Religion Versus Religiosity: What Matters for Hiring?

Louise Devos, Louis Lippens and Stijn Baert ()
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Louise Devos: Ghent University
Louis Lippens: Ghent University
Stijn Baert: Ghent University

No 18906, IZA Discussion Papers from IZA Network @ LISER

Abstract: Religious discrimination in hiring is rarely studied independently from ethnic discrimination. We fill this gap using a preregistered factorial survey experiment in which professional recruiters evaluate candidate profiles that independently vary by ethnic majority versus minority names, visual religious signals, and volunteering activities signalling either Christian or Muslim religious affiliation. Beyond hiring intentions, we measure recruiters’, colleagues’, and customers’ anticipated willingness to work with candidates, as well as recruiters’ HEXACO personality assessments of the candidates. Candidates whose religious position recruiters identify receive lower interview ratings than candidates whose position remains unclear to them, and this penalty does not differ between Christian, Muslim, and atheist attributions; interview propensity declines further as attributed religiosity rises; and among the assigned signals, only religious volunteering reduces hiring chances. Religious candidates are not regarded as less diligent or less honest, but as less likely to be accepted by others.

Keywords: religion; hiring; discrimination; factorial survey experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C83 J61 J71 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp, nep-lma and nep-mid
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18906

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