An
"analysis" of
Democrats and
Republicans from the
Ladies' Home Journal in
1962 concluded:
"Republicans sleep
in twin beds - some even
in separate rooms. That
is why there are more
Democrats."
That
biological analysis
turns out - surprise! -
to have been
superficial. Instead,
modern science is
turning up a possible
reason why the religious
right is flourishing and
secular liberals aren't:
instinct. It turns out
that our DNA may
predispose humans toward
religious faith.
Granted,
that's not very
encouraging news for the
secular left. Imagine if
many of us are
hard-wired to be
religious. Imagine if,
as a cosmic joke, humans
have gradually evolved
to leave many of us
doubting evolution.
The
notion of a genetic
inclination toward
religion is not new.
Edward Wilson, the
founder of the field of
sociobiology, argued in
the 1970's that a
predisposition to
religion may have had
evolutionary advantages.
In
recent years evidence
has mounted that there
may be something to
this, and the evidence
is explored in "The
God Gene," a
fascinating book
published recently by
Dean Hamer, a prominent
American geneticist. Dr.
Hamer even identifies a
particular gene, VMAT2,
that he says may be
involved. People with
one variant of that gene
tend to be more
spiritual, he found, and
those with another
variant to be less so.
There's
still plenty of reason
to be skeptical because
Dr. Hamer's work hasn't
been replicated, and
much of his analysis is
speculative. Moreover,
any genetic
predisposition isn't for
becoming an evangelical,
but for an openness to
spirituality at a much
broader level. In
Alabama, it may express
itself in
Pentecostalism; in
California, in astrology
or pyramids.
Still,
it's striking how faith
is almost irrepressible.
While I was living in
China in the early
1990's, after religion
had been suppressed for
decades, drivers
suddenly began dangling
pictures of Chairman Mao
from their rear-view
mirrors. The word had
spread that Mao's spirit
could protect them from
car crashes or even
bring them sons and
wealth. It was a
miracle: ordinary
Chinese had transformed
the great atheist into a
god.
One
bit of evidence
supporting a genetic
basis for spirituality
is that twins separated
at birth tend to have
similar levels of
spirituality, despite
their different
upbringings. And
identical twins, who
have the same DNA, are
about twice as likely to
share similar levels of
spirituality as
fraternal twins.
It's
not surprising that
nature would favor genes
that promote an
inclination to faith.
Many recent studies
suggest that religious
people may live longer
than the less religious.
A study of nearly 4,000
people in North
Carolina, for example,
found that frequent
churchgoers had a 46
percent lower risk of
dying in a six-year
period than those who
attended less often.
Another study involving
nearly 126,000
participants suggested
that a 20-year-old
churchgoer might live
seven years longer than
a similar person who
does not attend
religious services.
Partly
that's because the
religious seem to adopt
healthier lifestyles -
they are less likely to
smoke, for example. And
faith may give people
strength to overcome
illness - after all, if
faith in placebo sugar
pills works, why not
faith in God?
Another
possibility involves
brain chemistry. Genes
that promote
spirituality may do so
in part by stimulating
chemical messengers in
the brain like dopamine,
which can make people
optimistic and sociable
- and perhaps more
likely to have children.
(Dopamine is very
complex, but it appears
linked to both
spirituality and
promiscuity, possibly
explaining some church
scandals.)
Evolutionary
biologists have also
suggested that an
inclination to
spirituality may have
made ancient humans more
willing to follow witch
doctors or other leaders
who claimed divine
support. The result
would have been more
cohesive bands of cave
men, better able to
survive - and to kill
off rival cave men.
Of
course, none of that
answers the question of
whether God exists. The
faithful can believe
that God wired us to
appreciate divinity. And
atheists can argue that
God may simply be a
figment of our VMAT2
gene.
But
what the research does
suggest is that
postindustrial society
will not easily leave
religion behind. Faith
may be quiescent in many
circles these days, or
directed toward
meditation or yoga, but
it is not something that
humans can easily cast
off.
A
propensity to faith in
some form appears to be
embedded within us as a
profound part of human
existence, as
inextricable and perhaps
inexplicable as the way
we love and laugh.
E-mail:
nicholas@nytimes.com