NY Times Op-Ed article: God and Evolution

[Guest guest]

The New York Times - NYTimes.com

February 12, 2005

OP-ED COLUMNIST

God and Evolution

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

 

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 (AT) nytimes (DOT) com

 

------------------------

 

This is "scientific evidence" in support of leading a spiritual lifestyle...

if not becoming a devotee.