Almost half of American adults, for example, have changed
religious affiliation at least once during their lifetime, and most do so
before age 24…once people enter adulthood they tend to stick with one category,
retaining either faith in God or the absence thereof…
…
Recent research suggests, however, that this is not the
whole story. By studying the
correlations among thousands of individuals’ religious beliefs and measures of
their thoughts and behaviors, scientists have discovered that certain
personality types are predisposed to land on different spots of the religiosity
spectrum. Genetic factors account for
more than half of the variability among people on the core dimensions of their
character, which implies that a person’s feelings regarding religion also
contain a genetic component.
…
…religious individuals tend to display agreeable and
conscientious behaviors. For example,
religious people are inclined to show cooperation in laboratory experiments and
to volunteer in real life. They also
endorse healthy lifestyles that reflect self-control such as low alcohol, drug
and tobacco use.
…
…In a way, we are born to be inclined toward religion or
atheism. Does God call us? For some of us, the answer is yes: through
our genes, parents, acquaintances and life events.
—Saroglou, Vassilis. May/June, 2012. “Are We Born to Be Religious?” Scientific
American Mind.
