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This paper took Hu Shih’s 胡適 (1891-1962) atheistic ideas before studying abroad in the United States as the subject of discussion, and discussed it in the following two aspects. First, when discussing Hu’s atheistic ideas, we cannot help but mention the traditional academic background, educational environment, and experience of his family. In this paper, it was confirmed that his father’s teaching, which encompasses gewu 格物 (investigating things) and qiongli 窮理 (exhausting the principle), laid the foundation for Hu to gradually grow academically, and that the ancient Chinese philosophical texts that Hu encountered as a child, especially Fan Zhen’s 范縝 (fl. 450-515) Shenmielun 神滅論 (Theory of Annihilation), were the decisive factors in Hu’s formation of atheistic ideas. In addition, Hu joined the Jingye Society 競 業學會, which was a revolutionary organization during his school days, and unlike the members of the Jingye Society directly participated in the revolutionary activities at the time, Hu was in charge of editing and publishing the Jingye Xunbao 競業旬報, a periodical published by the society. It is noteworthy that Hu published dozens of articles under various pen names while in charge of editing and publishing the Jingye Xunbao, and most of the articles criticized the old customs and old practices that were deeply rooted in Chinese society at the time. In short, in this paper, it was found that Hu’s family background and academic influence in his childhood, and his educational environment and society activities in his youth were important foundations for the formation of Hu’s atheistic ideas. Second, Hu did not hesitate to criticize the Chinese people who were accustomed to superstitious customs, idolatry, and causal thinking that were prevalent in Chinese society at the time through Jingye Xunbao. As a result of the study, it was found that Hu’s criticism was a kind of conscious “practice” of the fundamental purpose of Jingye Xunbao, which advocated the destruction of superstition and enlightenment of the people. I argue that Hu’s atheistic ideas are not only his own personal beliefs, but also his ideological foundation that allowed him to grow into an advanced intellectual driving China’s modernization and a pragmatist who led China’s reform with critical attitudes and scientific methods.