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.

It Runs in the Family?

My paternal grandfather, Evar Swanson, was an outstanding athlete. After graduating from DeKalb (Illinois) High School, Evar attended Lombard College in Galesburg, Illinois where he was an excellent student-athlete. He won two scholarships and lettered each year in baseball, basketball, football, and track. He set school records in the 100 and 220-yard dashes. In 1923, Evar ran the 100 yard dash in 9.8 seconds, just 2/10th of a second off the world record. He played all five positions in basketball and, despite never playing football in high school, he scored 109 points for the Lombard College team in 1921. In Evar’s first three seasons, Lombard’s only loss was to Knute Rockne’s Notre Dame and the “Four Horsemen.”

After college, Evar began his professional baseball career in 1924 with the Mississippi Valley League, Moline (Illinois) Plowboys. He then moved to the prestigious Pacific Coast League (PCL), 1925-1928. Next, he played two years for the Cincinnati Reds. Then, from 1931 to 1932, he played for the Columbus (Ohio) Red Birds. He finished his baseball career with the Chicago White Sox (1932-1934).

He also played professional football with the Milwaukee Badgers; the Chicago Cardinals; and a team formed by Jim Thorpe, the Rock Island (Illinois) Independents. The latter team played an exhibition game at the close of the 1925 season against the Chicago Bears in which Evar ran 50 yards for a touchdown and kicked the extra point for a 7-6 win over the Bears.

What kind of an athlete was he? - FAST! Evar led the PCL in steals in 1926 and again in 1928. In 1929 he once again displayed his speed by stealing 33 bases while playing for the Cincinnati Reds.

Evar’s speed is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest base runner. He proved how fast he was on September 15, 1929, between games of a doubleheader between the Boston Braves and Cincinnati Reds. Then a rookie outfielder with the Reds, Evar was chosen to compete with a few other players in a race around the bases – in full uniform. He won the contest, timed by the Amateur Athletic Union officials, circling the bases in an amazing 13.3 seconds.

I wish I could say that Evar’s speed runs in the family, and that I was the lucky recipient of the “speed gene.” Many physical traits run in families, like eye color; skin tone; hairline shape; and the percentage of fast and slow twitch muscle fibers. Fast twitch muscle fibers produce the same amount of force for each contraction as slow twitch muscle fibers, but they get their name because they can fire far more rapidly - making them better for explosive, fast and forceful athletics. Most people are born with 50% slow twitch muscle fibers and 50% fast twitch muscle fibers.

Bengt Saltin, a professor of human physiology at the University of Copenhagen's Muscle Research Centre in Denmark, said “If you don't have at least 70 to 80 percent fast twitch muscle fibers, I'd say it's unlikely you could be among the world's top sprinters." Elite runners, like Evar, are born with at least 70 to 80% fast twitch muscle fibers. And, while training and practice can obviously improve muscle performance, Dr. Saltin’s research suggests slow twitch fibers cannot be converted into fast twitch, meaning that the percentage of fast twitch fibers an athlete has is what their genes gave them.

1934 - My Dad and Grandpa

But any gene-centered explanation for athletic success dismisses the importance of a whole host of psycho-social and cultural factors that are likely to be major contributors to success. Evar would never have been successful if he simply sat on the sidelines. He was motivated to participate in sports in order to go to college on scholarships.  There he was encouraged and cheered on by people around him, and then, after college, he challenged himself to be the best athlete he could be by competing in professional sports. His behavior was crucial to his success.

Likewise, you don’t become a runner by sitting on the sidelines. Your ability to run the best you can isn’t decipherable from your DNA; it waits to be realized through your behavior – through the simple act of running. I did NOT inherit my grandfather’s “speed gene,” I probably have a low percentage of fast twitch muscle fibers. I am an old lady, slowpoke runner but, like Evar, I strive to be the best runner I can be by simply running - regardless of my genetics, age, or what others think of my lack of speed.  

I am a runner, as s-l-o-w as my grandfather was fast. So in a sense, I guess being a runner does “run in the family.”

Evar accomplished all his athletic feats way before I was born. As a child, I knew my grandpa had played baseball but I fondly remember visiting the Galesburg Post Office where he worked as the Postmaster. He had a “giant” desk with lots of cubbyholes. Most notably, I remember my grandpa for his bear hugs and his homemade peach ice cream. It wasn’t until after his death, and as an adult, did I learn the full extent of his athletic achievements. I am in awe.

My grandpa died on July 17, 1973.  Hilt Sprunger, a former Secretary of the Illinois High School Athletic Association, noted his passing - “Evar Swanson was probably the state’s greatest all-time athlete. Not only was he a tremendous competitor, but he was also in every sense, a gentleman.” - and my grandpa, a runner extraordinaire.

"I always enjoyed everything I did." - Evar Swanson

Galesburg Register-Mail, June 27, 1972