對黑格爾來說，上帝是「哲學的唯一對象」，意思是，哲學要在上帝內認知一切，將一切引向祂，從祂來說明一切；因此哲學即是神學，也是對上帝的崇拜。在他的哲學裡，上帝是哲學的結果也是其預設，是其目標也是它的開始。
黑格爾的思辨哲學是在與其他哲學觀點的對話中形成。對於上帝之知，他強烈反對的是啟蒙時代的三種不可知論：沃爾夫代表的理性主義的神學、康德的批判哲學與雅各比開始的感覺神學。理性神學的不可知論建立於客觀觀點，批判哲學與感覺神學則是出自主觀理由否認人認知上帝的可能性。這三種不可知論，黑格爾認為，它們的共同點是，都是建立於知性的認知，不是真正出自理性的認知。他論述，理性不僅能夠認知上帝存在，而且能夠認知祂是什麼。

In Hegel’s philosophy God is “the sole object of philosophy”, in other
words, philosophy has to attain in God the complete knowledge, to relate
everything to God and to explain everything through God; thus philosophy in essence is a theology and is a worshiping of God. In the context of Hegel’s philosophy, God is considered to be both the final result and the precondition of philosophy, both its final goal and its starting point.
The speculative philosophy of Hegel has been formed in the context of the
dialogue between various philosophical theories. Regarding knowledge about God, Hegel rejects the validity of the “three agnosticisms” of the Enlightenment: the rationalist theology of Wolff, the critical philosophy of Kant and Jacobi’s theology of feeling. The agnosticism of Wolff’s rational theology was founded on objective view, whereas Kant’s critical philosophy and Jacobi’s philosophy of feeling refuted the possibility of knowing God based on subjective standpoints. Hegel held that these three theories are all based on the faculty of intellect rather than on the one of reasoning. He argued that reasoning can attain knowledge not only of the existence of God but also about God Himself.