The "God" gene ...

   Having grown up in a religious home, our discussions of Constantine's influence on the growth of Christianity was pretty interesting. I'm no longer a regular at church, however that doesn't mean that I don't have an interest in faith or the interest in believing in a spirit greater than our own. It all is rather interesting. When the idea in class that there is a hypothesis of faith being genetic, I couldn't help but feel that would be an interesting topic to share my thoughts.
    An entry level psychology course reveals that from birth we are constantly learning. As we learn, we're also going through several stages in which we become less selfish and through our social influence and are consistently discovering things greater than ourselves. In my eyes, it really seems hard to believe that there is a gene that would be specific to faith. However, a gene that fires off of optimism and community relations becomes more clear to me. During Constantine's reign, when a possibility of unrest is apparent, what better way to increase a sense of community than to utilize a religion that benefits so many that have not had the benefits of the wealthy. This monolithic religion allowed the growing need and or curiosity to be not only more than themselves, but also of another world. Their life possessions no longer needed to be compared with the elites, and the church greeted them with open arms. I don't believe that this means that Constantine used the religion for his benefit maliciously, I am only saying that the timing seems perfect. A people that have nothing compared to those living an elite lifestyle now have the ability to not worry about their earthly possessions.
   Our entire lives, we are always looking for something different. When young, we want the benefits that come with age. When we're old, we want to be young. We pine for more "things", yet will leave (vacation) to places where we have less.
   Really, is there a specific gene that points us towards religion which pushed those during the Constantine era in promoting the Christian faith? I don't really think so, I feel we're extremely complicated beings. We're on a lifelong path of social interaction and reaction. We're constantly looking at what others have and what we don't. As tiring as that is, any faith for that matter takes that responsibility from our hands, and places it in the hands of an unearthly being that must be able to handle the burden.