Is there a real gene known as the "god gene" that explains why some people believe in God?

Question

Someone has written a book about the "god gene" and he explains that the people who believe there's a God tend to have the presence of a specific gene in DNA analysis. Does this explain why people tend to believe in God? (Don't grill me on this. I believe there's a God no matter what my DNA analysis indicates.)

I'm not looking for crackpot personal hypotheses here or psuedo-psychology. I'm looking for answers and information that either supports or does not support whether this gene is real or not.

Example of pseudo-psychology: "Maybe the belief in a god triggers a release of neurotransmitters that causes a chain reaction that effects a specific gene."

That's just a falsehood. Where's the research that indicates neurotransmitters affect genes? If you took psychobiology you should know neurotransmitters flow through the axon of a neuron to have some specific chemical communication with another neuron!

Does having a supposed "god gene" explain why anyone believes there is a God or not?

PLEASE don't confound belief in God with belief in a particular religion (like Hudge did below). I'm not talking about belief in a religious ideology. Does a gene explain why some people believe there is a God?

Answer 1

There is actually a "god gene".
It is located near to the "gene gene".
The one that explains why some people believe that everything depends on genes.

Answer 2

First of all, let me say that none of what I am about to write is intended as an insult to anyone; I respect people's religious beliefs as long as they in turn respect my choice not to believe.

There does appear to be a tendancy, perhaps genetic, for some people to need "something more" than what they have within themselves. This doesn't necessarily translate into believing in God but may also manifest itself in someone who is more "spiritual" or who believes in the paranormal, UFO's, conspiracy theories or other unexplained and fundamentally "unproveable" or "unproven" phenomena. It also doesn't mean that all people who believe in God will have this gene, if it exists at all, or that all "non-believers" do not have it; at best I would suspect that the gene would create a tendancy towards belief and faith that those without the gene are less likely to display.

That doesn't necessarily make people who have such faiths or beliefs more gullible or crackpots or loonies but what it does mean is that they are able to suspend the "normal" human experience of "if I can't see it, feel it, touch it, taste it or smell it then it doesn't exist" and somehow go beyond that into an abstract where they still "feel" the existence of God, or whatever in a very tangible way despite the lack of anything to feel, touch taste, etc.

Biologically this may turn out to be something as simple as a lack of "self confidence" which is compensated for and bolstered by the belief in some higher guiding and protecting force but I suspect that a more complex interplay of genetics, upbringing and experiences are likely to be at work.

Answer 3

OK,We evolve ,we change, so our genes change.Maybe they respond to our needs depending on our environment.Maybe the belief in a god triggers a release of neurotransmitters that causes a chain reaction that effects a specific gene.Then ,People who believe in god would have that particular gene in common.Maybe the gene is a result and not a cause.

Answer 4

I dont know about a gene. However,people generally need to believe that they have a bigger purpose than their relatively short life here on earth. Humans are the only animal that has this character flaw. That is why religion has been used by the leaders of empires,tribes,countries etc. since the beginning of recorded history. They use religion to instill control over the society,while most of the people who run the world and have the most power..have that power because they do not actually believe in the religion that they vicariously promote. Its simple religion is control. It is designed for the weak minded people who have to believe that there is more to life than this miserable existence on a tiny little planet called Earth. I respect peoples beliefs,they have to right to believe as they choose. I was raised in a baptist family,while not fanatical like some christians,still firmly believed in god. However,I like to make up my own mind,and after much study and research have decided that religion has no place in my life. If people only knew how much their leaders were decieving them and laughing behind their backs..wow. Take on Mr Bush for example,he won(actually stole,but thats another story)the election by convincing the public that he was all for morals and so called family values (which I am sick of hearing about),yet he is a fierce drinker,belongs to skull and bones-a secret society of powerful people who meet and vow their allegiance to each other over all else,worship statues,have naked orgies,participate in homosexual type sex and must admit their darkest desires to each other while being strapped in a coffin. Sounds christian to me..lol. Also,these powerful leaders meet at a place called Bohemian Grove somewhere near San Francisco,to dance naked,worship more man-made idols and various other hedonistic indulgences. If you dont believe me..just do some research,use this wonderful tool of the internet for more than just entertainment. A reporter named Alex Jones has actually infiltrated Bohemian Grove and reported from inside its ranks. Go to a site called jonhs.com and check out some of his documentaries...on 9-11,Iraq and the coming one world government. Also some great documentaries on the origins of the bible and religion. My advice to anyone..dont believe me or anyone else...do your own research dont take anyones word for it,make up your own mind! So many people today really have questions in their mind about god/religion,but have had it drilled into their head since childhood that there is a god and are afraid to even think for themselves. Which is exactly what the ruling elite want you to do.

Answer 5

There is no such gene. People tend to choose how are they gonna be. If they choose to be good they are good, if they want to be bad they'll be bad. People belives in God because they have mind to think about the prime cause of all things that happen.

Answer 6

Those individuals whose fear of the unknown within themselves keeps them confined in the Left-hemisphere of their brains are constantly attempting to bend that of which they are ignorant into some contorted sense of reality with which they are comfortable.

The Clinical_Denial factor of the MIND allows them to state delusional beliefs as true, and their MINDs feed the Left-hemisphere of their brains thoughts which support their delusional beliefs. The Clinical_Denial factor comes into play when they have no idea that they are lying to themselves. They have no idea that they are in denial, in other words.

One believes in God if one is rational and possesses even a little bit of Spiritual evolution. What evolves is ones Apapsyche per se, or that portion of ones Apapsyche [Operational Energy of ones Soul] which stores bits of absolute Knowledge that one has acquired as a result of the natural operation of the Esotransmutation process within oneself.

Answer 7

When I was in school I argued that environment had more dominant influence than hereditary genetic make up. It's easy to write and gather acclaim on unseen and undetectible things. Kids can make up some whoppers when it comes to their imagination!

Answer 8

Please read my words carefully:
If you see footmark in the sand, you'll say that someone passed from here...
If you see a piece of dog sh*t on the ground, you'll say that a dog passed from here...
So what about the enormous universe, the sky, stars, planets, earth and all the beauty in it, doesn't it lead to that someone made it?!!!

Some people say that everything is created by itself after the big-bang... I won't ask you about what caused the big-bang, but I'll ask you a simple question:
If you take all the letters of the alphabet, multiples of them, and you threw them randomly on the floor. Do you expect (by a chance of one in infinity) to get a poem like shakespear's??!!

Can't you see how organized our universe is, the planets, the eco-system on earth, look even in your own body... Can you control your heart-beat? Can you control your breath while you're sleeping? Who stopped your eye-lashes from growing after reaching a certain length? Who told the baby turtles to move towards the sea and not to the earth after they come out of their eggs? Who taught the bird how to make nests?

My friend, think with your heart and brain. If you're still lost, think about the following:

Do you know how to play safe?
Your point:
If there's no God and you do all what you want in life, then nothing will happen to you after life. But if there was God and you were mistaken, then you'll blame yourself FOREVER...

Believer's point:
If there's God and I followed His commands in life, then I'll be in Heaven after life FOREVER. But if there was no God and we're mistaken, then nothing bad will happen to us after life...

Now you know how to play-safe, in case you're not convinced?

Answer 9

No, people believe in God because they don't understand the world around them.

Answer 10

No such thing as a "god" gene.