A British university study suggests that people of strong faith can spread religion through a "believers' gene" that is part of their DNA. Cambridge University economics professor Robert Rowthorn theorizes a "predisposition toward religion" in a paper published in "Proceedings of the Royal Society B," a prestigious journal of Britain's Royal Society of scientists.
Rowthorn suggests that people with strong religious beliefs tend to have more children and that this, combined with a genetic predisposition to believe, can explain the expansion of religion.
The academic cites the World Values Survey in 82 nations from 1981 to 2004, which found that people who attended religious services more than once a week had an average of 2.5 children; those who never attended averaged only 1.67.
"The more devout people are," Rowthorn wrote, "the more children they are likely to have." This, coupled with a "genetic endowment" that his theory ascribes to strong believers, could mean the spread of faith across the broad sweep of the population.
For more: Study Links Spread of Religion With 'Believer Gene'
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