Genes Contribute to Both Religious and Homosexual Inclination

Moral Absolutism Degrades the Human Condition

Religious zealots and gays share one thing in common: a genetic predisposition to their condition. Unfortunately these genetic predispositions are very different and few things bring these conditions into conflict like same sex marriage.

The religious gene drives religious conservatives to view the universe as a moral place where the natural human order is based upon social values such as faith, family, love and charity. This view is consistent with scientific assumptions held until about 25 years ago. According to Maggie McKean "scientists assumed that religious behavior was simply the product of a person's socialization - or "nurture". "But more recent studies," she says, "including those on adult twins who were raised apart, suggest genes contribute about 40% of the variability in a person's religiousness."

According to McKean, "children tend to mirror the religious beliefs and behaviors of the parents with whom they live. That suggests genes play a small role in religiousness at that age. However, researchers led by Laura Koenig, a psychology graduate student at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, suggest that "as adolescents grow into adults, genetic factors become more important in determining how religious a person is, while environmental factors wane.

Simply put, religious genetic factors become more important as religious conservatives grow older and move away from the influences of childhood parenting. The problem arises when religious conservatives try to impose this genetic predispositions for a moral order on others.

Generally scientists, except some sociologists, and some homosexuals are driven to understand the world irregardless of its moral implications. Thus there is an increasing recognition that a linkage exists between DNA markers on the X chromosome and Male sexual orientation creating what is euphemistically called a "gay gene."