Recently on the blog, some questions have arisen about whether biology plays a role in determining sexual orientation, and if so to what extent. Even though the relevant disciplines are not my area of expertise, I felt that, as a biologist, I should be at least broadly familiar with the available data and schools of thought. I figured I would investigate what is known, what the open questions are, and if it was worthwhile, summarize my findings for this blog. I don’t expect to provide the definitive Christian perspective on the topic; my goal was mainly to present the evidence, whatever it may be (and I honestly didn’t know what I’d find), so that we could have a more informed discussion.
While I continue to research the literature, I have already started thinking about how to organize and present what I’m learning. And I realized that how I generally think about the connection between the mind and the body framed how I approached the biology of orientation. I began to suspect the same is true for many of us, so I think it’s worth getting it out in the open first. [Read more…] about Science in Review — May 2013