Dissent After Disruption
Church and State in Scotland, 1843-63
Published on 7. February 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-1-4744-8280-6 (ISBN)
Description
The Disruption of the Church of Scotland was one of the most important events in Victorian Britain and had a profound and lasting impact on Scottish religion, politics and society. This book provides the first detailed account of the two major non-established Presbyterian denominations in the two decades after 1843, which together accounted for roughly half of Scotland's churchgoers: the Free Church, formed by those who left the Established Church at the Disruption, and the United Presbyterian Church, a consolidation of the various secessions of the previous century.
It explores how the relationship between these churches developed from the bitter feuds over the church-state connection prior to the Disruption to co-operation in the major ecclesiastical, political, and social matters of the day, paving the way to negotiations for merger commencing in 1863. The period between 1843 and 1863 redefined conceptions of what it meant to be Presbyterian and Scottish. By examining a key transitional period in Scottish history, this monograph charts how definitions of Presbyterianism, the Kirk, and dissent evolved as Scotland's national religion slowly moved from the divisions of the previous century towards eventual reunion in 1929.
It explores how the relationship between these churches developed from the bitter feuds over the church-state connection prior to the Disruption to co-operation in the major ecclesiastical, political, and social matters of the day, paving the way to negotiations for merger commencing in 1863. The period between 1843 and 1863 redefined conceptions of what it meant to be Presbyterian and Scottish. By examining a key transitional period in Scottish history, this monograph charts how definitions of Presbyterianism, the Kirk, and dissent evolved as Scotland's national religion slowly moved from the divisions of the previous century towards eventual reunion in 1929.
Reviews / Votes
This new study is a vitally important historiographical intervention, providing as it does the first detailed account of Scottish Presbyterian dissent in the wake of the Disruption. [Ryan Mallon has] produced a landmark text that will hopefully prove foundational for future studies of late modern Scottish religious culture. -- Neil McIntyre * Journal of Church and State * Mallon's perceptive research makes Dissent After Disruption: Church and State in Scotland, 1843-63 a welcome addition to the historiography of the post-Disruption period and compulsory reading for anyone interested in the evolution of Presbyterians in Scotland. -- David Dutton * Scottish Church History * This welcome addition to the historiography of post-Disruption Scotland by a young scholar has brought attention to bear on how the fissiparous history of Scottish Presbyterianism continued as much after the Disruption as it had in the century beforehand. Ryan Mallon does this in an important study of not just the Free Church, but also of the United Presbyterian Church (UPC). It is a correction to what is perhaps too often a binary history of nineteenth-century Scottish Presbyterianism into Established and Free Churches. -- Rowan Strong * The Journal of Ecclesiastical History * There is much to be admired in Mallon's study of Presbyterian dissent during the early years of Queen Victoria's reign... the writing is stylistically superb, balancing detailed analysis with summative assessment and punctuated by enjoyably pithy turns of phrase. Historically, the work both significantly advances the field of Victorian Scottish religious history and powerfully shows how religious institutions and ideas interacted with and shaped all aspects of Scottish life. -- Andrew Michael Jones, Reinhardt University * Victorian Studies *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
449 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4744-8280-6 (9781474482806)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Ryan Mallon completed his PhD at Queen's University, Belfast in 2018 and is currently a Teaching Associate in the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy, and Politics at the university. His research focuses on religion, politics, and identity in Scotland and he has published articles on Scottish nationalism, education, anti-Catholicism, and radical politics.
Content
Abbreviations; Acknowledgements; Introduction Section One: Dissent and Disruption 1. New Lights: the growth of dissent and voluntaryism in Scotland, 1712-1843 2. A national or voluntary church? The Free Church and the establishment principle Section Two: Co-operation and Incorporation3. 'Co-operation without incorporation': dissenting relations after the Disruption4. The age of unions? Dissenting church reunion, 1847-63 Section Three: Politics and Anti-popery5. Truth, error, and principle: anti-Catholicism in Presbyterian dissent 6. Bigotry or Liberalism? Dissenting politics and the Liberal party Section Four: Reforming Scotland: social reform and national education7. Recreating the Godly Commonwealth: urban mission and social reform 8. Scottish education and dissenting division Conclusion Bibliography