Church Of Scotland Act 1921

BACKGROUND

The Church of Scotland was established as a Presbyterian church, with Presbyterianism the state religion of Scotland . Since the Reformation, the Church of Scotland had held that the civil
power had no authority over the Church. However, this had led to conflicts with successive
rulers, from the Stuart monarchs onward. Monarchs tended to prefer the model of the
Church Of England , where the Crown had the power to appoint bishops, and various other
forms of power over the Church (although it was not reduced to the complete state control
found in Scandinavia).

The particular crisis came over the question of "lay patrons", who had the right to "present"
(appoint) a minister. This was abolished in 1690 at the time of the Glorious Revolution
but restored in 1712. In theory the congregation could accept or reject a candidate, but in
practice this often meant little. By the late 18th century the Church was divided into the Moderate
and Evangelical parties. These differed especially on the question of lay patronage,
which the Evangelicals rejected. Underlying this was the split between the Calvinism of the
Evangelicals and the more Enlightenment tone of the Moderates.

In 1833 the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland passed a Veto Act giving congregations
the clear power of veto. However the courts generally upheld the rights of lay patrons, and
thus the issue became one of Church and State. In 1843 a large part of the Church seceded as
the Free Church of Scotland - not rejecting Establishment in principle, but only its
present form. This secession was known as the Disruption .

In the early 20th century a reunion between the Church of Scotland and the United Free
Church seemed possible. To overcome problems (including legal problems which had followed
the earlier merger of the Free Church and the United Presbyterian Church) the Church
of Scotland Act 1921 (11 & 12 Geo. 5 c. 29) was passed. This noted that the General
Assembly had passed Declaratory Articles . These were declared to be lawful. (Thus,
they were not created by parliament.) It was declared that "no limitation of the
liberty, rights, and powers in matters spiritual therein set forth shall be derived from
any statute or law affecting the Church of Scotland in matters spiritual at present
in force; it being hereby declared that in all questions of construction the Declaratory Articles shall prevail..." (s. 1).

CURRENT POSITION

This has created a new and revised relationship between the Church and the State.
The Church of Scotland remains the National Church, but it has complete independence in spiritual questions and appointments. After the passing of the act, a church historian proclaimed: "No Church in Christendom can so fully claim to be at once national and free as the Church of Scotland today." As a result, it is not usual in Scotland to refer to the Church of Scotland as an Established church.

When legislating for Scotland since the passing of the Act, the British Parliament has to consider whether the Church of Scotland is to be excluded from the provisions. Examples included the passing of the Scotland Act 1998 , which had to be worded not to infringe on the independence of the Church, and prevent the Scottish Parliament repealing the Church of Scotland Act. Also during the passing of the Human Rights Act 1998 , an amendment was proposed when the bill was passing through the House Of Lords to exclude the Church of Scotland from some of the provisions. In the end, this was not deemed necessary.

In 2005 , the House of Lords finally decided the case ''Percy (AP) v. Church of Scotland Board of National Mission'' {Link without Title} , ruling that, despite the 1921 Act, an appointment created a contract subject to the jurisdiction of the civil courts and employment tribunals.

SEE ALSO

Religion In The United Kingdom

Articles Declaratory

Information About

Church Of Scotland Act 1921