Preview

Concept: philosophy, religion, culture

Advanced search

THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION AND HOW IT DIFFERS FROM ENGLAND’S

https://doi.org/10.24833/2541-8831-2018-4-8-77-83

Abstract

The ways in which the Reformation began and developed in England and Scotland were distinct and led to a different type of national church in each country. The Scottish Reformation, led by John Knox, was closer to the ideas developed in Geneva by John Calvin and came to be called Presbyterian because it replaced bishops and dioceses with presbyteries composed of equal numbers of ministers and elders. The Scottish church was non-hierarchical and closer to the people than the model adopted in England. In this contribution Stewart Lamont (who has written in one of his books about the uneasy alliances which national churches have with the state) describes how the Scottish model of Reformation led to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, being a centre of the Enlightenment in Europe. Nowadays secularisation has overwhelmed both national churches in the United Kingdom and they have both lost their position at the centre of national life. Membership of the Kirk (the name by which the Church of Scotland is commonly known) is now less than one third of the total fifty years ago. While some evangelical churches are showing growth, the national church is now mostly composed of older members, and its moral authority over individuals has transferred to campaigning on social issues. However, the legacy of Knox and the Presbyterian system gave Scotland an educational system whose seeds started bearing fruit from the time of the Enlightenment between 1750s to 1850s when Scotland was a centre of intellectual achievement, and which is still at the heart of its educational institutions.

About the Author

S. J. Lamont
St Andrews University (Scotland)
United Kingdom

Stewart J. Lamont – has degrees in science and divinity from St Andrews University (Scotland), Church of Scotland minister ordained in 1972, author of several books on history, theology and Church and State relationships. Worked as a broadcaster and producer for the BBC in the 1980s and for twenty years had a weekly column in major Scottish newspapers. Represented Church of Scotland at the Conference of European Churches. At the moment lives in Edinburgh.



References

1. Douglas J.D. New International Dictionary of the Christian Church. Exeter, Paternoster Press, 1974. 1074 р.

2. Duncan G.A. John Knox and education. HTS Theological Studies, 2017, Vol. 73, no. 3. pp. 1-9.

3. Duncan G.A. Scottish Presbyterian Church Mission Policy in South Africa, 1898-1923: manuscript. 1997.

4. Joyce P. The State, politics and problematics of government. The British journal of sociology, 2010, Vol. 61, pp. 305-310.

5. Kyle R.G., Johnson D.W. John Knox: An introduction to his life and works. Eugene, Oregon (USA), Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2009. 220 р.

6. Lamont S.J. Church and State: Uneasy Alliances.London, The Bodley Head, 1989. 218 р.

7. Lamont S.J. The Swordbearer: John Knox and the European Reformation. London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1991. 196 р.

8. Lamont S.J. When Scotland Ruled the World.London, HarperCollins, 2001. 244 р.

9. Mackie R.L. A Short History of Scotland.London, Oxford University Press, 1930. 414 р.

10. McKinlay A., Mutch A. ‘Accountable creatures’: Scottish Presbyterianism, accountability and managerial capitalism // Business History, 2015, Vol. 57, no. 2, pp. 241-256.

11. McKinlay A., Taylor P. Foucault, governmentality, and organization: Inside the factory of the future. New York, Routledge, 2014. 184 р.


Review

For citations:


Lamont S.J. THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION AND HOW IT DIFFERS FROM ENGLAND’S. Concept: philosophy, religion, culture. 2018;(4):77-83. https://doi.org/10.24833/2541-8831-2018-4-8-77-83

Views: 1194


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.


ISSN 2541-8831 (Print)
ISSN 2619-0540 (Online)