Religion and social behavior – supplementary survey

Last registered on June 16, 2025

View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Religion and social behavior – supplementary survey

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0016207

Initial registration date

June 11, 2025

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published

June 16, 2025, 7:17 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country

Kenya

Region

Primary Investigator

Name

Julie Chytilova

Affiliation

Charles University and CERGE-EI

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Michal Bauer

PI Affiliation

CERGE-EI and Charles University

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

In development

Start date

2025-06-13

End date

2025-07-31

Keywords

Behavior

Additional Keywords

economics of religion, social preferences

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.

Abstract

We plan to implement a supplementary online survey as a follow-up to findings from a previous study that examines the link between experimentally elicited measures of biases in social behavior towards people with different religious affiliations of religious leaders and congregants from their churches in the Busia county, Kenya. We find evidence of discrimination towards Muslims and non-religious people, and substantial heterogeneity – some people are tolerant and some do discriminate. In the planned supplementary online survey, we want to experimentally measure the same type of preferences and learn more about perceptions about people with different religious affiliations.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Bauer, Michal and Julie Chytilova. 2025. "Religion and social behavior – supplementary survey." AEA RCT Registry. June 16. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.16207-1.0

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Not available at this moment.

Intervention (Hidden)

Varying the religious affiliation of the recipient in the money allocation task and of persons described in survey questions. We aim to compare allocation to and perceptions of people with different religious affiliations (Christian, Muslim, non-religious). The intervention will be implemented between-subject for the money allocation task and within-subject for survey questions, i.e., participants will answer sets of three questions and express perceptions of Christians, Muslims and non-religious people. The questions will be presented in a random order.

Intervention Start Date

2025-06-13

Intervention End Date

2025-07-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

(i) Allocations in the Help-or-Harm tasks towards recipients with different religious affiliation (Christian, Muslim, non-religious). (ii) Choices in a set of questions aiming to measure perceptions of wealth, morality, threat and personal interactions.

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Not available at this moment.

Experimental Design Details

The experiment will be implemented online. We will recruit a sample of Kenyan adult population residing in South-Western part of the country, diverse in terms of gender, age, rural/urban residence and education (N=500). All participants will be Christians. In the money allocation task, participants will make a decision affecting a Christian, a Muslim or a non-religious recipient (between-subject design). In the survey, participants will answer questions in which we vary the religious participation of the described person within-subject, i.e., participants answer three questions, about Christians, Muslims and non-religious people. The questions will be presented in a random order.

Thus, in the control condition, participants will make choices affecting a Christian recipient (and answer questions measuring their perceptions of Christians), and in the two treatment (religious out-group) conditions they will make choices affecting a Muslim recipient and a non-religious recipient (and answer questions measuring their perceptions of Muslims and non-religious people).

Randomization Method

The experimental conditions will be implemented between-subject (money allocation task) and within-subject (survey questions). The order of the decisions is randomized by Qualtrics.

In the control condition, participants will make choices affecting a Christian recipient (and answer questions measuring their perceptions of Christians), and in the two treatment (religious out-group) conditions they will make choices affecting a Muslim recipient and a non-religious recipient (and answer questions measuring their perceptions of Muslims and non-religious people).

Randomization Unit

The experimental conditions will be implemented between-subject at the individual level (money allocation task) and within-subject (survey questions).

In the control condition, participants will make choices affecting a Christian recipient (and answer questions measuring their perceptions of Christians), and in the two treatment (religious out-group) conditions they will make choices affecting a Muslim recipient and a non-religious recipient (and answer questions measuring their perceptions of Muslims and non-religious people).

Was the treatment clustered?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

500 individuals recruited by a survey agency, Kenyan adults, Christians, diverse in terms of gender, age, rural/urban residence and education.

Sample size: planned number of observations

500 individuals recruited by a survey agency, Kenyan adults, Christians, diverse in terms of gender, age, rural/urban residence and education.

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

Total sample size will be 500 individuals. In the money allocation task, which will be implemented between-subject, there will be approximately 167 participants in each experimental condition (Control condition - Christian recipient, Treatment 1 condition - Muslim recipient, Treatment 2 condition - non-religious recipient).

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB