HOW religious you are as an adult depends at least partly on your genes, a study of twins suggests. Past studies have found that children tend to mirror the religious beliefs and behaviour of their parents. Now a team led by Laura Koenig at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis has shown that the influence of environmental factors wanes in adulthood, while genetic factors become more important in determining how religious a person is.
The team asked 169 pairs of identical twins and 104 pairs of fraternal twins born in Minnesota, all male and in their early 30s, how often they and their family went to religious services, prayed and discussed religious teachings compared with when they were growing up. While the identical twins’ behaviour remained similar in adulthood, greater differences emerged between fraternal twins as they aged (Journal of Personality, vol 73, p 471).
“That would suggest genetic factors are becoming more important and growing up together less important,” says team member Matt McGue. “Maybe, ultimately, we all decide what we’re most comfortable with, and it may have more to do with our own make-up than how we were treated when we were adolescents.”
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