One of the most important debates in social science is nature versus nurture. We can observe all kinds of behaviors in adults, but trying to understand the series of events that led to that outcome is really difficult. In psychology, there’s something called “Trait Theory,” the idea that people are born with fairly stable dispositions. Things like introversion, extroversion, or desire to be in control are innate qualities of an individual. While circumstances can affect a person, you can’t make a shy person enjoy being the center of attention, no matter what happened to them in their formative years.
There is some evidence of a genetic component to religious affiliation. In a study of twins separated at birth, Thomas Bouchard found that about 50% of religiosity was genetically influenced, while the other half relied on environmental factors. But, as you might expect, this issue is more significant than a DNA
