Shorter Catechism

The Westminster Shorter Catechism is a catechism written in 1646 and 1647 by the Westminster Assembly, a synod of English and Scottish theologians and laymen intended to bring the Church of England into greater conformity with the Church of Scotland. The assembly also produced the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Westminster Larger Catechism. A version without Scripture citations was completed on 25 November 1647 and presented to the Long Parliament, and Scripture citations were added on 14 April 1649

Catechesis is a practice of teaching the Christian faith. New converts to Christianity were taught through lectures during the first four centuries of the Church's existence, but this practice was largely abandoned with the rise of Christendom. Christian humanists and Protestant Reformers sought to revive the practice, including the Reformed. John Calvin's Genevan Catechism was especially influential among the British Reformed. The most popular British catechisms included works by John Craig, James Ussher, Herbert Palmer, John Ball, and Anthony Tuckney.

On John Knox's return to Scotland after long exile because he was deemed by the authorities a heretic, the First Book of Discipline (1560) was drafted. It required that a Sabbath afternoon session be set aside for examination of young children in catechism, and this practice eventually was adopted in the Kirk. Catechizing became a part of life in the Scottish Churches with itinerant catechists being employed to instruct the people — a practice that continued into the 19th century.

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