Religion and National Identity: Governing Scottish Presbyterianism in the Eighteenth Century

by Alistair Mutch

Overview

What is the enduring impact of Presbyterianism on what it means to be Scottish?
Presbyterianism has shaped Scotland and its impact on the world. Behind its beliefs lie some distinctive practices of governance which endure even when belief fades. These practices place a particular emphasis on the detailed recording of decisions and what we can term a ‘systemic’ form of accountability.
This book examines the emergence and consolidation of such practices in the 18th-century Church of Scotland. Using extensive archival research and detailed local case studies, it contrasts them to what is termed a ‘personal’ form of accountability in England in the same period. The wider impact of the systemic approach to governance and accountability, especially in the United States of America, is explored, as is the enduring impact on Scottish identity.
This book offers a fresh perspective on the Presbyterian legacy in contemporary Scottish historiography, at the same time as informing current debates on national identity.
Key Features:
A novel focus on religion as social practice, as opposed to belief or organizationA strong focus on Scotland, but in the context of BritainExtensive archival work in the Church of Scotland records, with an emphasis on form as well as contentA different focus on the Church of Scotland in the eighteenth centuryOffers a detailed focus on local practice in the context of national debates

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780748699155
Publisher:	Edinburgh University Press
Publication date:	03/23/2015
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Alistair Mutch is Professor of Information & Learning at Nottingham Business School. He combines organizational theory with business history and has published on Scottish rural and religious history. He is author of Managing Information and Knowledge in Organizations, 2008 and Strategic and Organizational Change: From Production to Retailing in UK Brewing 1950-1990, 2006.

Table of Contents

Contents; Acknowledgements; Introduction; Chapter 1: Looking for practices; The Protestant Ethic and practice; The nature of practice; Scottish religious practice; Sources; Chapter 2: The emergence of a governance system; Structure of the church; An emerging system: the seventeenth century; Consolidating the Revolution settlement; Steuart of Pardovan; Chapter 3: Presbyterial business; Business as usual in the presbytery; The parochial visitation in practice; Ministerial conduct and the demise of the visitation; Monitoring sessions at a distance; Formalisation of the letter; relaxation of the spirit; Chapter 4: The kirk session; Ministers; The Session Clerk; Elders; Deacons and Heritors; Life of the Session; Making communion happen; Chapter 5: Handling finances; Developing the money register; Record format; Using the records; Getting the money in; The poor box; The treasurer; Disputes over accountability; Chapter 6: Scottish systemic accountability; Theory and practice; Regional differences; Law and education; Monymusk; Chapter 7: Contrasts and consequences; Personal accountability in the Church of England; Contrasts with Scotland; Consequences; Bonds; Accountancy; America; Chapter 8: Conclusion; Religion as a social practice; Scotland and Presbyterianism; Appendices; Appendix 1: Contrast of visitation questions; Appendix 2: Parochial visitations in four presbyteries 1700-1735; Appendix 3: Questions asked about ministerial conduct at parochial visitations in 1710 compared to 1704 Overtures; Appendix 4: Questions asked about sessions at parochial visitations in 1710 compared to 1704 Overtures; Appendix 5: Questions at privy censures in presbytery of Cupar in 1730 compared to 1704 Overtures; Appendix 6: Parish records examined for account formats; Appendix 7: Coding structure for analysis of recording of financial transactions; Appendix 8: Account formats across five presbyteries; Primary sources; National Records of Scotland; Nottinghamshire Record Office; University of Nottingham, Manuscripts and Special Collections; Liverpool Record Office; Derbyshire Record Office; Printed primary sources; Secondary sources.

Editorial Reviews

"This book is an important addition to the study of Scottish Presbyterianism and piety, with a close examination of church records that indicate the way in which administrative records not only give an account of the religious shaping of the nation, but lie at the heart of the Presbyterian identity that has marked the nation since the middle of the sixteenth century." — Kenneth B. E. Roxburgh, Journal of Church and State

"The author's prose is surprisingly light for the subject matter and it is obvious that, when it comes to the examination of presbytery records, he has done as much sorting and summarising as he can while still supporting his arguments with evidence. The text is also leavened by delightful anecdotes and surprising facts...The book closes with six appendices which offer readers opportunity to examine Mutch's collected data in greater detail. For specialists I suspect these annexes will be essential reading and a spur to further research." — JAMES J. S. FOSTER, Scottish Historical Review

"Beautifully written... this is a book to be commended." — Graeme Morton, Journal of Scottish Historical Studies

From the Publisher

'In both Weber and Foucault, religious institutions and practices were vital to the emergence of capitalist modernity. Mutch supplements Weber’s focus on belief with the routines of church administration: how theology was translated into everyday practices at the grassroots of specific parishes. The achievement of Religion and National Identity is that it does not attempt to read off individual identity or collective action from religious doctrine: the everyday workings of obscure Calvinists have much more to tell us than renowned theologians. This focus on the entanglements of practice, routine and belief provides an invaluable pointer towards how the historical imagination and organisation theory can enrich each other.'

Organization - Alan McKinlay

'The richness of the records Mutch analyses is in itself proof of their significance in Scottish culture in the eighteenth century; and, in its focus on everyday practice, his book is an excellent corrective to popular conceptions of the eighteenth-century church in Scotland.'

Innes Review - Emma Macleod

Overall, this is a valuable book and will be beneficial to future scholars of religious practice in Scotland. Mutch should be commended for his meticulous research and his insights on presbyterial business and finance provide afresh account of how daily church government operated in Scotland. ...Mutch’s insights on systematic accountability provide a new approach on how the experience of religious authority should be studied in Scotland.

Scottish Church History - Ben Rogers

'Beautifully written... this is a book to be commended.'

Journal of Scottish Historical Studies - Graeme Morton

'The author’s prose is surprisingly light for the subject matter and it is obvious that, when it comes to the examination of presbytery records, he has done as much sorting and summarising as he can while still supporting his arguments with evidence. The text is also leavened by delightful anecdotes and surprising facts…The book closes with six appendices which offer readers opportunity to examine Mutch’s collected data in greater detail. For specialists I suspect these annexes will be essential reading and a spur to further research.'

Scottish Historical Review - JAMES J. S. FOSTER

'This book is an important addition to the study of Scottish Presbyterianism and piety, with a close examination of church records that indicate the way in which administrative records not only give an account of the religious shaping of the nation, but lie at the heart of the Presbyterian identity that has marked the nation since the middle of the sixteenth century.'

Journal of Church and State - Kenneth B. E. Roxburgh