Church of Scotland Act 1921
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| Long title | An Act to declare the lawfulness of certain Articles declaratory of the Constitution of the Church of Scotland in matters spiritual prepared with the authority of the General Assembly of the Church. |
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| Citation | 1921 c.29 |
| Territorial extent | Scotland |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 28 July 1921 |
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Status: Current legislation
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| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Revised text of statute as amended | |
The Church of Scotland Act 1921 is an Act of the British Parliament, passed in 1921. The purpose of the Act was to settle centuries of dispute between the British Parliament and the Church of Scotland over the Church's independence in spiritual matters. The passing of the Act saw the British Parliament recognise the Church's independence in spiritual matters, by giving legal recognition to the Articles Declaratory.
The Church of Scotland was founded as a Presbyterian church in 1560 during the Scottish Reformation since when it has held that the civil power had no authority over it, thus denying that it was an Established church and leading 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.
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