Religious practices may have shaped human genes, but proof is pending

Evidence

Yehuda, Rachel, Nikolaos P. Daskalakis, Linda M. Bierer, Heather N. Bader, Torsten Klengel, Florian Holsboer, and Elisabeth B. Binder. “Holocaust Exposure Induced Intergenerational Effects on FKBP5 Methylation.” Biological Psychiatry 80, no. 5 (2016): 372–380. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.08.005. The foundational paper documenting differential FKBP5 methylation in Holocaust survivors and their adult offspring compared to Jewish adult controls with no Holocaust family history. The 32 survivor parents and 22 offspring analyzed showed consistent methylation patterns divergent from the 55 controls at FKBP5 intron 7, with survivors showing decreased methylation and offspring showing increased methylation relative to controls — a directional divergence that generated substantial debate about transmission mechanism. The paper was the first to document a specific epigenetic mark at a known stress-regulatory gene locus in Holocaust offspring, making it the most direct molecular evidence published to that date for intergenerational biological transmission of historical trauma effects in a human population. — , The Rod and the Child, 7128 (#expands, via linked claim)

The basic idea of the cognitive by-product view is that mental content that is psychologically more evocative, or “contagious,” propagates better. This makes religious belief not a naturally selected adaptation but a non-adaptive by-product of a suite of cognitive predispositions that originally evolved to serve other (nonreligious) functions. We can be more specific about this basic insight. We pay attention to, remember, and transmit concepts that resonate with strong emotions, that help us understand and predict the world better, and that are moderately (but not totally) compatible with our intuitive understanding of the world. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 357 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim
• XREF: connects to: Religious survival advantage resists explanation by individual or genetic selection; Religious prosocial beliefs may have shaped human genetic evolution; Religious belief is a by-product of cognitive predispositions, not an evolved adaptation — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 357 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Holocaust offspring show a distinct epigenetic mark at a stress-regulatory gene #expands (0.78) — , The Rod and the Child, 7128
• Religious belief is a by-product of cognitive predispositions, not an evolved adaptation #qualifies (0.75) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 357