ref.4,20–22), even though its role declines from adolescence to adulthood, being replaced by genetic factors.23,24 Two studies explored whether religiosity modified the extent to which genetic factors influence alcohol use. Koopmans et al.25 reported that while religiosity was not associated with alcohol initiation, heritable influences on alcohol initiation were absent in adolescent females who were religiously raised and as high as 40% in those who were not religiously raised. Similarly, Button et al.26 found that the heritability of problem alcohol use at age 12–18 was inversely related to adolescent religious involvement but no such effects on the heritability of problem drinking at age 17–29 were noted. In contrast, four studies have studied the bivariate association between alcohol involvement and religiosity. Harden27 noted that religious adolescents did not differ from their non-religious siblings on timing of initiation of alcohol use, indicating the role of familial influences that siblings share (genes and environment) on this association. Vance et al.28 found that associations between alcohol dependence and 6 of 7 dimensions of adult religiosity were attributable to overlapping genetic factors alone (rg −.18 to −.32). Kendler and Myers23 reported that negative correlations between church attendance and alcohol use during adolescence are modest (r
