This monograph aims to explicate Schleiermacher’s early theory of religion in relation to his reception of Spinoza.The key concept of religion as an “intuition of the universe” in Schleiermacher’s epoch-making speeches ‘On Religion’ has its foundations in the complex process of critically adopting Spinozan thinking.Working against the background of Spinoza’s philosophy, the study develops the origins of Schleiermacher’s thinking on the concept of religion from his early manuscripts and uses them to inform a systematic interpretation of the ‘Speeches’ as a whole.