Does religion shape prejudice against asylum seekers in Australia? Experimental evidence comparing attitudes towards Muslim and Christian asylum seekers / <i>¿La religión influye en el prejuicio contra los solicitantes de asilo en Australia? Evidenci

This study tested double standards in prejudice towards asylum seekers as a function of their religion. A sample of 334 Australian adults completed measures of explicit and implicit attitudes towards asylum seekers; however, in each measure the targets were experimentally attributed to either a Christian or Muslim religious affiliation. Analysis of these data revealed religious affiliation effects for the targets (Muslim asylum seekers were the target of more explicit and implicit prejudice than Christian asylum seekers, regardless of the participants’ religious affiliation), but no participant religious affiliation effects were identified. Finally, the analysis revealed an interaction effect: Christian participants (but not non-religious participants) demonstrated stronger explicit and implicit prejudice towards Muslim targets than Christian targets. Taken together, this paper presents evidence that religion is an important factor in shaping perceptions of asylum seekers, and in contributing to double standards in migration — even in a relatively secular country such as Australia.