homas Kuhn’s model of paradigmshift as an intra-systemic framework to account for changes within the scientific discourse has been adopted by scholars in different fields as diverse as sociology, theology, economy, and education, to name only a few. The present study argues that the same model can usefully bedrawn uponto examine the relationship between ‘science’and ‘religion’with some reservationsduringthe Renaissance. To further illustratetheinterconnection, the study focuses on Francis Bacon’s utopian text New Atlantisand shows the way the author isattempting to emphasizethesymbiotic co-existence of the two paradigms in an ideal society. However, viewing the work within a larger context, one can see how Bacon’s text seems to bean intermediary link between the Church-and science-controlled discourses. The study also shows that although towards the end of the Renaissance,the scientific paradigmgainsin popularity, the religious discourseis alsopresent and makes its presence strongly felt.

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