The Social Consequences of Traditional Religion in Contemporary Africa / Etienne Le Rossignol, Sara Lowes, Nathan Nunn.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Le Rossignol, Etienne.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Lowes, Sara.

Nunn, Nathan.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w29695.

NBER working paper series no. w29695

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2022.

Summary:

On the African continent, traditional religious beliefs continue to persist despite the widespread adoption of Christianity and Islam. Historically, the introduction of Christianity resulted in traditional religions being linked to the devil and referred to as 'witchcraft' or 'sorcery.' Today, anecdotal accounts of the stigmatization of traditional beliefs are common. Motivated by this, we examine the social consequences of holding traditional religious beliefs among urban and rural populations in central Africa. Using a variety of lab-in-the-field experiments, we test whether individuals who believe in traditional religion are viewed or treated differently by others. In the experiments, participants are randomly paired with another player who has either strong or weak traditional religious beliefs. We find that participants are less prosocial towards partners who are known to hold traditional beliefs and that antisocial behavior is viewed as more acceptable (and prosocial behavior less acceptable) when directed towards those holding traditional beliefs. Consistent with this, participants also hold negative perceptions and stereotypes of those who believe in traditional religions. We find that the effects are economically significant, ubiquitous, and heightened by economic progress.

Notes:

Print version record

January 2022.