According to The New York Times author Nicholas Wade, religion has been a fundamental attribute in developing societies throughout history. In “The Evolution of the God Gene,” Wade turns to recent findings by archaeologists in the Oaxaca Valley of Mexico to further develop the link between religion and biology. Joyce Marcus and Kent Flannery discovered a pattern of religious sanctuaries and monuments that advanced over thousands of years. Using these findings, Wade argues that religious behavior can be linked to all societies throughout history: “Religion has the hallmarks of an evolved behavior, meaning that it exists because it was favored by natural selection. It is universal because it was wired into our neural circuitry before the ancestral human population dispersed from its African homeland” (Wade). Do these findings indicate a God gene?
Dean Hamer seems to think so. His book, The God Gene: How Faith Is Hardwired into Our Genes, details the research he did for the National Cancer Institute. His basic findings state that “human spirituality is an adaptive trait...” (Kluger 2). Hamer also claims that he has located a “God” gene that “code[s] for production of the neurotransmitters that regulate our moods. Our most profound feelings of spirituality... may be due to little more than an occasional shot of intoxicating brain chemicals governed by our DNA” (Kluger 2). The author does not suggest, however, that God does not exist. Instead he remains agnostic, "If there's a God, there's a God. Just knowing what brain chemicals are involved in acknowledging that is not going to change the fact" (Kluger 2). The gene itself is actually a group of nine genes that work together to determine the trait of “self-transcendence” which includes the three traits of self-forgetfulness, transpersonal identification, and mysticism--the scientific version of spirituality.
A TIME Magazine article by Jeffrey Kluger recognizes that Hamer’s claims have many critics. Neil Gillman, a professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary, claims, “‘God is not something that can be demonstrated logically or rigorously’” (Kluger 2). According to the chaplain of Mansfield College, Oxford, Rev. Walter Houston, “Religious belief is not just related to a person’s constitution. It’s related to society, tradition, character - everything is involved. Having a gene that could do all that seems pretty unlikely to me” (“Geneticist claim to have found ‘God gene’ in humans”).
This controversial idea has made both the religious and the atheistic uncomfortable. According to the New York Times article mentioned above this “does not necessarily threaten the central position of either side” (Wade). Hamer emphasizes that he may have found the biological root for spirituality--not the root for religion. "The spiritual gene helps establish a general trust in the universe, a sense of openness and generosity."
If we suppose that spirituality is the acknowledgement that forces larger than one’s self control the universe, and religion is more rigid in that it supposes that a spiritual being created and controls the universe, religion is spirituality in praxis. Since the majority of the world population participates in some form of organized religion, is there something that compels humans to subscribe to the notion of religion? Dean Hamer posits that a “God” gene which influences spiritual inclination makes it possible for humans to ascribe to religious beliefs. Hamer’s theory of the “God gene” acknowledges a genetic basis for spirituality while positing that one’s belief in God or a supreme spiritual being, stems from “enculturation” and is not necessarily coded in the “God” gene. If a “God” gene does exist, natural selection favored humans with spiritual inclination and religion developed as a means to organize, document and practice spiritual beliefs.
Dean Hamer seems to think so. His book, The God Gene: How Faith Is Hardwired into Our Genes, details the research he did for the National Cancer Institute. His basic findings state that “human spirituality is an adaptive trait...” (Kluger 2). Hamer also claims that he has located a “God” gene that “code[s] for production of the neurotransmitters that regulate our moods. Our most profound feelings of spirituality... may be due to little more than an occasional shot of intoxicating brain chemicals governed by our DNA” (Kluger 2). The author does not suggest, however, that God does not exist. Instead he remains agnostic, "If there's a God, there's a God. Just knowing what brain chemicals are involved in acknowledging that is not going to change the fact" (Kluger 2). The gene itself is actually a group of nine genes that work together to determine the trait of “self-transcendence” which includes the three traits of self-forgetfulness, transpersonal identification, and mysticism--the scientific version of spirituality.
A TIME Magazine article by Jeffrey Kluger recognizes that Hamer’s claims have many critics. Neil Gillman, a professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary, claims, “‘God is not something that can be demonstrated logically or rigorously’” (Kluger 2). According to the chaplain of Mansfield College, Oxford, Rev. Walter Houston, “Religious belief is not just related to a person’s constitution. It’s related to society, tradition, character - everything is involved. Having a gene that could do all that seems pretty unlikely to me” (“Geneticist claim to have found ‘God gene’ in humans”).
This controversial idea has made both the religious and the atheistic uncomfortable. According to the New York Times article mentioned above this “does not necessarily threaten the central position of either side” (Wade). Hamer emphasizes that he may have found the biological root for spirituality--not the root for religion. "The spiritual gene helps establish a general trust in the universe, a sense of openness and generosity."
If we suppose that spirituality is the acknowledgement that forces larger than one’s self control the universe, and religion is more rigid in that it supposes that a spiritual being created and controls the universe, religion is spirituality in praxis. Since the majority of the world population participates in some form of organized religion, is there something that compels humans to subscribe to the notion of religion? Dean Hamer posits that a “God” gene which influences spiritual inclination makes it possible for humans to ascribe to religious beliefs. Hamer’s theory of the “God gene” acknowledges a genetic basis for spirituality while positing that one’s belief in God or a supreme spiritual being, stems from “enculturation” and is not necessarily coded in the “God” gene. If a “God” gene does exist, natural selection favored humans with spiritual inclination and religion developed as a means to organize, document and practice spiritual beliefs.
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