Twin Research Links Genetics and Adult Spirituality

March 21, 2005 — -- The Georgia woman who reportedly convinced an alleged gunman to end his killing spree said she and Brian Nichols talked about their families, the Bible and their faith.

"I believe God brought him to my door," Ashley Smith told reporters after calling 911 and alerting police that Nichols, the suspect in the slayings of four people, including an Atlanta judge, was in her apartment.

Smith's faith may have led her to believe that Nichols targeted her for a reason, but scientists are asking what makes people like Smith maintain their faith in the first place.

If new research is to be believed, when it comes to fostering religious adults, genetics play a significant role.

Recent studies with twins show that while environmental factors play a big part in determining a person's degree of faith early in life, later on genetics take over and become a dominant factor as people make the transition into adulthood and either strengthen or reduce the role of religion in their lives.

"Our findings show that the differences in religiousness among individuals are due in part to genetic differences among individuals," said Laura Koenig, a graduate student at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and lead author of the twin study in the current issue of the Journal of Personality.

This could mean that people like Smith are, to some extent, hardwired in their faith.

To get at possible causes behind a person's degree of religiousness, Koenig examined surveys completed by 169 identical and 104 fraternal twins. All the twins were men born in Minnesota with an average age of 33 at the time of the survey. The idea was that similarities in faith between identical twins would have a stronger genetic link that those found among fraternal twins.

In the surveys, the men graded how often they took part in religious activities and the importance of religious faith in their lives. They also rated their mother and father's level of faith, as well as their own while they were growing up. Finally, they were asked to grade the current and past religious faith of their twin.