We measure and analyze discriminatory behavior against same-sex couples trying to rent an apartment in Portugal and pay special attention to the role of religiosity. This is the first correspondence field experiment investigating discrimination against this minority group in Portugal, and the first one to highlight religion as a factor of importance. In our experiment, four type of applicants varying in gender (male and female) and modality (same and opposite sex) reply to Internet ads to express interest in renting an apartment in the metropolitan areas of Porto and Lisbon. All applicant couples are presented as married, stable and professional. The main finding is that male same-sex couples face significant discrimination: The probability of getting a positive reply is 7–8 percentage points, or 23–26 percent, lower for them compared to opposite-sex couples. Interestingly, this effect is decreasing in the religiosity of a parish, suggesting that the more religious, Catholic and religiously homogenous people residing there are (with certain qualifications), the less discrimination of male same-sex couples there is. Further results reveal that discrimination is stronger when the population is older and when the rent and the square-meter price of apartments are higher. The present study extends the literature to a southern European, Catholic setting, validates previous research documenting worse treatment of same-sex couples in the housing market and demonstrates a mitigating effect of religiosity under certain conditions.

我们测量并分析了针对试图在葡萄牙租房的同性伴侣的歧视行为，并特别注意宗教信仰的作用。这是第一个调查在葡萄牙针对该少数群体的歧视的对应领域实验，也是第一个强调宗教作为重要因素的实验。在我们的实验中，性别（男，女）和模态（同性，异性）不同的四种类型的申请人回复了互联网广告，以表达对在波尔图和里斯本大都市区租房的兴趣。所有申请人夫妇均为已婚，稳定和专业人士。主要发现是男性同性伴侣面临严重歧视：获得正面答复的概率为7-8个百分点，即23-26％，与异性伴侣相比，他们的收入要低。有趣的是，这种效果是教区的宗教信仰的减少，表明居住在该地区的宗教，天主教和宗教同源的人越多（具有一定的资格），对男性同性伴侣的歧视就越少。进一步的结果表明，人口老龄化以及公寓的租金和平方米价格较高时，歧视会更强。本研究将文献扩展到欧洲南部的天主教背景，验证了先前的研究，该研究记录了住房市场上对同性伴侣的较差待遇，并证明了在某些情况下宗教信仰的缓解作用。