Do You Want a Soulmate...Or a God?

Research indicates that some people are hardwired to desire and experience contact with "the divine." (Whether "the divine" is Yahweh, Allah, Nirvana, or simply an altered state of consciousness is open to interpretation.)

Unfortunately, I was not able to pinpoint what percentage of the population is said to carry the so-called "God gene." But this leads me to wonder if the same people who believe in the existence of soulmates, or divinely orchestrated love, also have this genetic marker. Moreover, I'd be curious to learn if those who are consumed with finding their predestined mate already have an active spiritual life or if they are, in a sense, replacing their desire for union with a higher power with their desire for a lover.

It's interesting to me how love seems to take the place of religion in the lives of many. Although 90% of Americans say they believe in God, regular church attendance has declined to around 40%. Unless you're very spiritually oriented yourself, chances are that most people you know believe in something but don't spend much time thinking about it, much less trying to connect with it. But I'll bet you know tons of people who visit their local bar religiously to scout for dating prospects and fervently believe that the objective of life is to create a "perfect union" with a marital partner.

Could it be that people who would've placed their faith in a religious institution fifty years ago have transferred that faith to the rather nebulous concept of "true love"? That the responsibility for peace, fulfillment, or even salvation has been reassigned from a divinity to an all-too-human mate?

After all, we've all known singles who are desperate for the love of their life to miraculously swoop in and save them from themselves. We've all had friends who couldn't find a moment's peace in their own company, who had to be married by some set age or else feel "incomplete" forever. We've all read personal ads seeking someone to "make me a better person." One could say these fantastic imaginary partners, with their boundless power to transform lives, seem almost...superhuman.

Perhaps that's why singles have such high expectations for dating partners today. They don't want to be with a person. They want to be with God.

What do you think? Has the quest for union with a soulmate replaced the quest for union with divinity? Are people projecting godlike expectations onto their potential partners?


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