Men with high testosterone levels could be less religious: Study
Thursday - May 31, 2018 7:50 pm ,
Category : HEALTH
Toronto May 31 (IANS) The level of sex hormones such as testosterone in a man s body could influence his religiosity says researchers including one of Indian-origin.
The findings showed that men with higher levels of the sex hormones testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in their bodies had weaker religious ties.
"Religion influences a range of cultural and political patterns at the population level. Results from the current study indicate the latter may also have hormonal roots " said Aniruddha Das of McGill University in Canada s Quebec.
"There is therefore a need for conceptual models that can accommodate the dynamic interplay of psychosocial and neuroendocrine factors in shaping a person s life cycle " he added.
For the study appearing in the journal Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology the team analysed over 1 000 men aged 57-85 including their weight and height saliva and blood samples.
Participants also completed questionnaires about how often they attended religious services and whether they had a clergy member in their core social network.
The researchers suggest that further studies are needed to understand how hormones shape a person s religious beliefs in later life.
This is of importance as religion has been shown to have a positive influence on how people age and ultimately experience their later years.
"Without systematic exploration of these linkages life course theory remains incomplete and potentially inaccurate " Das said.
"More research is therefore needed on the reasons why androgen levels influence a person s religious connections and on the role that hormones play in structuring the life trajectories of older people " he noted.
--IANS rt/pgh/vd
The findings showed that men with higher levels of the sex hormones testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in their bodies had weaker religious ties.
"Religion influences a range of cultural and political patterns at the population level. Results from the current study indicate the latter may also have hormonal roots " said Aniruddha Das of McGill University in Canada s Quebec.
"There is therefore a need for conceptual models that can accommodate the dynamic interplay of psychosocial and neuroendocrine factors in shaping a person s life cycle " he added.
For the study appearing in the journal Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology the team analysed over 1 000 men aged 57-85 including their weight and height saliva and blood samples.
Participants also completed questionnaires about how often they attended religious services and whether they had a clergy member in their core social network.
The researchers suggest that further studies are needed to understand how hormones shape a person s religious beliefs in later life.
This is of importance as religion has been shown to have a positive influence on how people age and ultimately experience their later years.
"Without systematic exploration of these linkages life course theory remains incomplete and potentially inaccurate " Das said.
"More research is therefore needed on the reasons why androgen levels influence a person s religious connections and on the role that hormones play in structuring the life trajectories of older people " he noted.
--IANS rt/pgh/vd
