JMoe: The Mastermind

It often happens that the early morning just before I go to sleep can yield some interesting thoughts, and as such, I’ve decided to create a section for such musings. The first such musing is on the idea that spirtuality could actually be an evolutionary advantage. This idea originated with the idea that religion could be an evolutionary advantage, but through reading “Is God in Our Genes?” from Time Magazine lead to the refinement to spirituality as the advantage rather than religion. First, my original reason for considering religion as an evolutionary advantage, then we’ll get into the reasons in the Time article (which I will summarize and quote as appropriate).

The reasoning behind my original consideration of religion as an evolutionary advantage was based on religion having an anti-depressant effect. The connection to a higher power allows you an additional store of courage to draw on to continue even against insurmountable odds, or a deep depression. This ability would naturally be a competitive advantage, since people who are less depressed can be more active, and should in theory produce more offspring, and pass on their genes, which provide the religious experience, which provides the wellspring for this activity.

However, the Time article really helped to direct my thoughts, and provided apparent evidence that showed almost exactly what I was suggesting, but using spirtuality rather than religion. The difference between the two terms is fairly simple, but may not be initially apparent. Spirtuality is simply a connection to a higher power, while religion is a codification of beliefs, often with rules and practices. So, really the only component of religion that can be directly tied to genetic makeup is spirtuality.

Spirituality is a feeling or a state of mind; religion is the way that state gets codified into law. Our genes don’t get directly involved in writing legislation. As Hamer puts it, perhaps understating a bit the emotional connection many have to their religions, “Spirituality is intensely personal; religion is institutional.”

What evidence is there for such a claim as this? Is spirtuality really nothing more than a genetic trait? Dean Hamer, author of The God Gene: How Faith Is Hardwired into Our Genes claims exactly that.

Chief of gene structure at the National Cancer Institute, Hamer not only claims that human spirituality is an adaptive trait, but he also says he has located one of the genes responsible, a gene that just happens to also code for production of the neurotransmitters that regulate our moods. Our most profound feelings of spirituality, according to a literal reading of Hamer’s work, may be due to little more than an occasional shot of intoxicating brain chemicals governed by our DNA.

Of course, talk is cheap. Hamer however has at least some evidence to back up his assertion. He did a study which attempted to correlate the spirtuality of a person with their genes. In particular, he examined various genes which are related to certain neurotransmitters, and compared them across a broad population sample, and then compared the different genes to results on a personality test. His results were shocking.

Studying the nine candidate genes in DNA samples provided by his subjects, Hamer quickly hit the genetic jackpot. A variation in a gene known as vmat2—for vesicular monoamine transporter—seemed to be directly related to how the volunteers scored on the self-transcendence test. Those with the nucleic acid cytosine in one particular spot on the gene ranked high. Those with the nucleic acid adenine in the same spot ranked lower. “A single change in a single base in the middle of the gene seemed directly related to the ability to feel self-transcendence,” Hamer says.

I have yet to review the actual original survey, to attempt to see if there are any obvious glaring errors, but the description in the Time article seems favorable. I am planning to read Hamer’s book on the subject, which will hopefully give much more detail about the survey, and also try to track down any peer reviewed articles for further reading.

Of course, this idea doesn’t hinge simply on Hamer’s study. There is other evidence presented in the Time article. One such story is about a survey done comparing 53 pairs of identical twins and 31 pairs of fraternal twins separated at birth. The results of the survey amazed the researchers involved.

As it turned out, the identical twins had plenty of remarkable things in common. In some cases, both suffered from migraine headaches, both had a fear of heights, both were nail biters. Some shared little eccentricities, like flushing the toilet both before and after using it. When quizzed on their religious values and spiritual feelings, the identical twins showed a similar overlap. In general, they were about twice as likely as fraternal twins to believe as much—or as little—about spirituality as their sibling did. Significantly, these numbers did not hold up when the twins were questioned about how faithfully they practiced any organized religion. Clearly, it seemed, the degree to which we observe rituals such as attending services is mostly the stuff of environment and culture. Whether we’re drawn to God in the first place is hardwired into our genes. “It completely contradicted my expectations,” says University of Minnesota psychologist Thomas Bouchard, one of the researchers involved in the work. Similar results were later found in larger twin studies in Virginia and Australia.

So far we have covered that there appears to be a distinct tie between genetics and spirtuality. The only remaining link is to how spirituality can be a genetic advantage. One suggested reason for this is provided by the Time article by Michael Persinger a professor of behavioral neuroscience at Laurentian University.

One of those reasons might be that, as the sole species—as far as we know—capable of contemplating its own death, we needed something larger than ourselves to make that knowledge tolerable. “Anticipation of our own demise is the price we pay for a highly developed frontal lobe,” says Persinger. “In many ways, [a God experience is] a brilliant adaptation. It’s a built-in pacifier.”

Does this prove that the reason for spirituality is genetic, and the reason for its prevalence is that it does indeed provide an evolutionary advantage? Certainly not. It does however provide material that I feel is quite thought provoking. I will try to follow up with more information as I make my way through the Hamer book, and potentially other material.