-
Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.
Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:- Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
- Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
- Access to private conversations with other members.
We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!
Is atheism due to a genetic defect?
- Thread starter Gambit
- Start date
Sapiens
Polymathematician
I have seen no studies that link genetics and atheism. Perhaps the absence of this gene is a new mutational advance in human evolution ... we can hope that's the case.
I like to think that we're genetically defective in the same fashion that the X-Men are. In addition to atheism, I have the super power of being able to annoy others telepathically. Feel it yet? (No skin tight uniforms for me though.)
Last edited:
No, but thanks for the laugh.
The opposite may be sort-of-true, though.
Atheism may have become possible because the human brain learned to better communicate with itself.
Bicameralism (psychology) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Also, be wary of claims for the existence of the "X" gene. While there are tens of thousands of human genes, the list does fill up quickly when one takes the simplistic view that most significant traits should have their own gene.
Gambit
Well-Known Member
"Hope" is one of those psychological virtues that atheists are apparently not endowed with. In fact, that's part and parcel of the God gene hypothesis.
Bunyip
pro scapegoat
How so? I'm full of hope and an atheist. So why would you think that?
Uhhh wasn't this dismissed ages ago because it's too simplistic and the only source was a published paper that wasn't peer reviewed. According the critics (listed on the same bloody link, mate) I quote "Carl Zimmer claimed that VMAT2 can be characterized as a gene that accounts for less than one percent of the variance of self-transcendence scores. These, Zimmer says, can signify anything from belonging to the Green Party to believing in ESP. Zimmer also points out that the God Gene theory is based on only one unpublished, unreplicated study."
Are you sure you have understood what atheism is? You sound like you only met the concept in bad sci-fi.
No hereditary disease will hold me down!
psychoslice
Veteran Member
For me the so called god gen is nothing but wanting to understand where we came from, and of course we came from evolution, like it or not.
Gambit
Well-Known Member
The "God Gene Hypothesis", as it was once so nobly called, was born and then died decades ago.
Atheism might be better described as an ability to overcome certain genetically based predilections such as Agent Detection that frequently give rise to superstitions of a religious nature.
Twilight Hue
Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
Did God run out of them?
I'm sure there is. The world is quite accomodating.
Skwim
Veteran Member
In as much as the "god gene" "(VMAT2) is a physiological arrangement that produces the sensations associated, by some, with mystic experiences, including the presence of God or others, or more specifically spirituality as a state of mind"*, I'd say that it's not only atheists who appear to lack the gene, but most everyone else .
* from your linked source
Well thankfully now we have the "God particle", which we can use to create "God genes" (or jeans) and ensure that such horrific genetic mutations are swiftly dealt with.
Just temporarily out-of-stock. Don't worry- universal religious fanaticism will be made available ASAP, and in the mean time we'll all watch Gattaca.
There are two cases which might apply: no amygdala in the brain or no pineal gland. I don't know of a mutation that results in no amygdala, but there are people without them. If a person is born without an amygdala they do not experience fear. Example. There is such a person, and they are rational. Such a person could accept or reject religious ideas without any fear-induced confusion. In the case of someone with no pineal gland you'd have someone without the ability to produce DMT, but such a person would suffer a lot of related problems since the pineal gland produces other very important substances and has a regulating role in the body. I'm not sure it would be worthwhile. Now it might be interesting to temporarily disable the amygdala or the chemical stimulation of the pineal gland. I'm not sure who would want to volunteer however. Show of hands?
Sapiens
Polymathematician
I do love the quote mine. What Google says is: The major arguments of the hypothesis are: (1) spirituality can be quantified by psychometric measurements; (2) the underlying tendency to spirituality is partially heritable; (3) part of this heritability can be attributed to the gene VMAT2;[1] (4) this gene acts by altering monoamine levels; and (5) spiritual individuals are favored by natural selection because they are provided with an innate sense of optimism, the latter producing positive effects at either a physical or psychological level.
Note: The major arguments. There's a long path from an argument to an accepted theory.