Is spirituality a choice? That’s the question posed by a recent blog post on Psychology Today. Clay Routledge, a professor of social psychology at North Dakota State University, discusses whether or not a person’s interest in spirituality might be less of a conscious choice and more of a genetic trait.
To me, this possibility was eye-opening. It might explain why, for example, I scored low on the openness-to-coincidence test that I blogged about a few weeks ago. I’d like to find more meaningful coincidences in my life (who wouldn’t?), just like I’d like to be more in touch with my intuition.
Both these things are deeply linked with spirituality, which according to Routledge, might come more naturally to some of us than others. “There are reasons to think that the wiring of the brain can greatly influence people’s levels of spirituality and religiosity,” he writes.
Read More: Deepen Your Faith with the Lord’s Prayer
It relates to what psychologists call theory of mind, or ToM, which refers to a person’s ability to imagine and simulate the thoughts and feelings of others. ToM, says Routledge, is a good predictor of a person’s level of spirituality—those with a high capacity to empathize with others are more likely to be spiritual.
I may have been born with less of an ability to get in touch with the spiritual world, however, it’s not as if all hope is lost. Routledge suggests that like many traits, such as athleticism, spirituality can be cultivated and consciously developed. Want to improve your free throw shooting in basketball? Practice. Want to improve your connectedness to a spiritual life? The same strategy applies. The more I practice listening and looking for those spiritual moments, the better I’ve become at recognizing them, although there’s always more work to do.
If spirituality is seen as an inherent trait it actually forces us to think more seriously about what it takes to lead a spiritual life. You may be a natural at faith, but others may have a tougher hill to climb.
Read More: The Radical Honesty of an ‘Outlaw’ Christian
If you’re anything like me and lack any innate athletic ability, then you know that the worst teachers and coaches are those who think that learning how to play a sport should be as easy as it was for them. Sometimes the best teachers are the ones who struggled the most to learn.
Sometimes the best athletes weren’t born that way—they just worked hard under the right mentors.
Why should it be any different for spirituality?
