This article argues that the emerging Cognitive Science of Religion (CSR) provides a valuable new perspective on colonialism. CSR argues that humans are innately inclined towards certain types of religious belief (e.g., belief in spirit beings, belief in immortal souls) and certain types of non-utilitarian morality (e.g., belief in an obligation to care for kin, belief in an obligation to avoid ‘disgusting’ substances or behaviours). These innate inclinations underlie many religious and cultural traditions transformed by colonialism, including Islam. The article suggests that colonial power operates not only by suppressing traditional non-Western institutions but also by suppressing the natural inclinations underlying non-Western traditions. This claim is developed through a study of colonial efforts to transform Egypt’s al-Azhar, the world’s most influential institution of Islamic learning and scholarship. These efforts made al-Azhar into the centre of a global Islamic reform movement, which sought to integrate Islam with a colonial scientific-utilitarian worldview.

本文认为，新兴的宗教认知科学 (CSR) 为殖民主义提供了宝贵的新视角。CSR 认为，人类天生倾向于某些类型的宗教信仰（例如，信仰神灵、信仰不朽的灵魂）和某些类型的非功利道德（例如，信仰照顾亲属的义务、信仰义务以避免“令人作呕”的物质或行为）。这些与生俱来的倾向是殖民主义改变的许多宗教和文化传统的基础，包括伊斯兰教。这篇文章认为，殖民权力不仅通过压制传统的非西方制度，而且还通过压制非西方传统背后的自然倾向来运作。这一说法是通过对改造埃及爱资哈尔的殖民努力的研究得出的，世界上最具影响力的伊斯兰学习和学术机构。这些努力使爱资哈尔成为全球伊斯兰改革运动的中心，该运动试图将伊斯兰教与殖民科学功利主义的世界观结合起来。