Posted on 11/13/2004 7:47:12 PM PST by Former Military Chick
Religious belief is determined by a person's genetic make-up according to a study by a leading scientist.
After comparing more than 2,000 DNA samples, an American molecular geneticist has concluded that a person's capacity to believe in God is linked to brain chemicals.
His findings were criticised last night by leading clerics, who challenge the existence of a "god gene" and say that the research undermines a fundamental tenet of faith - that spiritual enlightenment is achieved through divine transformation rather than the brain's electrical impulses.
Dr Dean Hamer, the director of the Gene Structure and Regulation Unit at the National Cancer Institute in America, asked volunteers 226 questions in order to determine how spiritually connected they felt to the universe. The higher their score, the greater a person's ability to believe in a greater spiritual force and, Dr Hamer found, the more likely they were to share the gene, VMAT2.
Studies on twins showed that those with this gene, a vesicular monoamine transporter that regulates the flow of mood-altering chemicals in the brain, were more likely to develop a spiritual belief.
Growing up in a religious environment was said to have little effect on belief. Dr Hamer, who in 1993 claimed to have identified a DNA sequence linked to male homosexuality, said the existence of the "god gene" explained why some people had more aptitude for spirituality than others.
"Buddha, Mohammed and Jesus all shared a series of mystical experiences or alterations in consciousness and thus probably carried the gene," he said. "This means that the tendency to be spiritual is part of genetic make-up. This is not a thing that is strictly handed down from parents to children. It could skip a generation - it's like intelligence."
His findings, published in a book, The God Gene: How Faith Is Hard-Wired Into Our Genes, were greeted sceptically by many in the religious establishment.
The Rev Dr John Polkinghorne, a fellow of the Royal Society and a Canon Theologian at Liverpool Cathedral, 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."
The Rev Dr Walter Houston, the chaplain of Mansfield College, Oxford, and a fellow in theology, said: "Religious belief is not just related to a person's constitution; it's related to society, tradition, character - everything's involved. Having a gene that could do all that seems pretty unlikely to me."
Dr Hamer insisted, however, that his research was not antithetical to a belief in God. He pointed out: "Religious believers can point to the existence of god genes as one more sign of the creator's ingenuity - a clever way to help humans acknowledge and embrace a divine presence."
13 October 2004: Homosexual link to fertility genes
Why do pedophiles do it? Is there a pedophilia gene? How about foot fetishists? Murderers? Is there a murder gene? An adultery gene? Wife beater gene? A Democrat gene? Perversions are what they are... the result of a bizarre lifestyle choice.
I have the "Beer gene."
And I am forever thankful.
I have a gene that makes me believe Jim Robinson and Free Republic are magnificent !!!
Ok, nice pedigree. It's a shame that all that education has gone to waste, just to promote a personal agenda.
"You believe homosexuality is a choice? Why would someone choose a lifestyle that makes their lives markedly more difficult?"
Are you saying they lead very unhappy and empty lives? If so, why then do they call themselves "gay" and not homos?
translation: homosexuals scientists want to set up a test for "homophobia" and stupidity for those who believe in God.
Homo-propaganda at work since they flubed up all the mythical homosexuality gene studies.
Junk science at its finest.
The bodies capacity to produce various chemicals is often influenced by state of mind/peace of mind. The problem I have with the genetics claim is spiritual birth. How can someone find God later in life if it's genetic?
Having a PhD doesn't mean you are a good scientist. If you set out to prove a pre-determined idea, and structure your results in a certain direction, does your PhD make you immune to mistaken theories? Use your common sense, and don't bow down to someone just because they have a sheepskin. Do you really think that this kook is able to prove that there is such a thing as a God gene? Use your God-given ability to discriminate between what is real, and what is hype. This is total nonsense. We don't have any such ability to determine this any more than we can read each other's minds.
I say bull-pucky!
So those who have this gene, and believe God is no respecter of persons, must somehow also believe that He didn't give this gene to all humans equally?
Oh, now I get it...
It may indeed be possible that some genetic characteristic increases the likelihood a person would be 'religious'. So what? It's irrelevant whether a characteristic is genetically influenced or not. What matters is whether that characteristic is desirable in itself.
Is there a wife-swaper gene?
Is there a sex-slave gene?
Is there a rubber fetish gene?
Is there a cross-dresser gene?
Is there a polygamist mormon gene?
Is there a spanking gene?
Is there a animal sex gene?
Skinner would laugh at these nutjobs.
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