自明末清初以来, 基督教就伴随着中国社会走向现代的进程, 天主教的学术传教路线, 新教的文化教育事业及参与变法的理论和实践, 甚至太平天国和义和团的农民运动, 都表现出基督教与中国现代化的精神关联。2 0世纪初期, 在中国现代性意识演化过程的各阶段, 诸如新文化运动, 宗教大讨论, 非基运动, 救亡运动等, 基督教均紧扣时代主题, 自觉不自觉地参与其中

Since the turn of Ming and Qing dynasties the development of Christianity has been deeply involved in the process of China's modernization to such an extent that the confluence of Christianity and China's modernization has profoundly manifested itself in the new methodology of Catholic mission, Protestant cultural educational project, theory and practice of Chinese reformation movement, and even in peasant uprisings such as the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Boxers (Yihetuan). In the beginning of the 20 th century Christianity was consciously or unconsciously engaged in various activities such as the New Cultural Movement, debates on religious issues and the national salvation to shape China's modernity.