Since the Renaissance, there have been ideological trends and representatives who severely criticized religion and tried to destroy it. But religion has never been eliminated. In fact, except for Taoism, which lacks the impulse to reform, all the major religions in the world have not declined, but are thriving. Christian theology, for example, made great progress in the twentieth century and produced a group of world-class thinkers. Great changes have taken place in Buddhism and Islam In China at the beginning of the 20th century, some people put forward the viewpoints of "replacing religion with aesthetic education" and "replacing religion with science", but their arguments were not only untenable in theory, but also shattered by historical facts. It is worth noting that aestheticians and artists such as Lv Cheng, Li Shutong and Liu Xiaofeng moved from aesthetic education to religion. This shows that religion has its own irreplaceable value. The development of modern industrial society does not and cannot destroy religion, and other cultural forms cannot replace religion.

Religion is irreplaceable. We can't imagine what a culture without religion would look like. If Arabs don't have Islam, if Westerners don't have Christianity, and if China people don't have Buddhism, what will their culture look like? It is foolish to imagine that a culture will develop without religion. Someone has done such a stupid thing that it is impossible to succeed. Religion is the ultimate concern of human beings, so it is related to the essence of human existence. Religion in history may be polluted by ideological poison, but the essence of religion will not be polluted. The essence of religion is always pure. It exists in itself and all cultural forms. Science, philosophy, literature and art can't get rid of religion.

Looking back on the century of modern literature in China and its research process, we can see the relationship between religion and literature. We can list quite a number of important modern writers in China who are closely related to religious culture or have different degrees of contact, such as Lu Xun, Zhou Zuoren, Ba Jin, Lao She, Cao Yu, Bing Xin, Xu Dishan, Feng Zikai, Guo Moruo, Yu Dafu, Mao Dun, Shen Congwen, Ai Qing, Xu Zhimo, Dai Wangshu, Zhu Ziqing, Lin Yutang, Fei Ming, Zhang Ailing and so on. "It can be said that the distinctive and influential writers in China's modern literature in different periods have some connection with religious culture." (Liu Yong's Religious and Cultural Complex of Modern Writers in China, p. 3) It is natural to have this connection. Although the scientific trend of thought after the May 4th Movement has overwhelming advantages in all aspects of social life, religious complex has always played a powerful role in people's hearts. Christianity introduced in modern times merged with the inherent traditions of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, which kept the ultimate concern of China people in the new historical situation and showed it through various channels. On the conceptual level, although there is a big gap between Japan and the West, there is still no lack of in-depth research and discussion on religion.

Christianity and Buddhism were the most influential religions in China in the 20th century. The development of Christianity in modern China caused many complicated and profound contradictions and conflicts, and its influence should be correctly evaluated and analyzed. In a positive sense, Christianity has activated China people's dying belief spirit and made China people wake up from fatigue and re-examine their cultural and spiritual life, just like when Buddhism was first introduced. The pioneers of China's new literature have noticed the unique function and value of Christian culture. On February 1920, Chen Duxiu published the article "Christianity and China People" in the third issue of New Youth, which enthusiastically eulogized the spiritual qualities of Christianity, such as equality and fraternity, sacrifice and forge ahead, supremacy of personality, reflection and repentance. In his view, "Christianity is a philosophy of love" and "the fundamental teachings of Christianity are only faith and love, and the rest are branches and leaves". He called for "cultivating Jesus' lofty and great personality and warm and deep feelings in our blood, and saving us from the abyss of cold, darkness and filth. "If Chen Duxiu advocated the Christian spirit mainly from the perspective of social and political revolution, then Lu Xun directly cut into the core of culture and literature. He spoke highly of the extraordinary significance of Hebrew literature in his famous "On the Poetry of Moro": "Although the article involves many religious commandments, it is based on quiet and profound cultivation and the literary skills of the Pope. This is its source, which irrigates people's hearts and has not been loved so far." He called for the emergence of "warriors of the spiritual world" in China, who are permeated with profound Christian spirit from beginning to end. The "human literature" and "civilian literature" advocated by Zhou Zuoren led to the Christian theme of "fraternity" with the philosophy of humanitarian love. He said: "Almost all humanitarian thoughts in modern literature come from the Christian spirit ... half of the sources of humanitarian thoughts in modern literature and art are here." (The Holy Book China Literature) also affirmed that "literature does have something to do with religion" from the perspective of artistic development, and "the development of literature is mostly due to religious reasons." All the highest feelings of human beings are religious feelings, so art must be religious and the noblest art. "

