spirituality and religion?

 

In 2021 I began to research my family tree and discovered that some of my ancestors were among the first Quakers. In the 1650s they became followers of George Fox in England. Then they were some of the first Quakers to emigrate to the British Colonies. 

I shared this discovery with one of my brothers and he commented, “Wow! I share many of the Quaker beliefs!”

Did my brother inherit a “Quaker” gene?

When the French and Indian War broke out in 1754, most of the Quaker politicians resigned from colonial government for several years rather than support the war. In 1756 our ancestors’ Quaker community experienced many raids but, because of their belief in pacifism, they did not join the militia.

 

However, some Quakers were conscientiously convinced that they could, despite, the Quakers belief in pacifism, take up arms. This included my 4^th. Great-Grandfather, Isaac Willits. He was a conscientious protector.  After learning this I thought, “I would have done the same thing!” Indeed, I served in the United States Armed Forces twenty-seven years before I learned about Isaac’s experience. 

Because Isaac joined a militia, he was disowned from the Quaker faith in January, 1757. Similarly, members and leaders in my protestant church readily shared their disapproval of my military service because I was a wife and mother. They believed women should be “helpers” while I strongly believed in being a conscientious protector.   Due to this spiritual difference, I “disowned” myself from that church.

Coincidence or genetic predisposition?

U.S., Quaker Meeting records,1681-1935 Pennsylvania; Berks; Exeter Monthly Meeting

Most people who are devoutly religious or determinedly atheist believe they've examined the evidence, researched correctly, and come to their own conclusions. However, psychologists are now coming to realize you might have less control over this process than you think. How susceptible you are to embracing religion, rejecting it or falling somewhere in the middle – may be a genetic trait.

 

According to evolutionary psychologists, our genetic inheritance not only determines physical traits, but also certain personality traits and social behaviors. Evolutionary psychology is a field of study that seeks to identify behavior that is a result of our genetic inheritance from our ancestors. It has its historical roots in Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. In “The Origin of Species”, Darwin predicted that psychology would develop an evolutionary basis, and that a process of natural selection creates traits, like spirituality and religiousness, that are adaptive to our environment. That was his theory, but does current research support it?

First, it is important to differentiate between spirituality and religion. According to Dean Hamer, author of “The God Gene: How Faith is Hardwired into Our Genes”, there is “a sharp distinction between spirituality, which is a personality trait that some of us have to a greater or lesser extent than others, and religion, which is a culturally transmitted expression of spirituality.”

In his book, Hamer contends that one's predisposition toward spirituality is influenced by genetic factors. More controversially, he proposes that the VMAT2 gene is one of many potential genes that influence spirituality. Hamer identifies one particular variation, a change from an A to a C, present in 28% of the alleles in his data set, as a marker for the more “spiritual” version of this gene.

Among the skeptics of Hamer’s work was John Polkinghorne (1930-2021) an English theoretical physicist, theologian, and Anglican priest. Commenting on “The God Gene” for The Daily Telegraph, he said "The idea of a God gene goes against all my personal theological convictions. You can't cut faith down to the lowest common denominator of genetic survival. It shows the poverty of reductionist thinking."

Exploring genetic predisposition isn’t an attempt to reduce whether or not you have faith in God to your genetics. It is exploring the possibility that genes may impact how deeply you embrace whichever faith or spiritual philosophy you identify with. 

spectrumagazine.org

Other research suggests that one of the main reasons why individuals differ in strength of spirituality (but not religious affiliation) is because of their genetics. It seems that there is some kind of predisposition to being relatively more or less spiritual, with estimates suggesting that 30-50% of differences in spirituality is due to genes. 

 

“Until about 25 years ago, scientists assumed that religious behavior was simply the product of a person’s socialization – or ‘nurture’. But more recent studies, including those on adult twins who were raised apart, suggest genes contribute about 40% of the variability in a person’s religiousness.” - Maggie Mckee

csail.mit.edu

It might be that some variation in personal spirituality is explained by genetics, although spirituality is a complex trait influenced by many genes as well as upbringing and culture. Genetics probably play a small part, but we could surely benefit from at least some understanding of that small part.

All of this seems to suggest that there might be:

• good reason to view spirituality as another part of the rich genetic and cultural variety that makes us human,
• and an even better reason to learn to respect and enjoy the full range of that variety.