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The Gods Are Watching: An Experimental Study of Religion and Traditional Belief in Burkina Faso
Author(s) -
Hadnes Myriam,
Schumacher Heiner
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal for the scientific study of religion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.941
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1468-5906
pISSN - 0021-8294
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-5906.2012.01676.x
Subject(s) - magic (telescope) , salience (neuroscience) , prosocial behavior , social psychology , punishment (psychology) , priming (agriculture) , psychology , morality , religious belief , ambivalence , sociology , political science , epistemology , law , cognitive psychology , physics , biology , philosophy , germination , botany , quantum mechanics
Traditional beliefs play an important role in many Sub‐Saharan African village societies. These beliefs imply immediate punishment for any breach of the moral code, and the possibility to influence an individual's life by the use of magic. We analyze the economic impact of traditional beliefs on behavior by conducting an experiment with microentrepreneurs in the environs of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). The salience of traditional beliefs is randomly varied through semistructured interviews. We find that priming traditional beliefs substantially increases prosocial behavior in the Trust Game. This effect is independent of age, gender, religious affiliation, or wealth.