The growth of evangelicalism in the Church of Scotland, 1793-1843
Abstract
This thesis examines Evangelicalism as a broadly-based intellectual
and social movement which sought to shape the overall thought and life of
the Church of Scotland during the first half of the nineteenth century. A
set of distinctive organisations --religious periodicals, voluntary
societies, education, and corporate prayer-- provided its institutional
structure. They represented the practical response to a general concern
for revitalising the Church, for evangelism, and for social morality.
'Evangelicals' are defined as those who combined participation in these
institutions with a fundamental commitment to the Church of Scotland as an
established, national church.
The development of each of these institutions is explored as a means
of tracing the growth of the movement as a whole. Religious periodicals
helped to unite scattered individuals within the Established Church who
shared a desire to spread experiential Christianity. By providing a forum
for discussing issues related to this concern, these publications communicated
Evangelical ideas throughout the Kirk, giving Evangelicals far
greater influence than their relative lack of power in the ecclesiastical
courts around the turn of the century suggested they would have.
Religious voluntary societies enabled Evangelicals to translate their
ideas into action on a wide range of issues. The seeming effectiveness of
groups such as missionary and Bible societies made Evangelicalism
increasingly attractive, and led to the incorporation of their activist
approach into existing Kirk structures after the mid-1820s. However,
Evangelicals struggled with the tensions between the gathered and territorial
views of the Church inherent in their commitments both to
societies and to the Establishment.
Because Evangelicals, following the Scottish Reformers, believed that
education encouraged biblically-based Christianity, they were actively
involved in all levels of education, from Sabbath schools to the universities,
helping to spread Evangelical ideas and practice among young
people. Evangelicals' emphasis upon corporate prayer not only reflected
their belief that they needed divine aid to achieve their aims, but built
up social bonds at a local level and reinforced commitment to the other
Evangelical institutions.
Type
Thesis, PhD Doctor of Philosophy
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