From the creative practice, a number of writers and works have appeared in the new literature, which deeply embodies the Christian spirit. The theme of "love" in Bing Xin's works obviously comes from the author's deep understanding of Christian fraternity. With the deepening of new literature, the deeper influence of Christian culture has gradually emerged. As some scholars have pointed out: "The endless repentance in Yu Dafu's works, the original sin tendency in Cao Yu's works, the mellow and persistent humanitarian responsibility in Ba Jin's works, the ubiquitous civilian consciousness in Lao She's works, Guo Moruo's pantheism and so on. These all contain the artistic thinking of Christian cultural spirit, which undoubtedly makes China modern literature have some new cultural characteristics in ideological connotation. " (China modern writer Liu Yong's religious and cultural complex)

The cultural influence of Buddhism in modern China may be more worthy of our attention. The monks and secular monks headed by Mr. Yang Renshan freed China Buddhism from the extreme decline since the late Ming Dynasty and gradually embarked on the road of revival, which had a far-reaching impact on modern China culture. The combination of the primitive spirit of freedom, independent will, enterprising spirit and sacrifice in Buddhism and the spirit of freedom in modern western culture revived the spiritual life and cultural activities of China people. On the one hand, it is the formation and development of the new "human Buddhism" with the spirit of WTO entry, on the other hand, it is a new display of Buddhist spirit in literary and artistic activities. Take Lu Xun as an example. Lu Xun can be said to be the most profound figure in modern China writers' understanding and experience of life. His works are filled with the breath of death, and his descriptions of ordinary and humble little people in daily life often make people breathless. His concern for human suffering and China people's national character is actually related to his preference for Buddhism. Buddhism originally originated from the need to get rid of the suffering of life, and the most difficult thing in life is of course the threat of death. Lu Xun realized the harshness of human existence from his own suffering, which led to the great desire of liberation. He explored various ways, including external social and political revolution. But Lu Xun didn't really give much hope to the political revolution. The True Story of Ah Q typically illustrates this point. The so-called "national inferiority" actually stems from the darkness of human nature, which is what Buddhists call "ignorance without beginning". Therefore, Lu Xun is always pessimistic, which not only frees him from the superficial optimism of ordinary writers, but also enables him to see through the suffering of life to a certain extent and keep a certain distance from political operation.

For others, Buddhist culture has different forms. Although Su's works are few, he can write the profound entanglement between Buddhist pursuit and love in a shocking style, which highlights the tragic implication. Zhou Zuoren, Fei Ming, Feng Zikai and others showed a kind of Zen with a calm and elegant brushwork. Quiet and indifferent, quiet and broad-minded life situation and relaxed and elegant, open and calm state of mind, let readers vaguely see an ancient spiritual home in the chaos. But this is by no means a simple return to traditional Buddhism and Zen, but a new spiritual intention to inject the essence of modern culture and clean up the dross of traditional culture. Other authors, such as Xu Dishan and Shen Congwen, show an intention to integrate various religions. Xu Dishan's "debt" contains three meanings: the first is the compassion of the debtor Buddhism and the highly conscious sense of hardship of Confucianism; The second layer is the Taoist philosophy of life that her mother-in-law believes in guiding the situation and abandoning selfish desires; The third layer is the deep and inexplicable Christian consciousness of repentance and dedication of "debtors". This multi-religious implication can also be seen in Lin Yutang and others.

The relationship between modern literature and religion in China is not only reflected in religious complex, but also in narrative structure, artistic language and artistic conception. The strong lyricism and profound metaphor of modern literature in China are obviously stimulated by Christian literature. The contribution of Buddhist culture to the modern vernacular movement is well known. The creation of artistic atmosphere and artistic conception is inseparable from the flow of religious consciousness.

Literature and religion are inseparable, so are modern literature and religious culture in China. Although China took an extreme attitude towards religion after 1949, since the reform and opening up, religion has clearly demonstrated its inherent vitality. In the writer's works, religious spirit and religious consciousness are also colorful. The creation of Jia Pingwa, Zhang Chengzhi and Zhang Wei. Obviously, he has consciously turned to some kind of religious pursuit. In particular, Zhang Chengzhi's History of Mind shows the history of a nation's struggle for faith in a tragic way, which is of shocking significance in contemporary literature. This may symbolize the spiritual direction of China in the future.