Is atheism due to a genetic defect?

[Rick O'Shez]

This is coming from an individual who presents himself as an authority on orthodox Buddhism.

Have you heard of the term "projection" in psychology?

 

[Rick O'Shez]

What's the point here?

A pertinent question!

 

[Rick O'Shez]

A lot of secular Christians and Jews do not believe in God either. So, what?

So some Christians and Jews have a genetic defect too? I'm really not sure what point you're trying to make.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

However, there are conjoined twins where one twin is a Christian and his conjoined twin is an atheist.

I think it's pretty clear that religious belief is largely a matter of upbringing, nurture rather than nature. There's a complicated question in here about genetic influence on personality, which I think remains largely unresolved.

Clearly human existence is precarious and uncertain, so we all have a need for meaning and a sense of emotional security, but people meet that need in a variety of different ways. Religious belief is a popular one, but it's not the only game in town.

 

[viole]

Atheists appear to lack the "God gene."

Yes, it is a fact of evolution that some mutations can be beneficial.

Incidentally: do you think you believe in God and, presumably, wii be saved, because you have a gene and we don't?

Ciao

- viole

 

[outhouse]

Atheists appear to lack the "God gene."

I think someone is a bit bitter, because atheist tend to be much more education in religion then theist generally speaking.

 

[Parsimony]

What about people who are atheist but later become theists? Or theists that later become atheists?

 

[FunctionalAtheist]

Atheists appear to lack the "God gene."

That's like saying people who lack the alcoholism gene are defective.

 

[Gambit]

That's like saying people who lack the alcoholism gene are defective.

It's like saying people who lack the gene that produces photopigments are color blind.

 

[outhouse]

It's like saying people who lack the reality gene refuse credible education, in favor of mythology.

 

[FunctionalAtheist]

It's like saying people who lack the gene that produces photopigments are color blind.

EXCUSE ME? The correct term is chromatically challenged. Color blind is our word!

 

[FunctionalAtheist]

It's like saying people who lack the gene that produces photopigments are color blind.

It's not really. Color blindness is an objectively measurable disability. The value of a genetic predisposition to believe or not believe in god would require a value judgment on the existence of god. Calling the absence of the god gene are defective is an a prior assumption that a god gene is universally beneficial in terms of reproductive success.

 

[Jared Jammer]

It's an interesting question. I've often said, using the most-oft-cited definitions of mental illness, that atheism could reasonably qualify. It's a mindset held by a minority, and it's a mindset with some very negative side-effects, like the fear of logic and reason, incoherent views, pathological lying, and the prevalence of misanthropic nihilism.

Quite honestly, if given the choice between being, say, a paranoid schizophrenic, or an atheist, I'd choose the former.

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

Atheists appear to lack the "God gene."

Atheism is one of only two reasonable positions (along with deism) on the existence of God. But many, particularly younger men, tend to adopt it as a form of negative rebellion against the irrational indoctrination by the church of their birth, as opposed to something they feel positive connection with like deism or just dump-it-all materialism/humanism. Women, I think, who seek a similar rebellion, more often tend to go off the deep end with Wicca, paganism or the like, though in fewer numbers.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

It's an interesting question. I've often said, using the most-oft-cited definitions of mental illness, that atheism could reasonably qualify. It's a mindset held by a minority, and it's a mindset with some very negative side-effects, like the fear of logic and reason, incoherent views, pathological lying, and the prevalence of misanthropic nihilism.Quite honestly, if given the choice between being, say, a paranoid schizophrenic, or an atheist, I'd choose the former.

Fear of logic and reason?! Incoherent views?! You're much more likely to find those among theists actually.

If given the choice between being say, delusional or being a theist, I'd find it hard to tell the difference.

 

[outhouse]

I've often said, using the most-oft-cited definitions of mental illness, that atheism could reasonably qualify. It's a mindset held by a minority

So is intelligence.

With education and intelligence, there is often a sharp drop in extreme theism and ultra orthodox beliefs.

and it's a mindset with some very negative side-effects, like the fear of logic and reason, incoherent views, pathological lying, and the prevalence of misanthropic nihilism.

Many theist would qualify for this before atheism. its a pattern we see here for the most part from theist, not atheist.

Who else would go against all education and knowledge and deny the facts of evolution? Theist.

Who thinks the earth is 6000 years old and made in a week? Theist

Quite honestly, if given the choice between being, say, a paranoid schizophrenic, or an atheist, I'd choose the former.

Above is a perfect example of your quote below

like the fear of logic and reason, incoherent views, pathological lying, and the prevalence of misanthropic nihilism

 

[Yerda]

It's an interesting question. I've often said, using the most-oft-cited definitions of mental illness, that atheism could reasonably qualify. It's a mindset held by a minority, and it's a mindset with some very negative side-effects, like the fear of logic and reason, incoherent views, pathological lying, and the prevalence of misanthropic nihilism.

Quite honestly, if given the choice between being, say, a paranoid schizophrenic, or an atheist, I'd choose the former.

Is that you, Pat Robertson?

 

[Moni_Gail]

Yet another exerpt from my thesis on the neurological basis for belief:

We evolved to favor type 1 errors because our ancestors were more likely to survive if they erred on the side of caution and assumed that the rustle in the bushes was a predator, even if it was only the wind. Because of our tendency towards type 1 errors, we are said to have Hyperactive Agency Detector Devices (HADD) and are more likely to perceive agency where there is none. In psychological terms this is known as Theory of Mind and it is the basis for animistic belief as well as other belief systems which hold that, often invisible, agents control the world.

Peter Brugger administered L-DOPA to skeptics; it is used to increase dopamine concentrations within the central nervous system. Armed with higher concentrations of dopamine, the skeptics showed a type 1 error bias and significantly less type 2 errors. These results are compounded by the information that schizophrenics tend to have high levels of dopamine

Intelligence, emotional stability, sense of humor, and any other complex human expression cannot be pinned down to one gene. These are all the products of complex interactive feedback loops between environment and genes. Genetic factors can, and probably do, play a significant role – most complex traits come down to fifty percent genetics and fifty percent environment. The vesicular monoamine transporter 2, or VMAT2 gene, was popularized by geneticist Dean Hamer as the God Gene. VMAT2 is a neuro transporter. Like many others, it plays a role in the production of monoamines, such as dopamine. Brugger demonstrated the correlational link between religiosity and dopamine levels in the brain. However, Hamer’s results are quite difficult to accept because he has yet to submit his data for peer review. Instead Hamer rushed to publish a mass produced book with a sensationalized title, and in the meantime those that have attempted to replicate his results have been unsuccessful. Perhaps my bias is also showing after his last failed attempt at the same game. The last time I heard Hamer’s name, he had rushed out to publish a book claiming to have found the genetic link to homosexuality without going through the peer review process first. It was later discovered that he was wrong.

 

[Monk Of Reason]

It's an interesting question. I've often said, using the most-oft-cited definitions of mental illness, that atheism could reasonably qualify. It's a mindset held by a minority, and it's a mindset with some very negative side-effects, like the fear of logic and reason, incoherent views, pathological lying, and the prevalence of misanthropic nihilism.

Quite honestly, if given the choice between being, say, a paranoid schizophrenic, or an atheist, I'd choose the former.

Are you serious? In what way?

 

[jonathan180iq]

"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.

My thesis was actually a study on optimism and morality in the work place based on the subjective responses of both the pious and their counterparts. The results showed no difference between the two.