The Genius of Christianity

The Genius of Christianity, five-volume treatise by François-Auguste-René Chateaubriand, published in French as Le Génie du christianisme, ou beautés de la religion chrétienne in 1802. It included the novels Atala (1801) and René (1805, with a revised edition of Atala). Written shortly after the death of his mother, the work reveals Chateaubriand’s own struggle to reconcile rationalism and religion and his eventual return to traditional Christianity. In response to the rationalism of Enlightenment writers, Chateaubriand defends Christianity by stressing its capacity to nurture and stimulate European culture, architecture, art, and literature.