“THE QUESTION OF RELIGIOUS DNA” – Part I
“Bear fruit that befits repentance, and do not say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.” Matthew 3: 8-9
Humans are incorrigibly religious. Study the civilizations of the world as far back as they can be found, and you will find religion. Go to the most remote tribe of geography or of antiquity and you will find religion. Take a vote among all the peoples of the world that ever lived, and nearly unanimously they would vote in favor of religion.
Indeed, it seems human beings have been religious from the moment they emerged out of the dim reaches of the past as human beings. The well-known, highly respect anthropologist, Loren Eiseley, says that as long as 500,000 years ago, our human ancestors were buried with artifacts and food to be used in the life after death. Human beings have been incorrigibly religious.
Not only have humans been incorrigibly religious in the past, they are incorrigibly religious in the present. According to one opinion poll, about 95 percent of Americans believe in God. Over 80 percent believe in Jesus. Well over 60 percent believe in hell, although I have yet to meet anyone who believes he or she is going there!
Secularists though we may be, materialistic as many of us are, subservient to the passions of lust and greed and rage as many are, most people are religious because they cannot help it. It is not so much a question of if people pray, as why they do pray. It is not so much a question of if people believe, as what they believe. If one brand or form of religion wanes or dies, another brand or form will arise to take its place. Human beings are incorrigibly religious.
Time magazine acknowledged as much in a cover story titled, “The God Gene.” (10-25-09) The subtitle asks “Does our DNA compel us to seek a higher power? Believe it or not, some scientists say yes.” Quoting molecular biologist, Dean Hamer, of the National Cancer Institute, the Time article by Jeffrey Kluger asserts that we are hard wired in our genetic code for spirituality, religion and belief in God.
Dean Hamer believes he has found the gene most responsible for our spiritual dimension. He calls it the VMAT2 which stands for the vesicular monoamine transporter. Kluger says that “spelunking in the human genome is not easy, what with 35,000 genes consisting of 3,2 billion chemical bases.” (op.cit. P.66) And British genetic expert, John Burn says, “If someone comes to you and says, ‘We’ve found the gene for X; you can stop them before they get to the end of the sentence.’” (ibid)
Nevertheless, although Dean Hamer admits no one gene can account for our spiritual dimension, VMAT2 seems to be basic. So, the next time your friends ask you why you go to church, you can answer, “Well I’m just following the prompting of the VMAT2!” Then you should quickly make your exit as they continue rolling their eyes in perplexed disbelief. (to be continued)
