Biased Altruism: Islamophobia and Donor Support for Global Humanitarian Organizations

Abstract

Providing humanitarian assistance to displaced individuals is a critical policy challenge. Many refugee camps are run by charities supported by Western donors. If refugees are predominantly Muslim, might Islamophobia suppress donations to these charities? Using a survey experiment conducted in the United States, the authors examine whether donors' willingness to support a charity is influenced by the dominant religion of the refugees, the regions in which refugee camps are located, and/or the religious affiliation of the charity. The authors find modest support for Islamophobia: while willingness to donate is not affected by the location of camps or the predominance of Muslim refugees, it declines significantly for Islamic charities. Respondents overall tend to be especially willing to donate to a charity that serves Christian refugees in the Middle East. Among self‐identifying Christians, respondents are more willing to donate to a charity serving Christian refugees than one serving Muslim refugees.

Do Street‐Level Bureaucrats Discriminate Based on Religion? A Large‐Scale Correspondence Experiment among American Public School Principals

“…The limits of inclusion are apparent in the unease of many Americans toward members of unusual religious groups and religious newcomers (Bonikowski and DiMaggio 2016; Edgell, Gerteis, and Hartmann 2006; Tremblay‐Boire and Prakash 2019). Anti‐Muslim discourse resonates with many Americans, particularly the more than 30 percent who identify with conservative Protestantism (Pew Research Center 2015) and the quarter of Americans who can be classified as ardent nationalists (Bonikowski and DiMaggio 2016).…”

Racialized minorities, trust, and crisis: Muslim‐American nonprofits, their leadership and government relations during COVID‐19

“…In a recent study, Bhati (2020) found that implicit color biases play a role in individuals' decisions to donate. Similarly, Tremblay‐Boire and Prakash (2019) found that Christians in America are more likely to contribute to Christian charities operating in the Middle East rather than Muslim charities. Group identity strongly influences decisions to donate toward a group‐specific cause (Hutcheson & Dominguez, 2016; Taniguchi & Thomas, 2011; Wittberg, 2013).…”

Delivering public services to the underserved: Nonprofits and the Latino threat narrative

“…In its extreme version, an emphasis on social identity encourages the “us versus them” attitude where individuals favor members of the in‐group at the expense of others, and even hold prejudices against out‐group members (Tajfel, 1979; Tajfel & Turner, 1986; see also Tremblay‐Boire & Prakash, 2019 for an experiment on the impact of religious in‐group/out‐group identities on charitable giving). However, we are interested in a different, more “positive” aspect of social identity.…”

“…Does a cause become less or more worthy if donations are directed toward recipients of certain races, incomes, occupations, immigration status, and so on? Some laboratory and survey experiments have focused on the race/ethnicity, gender, and religion of recipients (Chen et al, 2019; Fong & Luttmer, 2009, 2011; Tremblay‐Boire & Prakash, 2019), but not on immigration status. In this article, we examine whether American donors' willingness to donate to a nonprofit that provides housing and food services to children is affected by the beneficiaries' immigration status and the region from which they came.…”