青年施賴爾馬赫的《論宗教》的歷史背景一直是學界研究的熱點，與傳統的觀點不同，本文認為新義派領袖斯伯丁對《論宗教》的寫作具有關鍵性作用。施賴爾馬赫初到柏林期間即與斯伯丁建立起密切聯繫，視後者為其精神導師。通過對斯伯丁於1797年完成的《宗教：一項人類事業》與施賴爾馬赫兩年後完成的《論宗教》的比較，筆者發現兩部著作對宗教的理解具有驚人的相似性，他們的宗教觀具有兩個共同的觀點：首先，實在是一個活生生的關聯系統，這是他們宗教觀的基礎；其次，宗教必然是社會性的、實證性的，這是他們宗教觀所要達成的目標。只有在斯伯丁宗教思想的背景之下，才能對《論宗教》的內容和目的獲得更為準確、更接近事實真相的認識。

What true context does Schleiermacher's On Religion assume has always been a research focus in the academic circle. Taking a different stance from the traditional view, this paper studies the key influence of Johann Joachim Spalding-who was the spiritual leader and key exponent of Neology in On Religion-on Friedrich Schleiermacher. When Schleiermacher came to Berlin in 1797, he formed close bonds with Spalding and regarded the latter as his spiritual mentor. Comparing Spalding's Religion, a Human Affair of 1797 with Schleiermacher's On Religion of 1799, we find that they share many similarities. What is more important, however, is that they share two important themes. The first is their understanding of reality as a system of interdependence, and the second is the goal of community which is the inevitable result. Only in the context of Spalding can scholars gain a true understanding of On Religion.