Abstract:

Chen Du-xiu's view on religion underwent a dramatic change during early and late periods of the New Cultural Movement. As early as in 1917, he declared that all religions should be abandoned, arguing that science should take the place of religion in the construction of new culture. Up to 1921, however, he confirmed the value of Christianity and tried to embrace religion into the framework of new cultural reconstruction. The change in Chen Du-xiu's attitude to religion reflects not only a general track of modern Chinese intellectual enlightenment, but also an internal tension between scientific rationality and religious irrationality in the formulation period of Chinese modernity.

Key words: Chinese modernity, Chen Du-xiu, science, religion