Dissenting Theology from the 1720s to the 1840s

Scottish Dissent included the Reformed Presbyterians, who upheld the covenants, the Secession, both Burghers and Antiburghers, who also looked back to the seventeenth century, and the Relief Church, which was forward-looking. The Secession branches split around 1800 over New Light, the majority effectively adopting religious toleration. John Dick and John Brown were distinguished Secession theologians. Non-Presbyterian Dissenters included the Glasites, with their Sandemanian view of faith, the Old Scots Independents, the Bereans and the Scotch Baptists, all principled Independents. The Haldane brothers launched a new evangelistic movement that led to the creation of many Independent and Baptist churches, and their associate Greville Ewing forged a Congregational Union. A number of other groups added to the diversity of Scottish Dissent. Drawing on the Westminster Confession, the various bodies were influenced by the Enlightenment and by the Evangelical Revival.