英文摘要

Abstracts and Key Words of Major Articles Science, Faith, and Substitute for Religion--On Faith of Scientism in the Early 20th Century in China LI Xiang-ping （The Sociology Department, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241）Abstract： It is a fundamental belief in Chinese culture that there is a transcendental origin of the world, but apart from awe about the unknown, there is not any authentic faith about whether the universe or history reflects a definite divine scheme. Therefore the word ＂faith＂ in Chinese has both religious and unreligious references. This attitude toward the transcendental displays a distinctive Chinese national character in its tendency to define the communication between humanity and the divine in the form of power and, likewise, to consolidate the acknowledgment of and belief in some divine will, without investigating into its structure. The faith of scientism arising in the early 20th century in China was the tradition＇s construction of a new faith with the stimulation of science, and it, in the model of scientifically constructed faith, exerted such influence on Chinese society that it gave rise to the thought of ＂substituting the religion＂.