Study Shows Genetics Plays Role in Religious Inclination
A study performed by a psychology graduate student at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis shows that genetics plays a crucial role in an individual's religious identity.
A study performed by a psychology graduate student at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis shows that genetics plays a crucial role in an individual's religious identity. The study was performed in US identical and fraternal twins, and it suggests that the effects of a religious upbringing fade with time.
According to the study, both nature (genetics) and nurture (upbringing) play decisive roles in determining an individual's religious belief. From youth through adulthood, individuals tend to have religious beliefs that mirror those of their parents. The study suggests that after individuals leave home, they are able to more freely express themselves and it is at that time their genes help dictate whether or not that individual will live a religious life.
Until 25 years ago, scientists assumed that religious behavior was a result of social factors. The recent study focused on adult twins who were raised apart who were then compared for their religiousness. The study suggests that genes contribute 40% of the variability of a person's religiousness.
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In the study, questionnaires were given to 169 pairs of identical twins and 104 fraternal twins that were born in Minnesota. The twins are all males in their early 30s and they were asked how often they attend religious services, pray, and discuss religious topics. This was compared with when they were growing up with families. Participants than answered the same questions for their mother, father, and twin.
The twins believed that when they were younger, they shared similar religious beliefs with their parents and their twin. In adulthood, only identical twins reported being religiously similar to their twin. In contrast, fraternal twins were found to be a third less similar to their twin than when they were children.
Michael McCullough, a psychologist at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, US, agrees with the findings. "To a great extent, you can't be who you are when you're living under your parents' roof. But once you leave the nest, you can begin to let your own preferences and dispositions shape your behaviour," he told New Scientist.
"Maybe, ultimately, we all decide what we're most comfortable with, and it may have more to do with our own makeup than how we were treated when we were adolescents," says McGue.
According to McGue, the new study shows that being raised in a religious household may be less influential in the long run than previously thought. The findings of the study may not be universal because the study focused on a single population of men. McGue adds that the long-term affects of socialization may also re-emerge at a later state of an individual's life.
