page_title: Glorious Revolution in Scotland
section_title: Religious settlement
hierarchical_section_title: Glorious Revolution in Scotland / Religious settlement
caption_attribution_description: English: A contemporary portrait of James Sharp, Archbishop of St. Andrews from 1661 to 1679
context_page_description: The Glorious Revolution in Scotland was part of a wider series of events between 1688–1689 in England and Scotland known as the Glorious Revolution. It covers the deposition of James VII, his replacement by his daughter Mary II and her husband William III of Orange and the political settlement thereafter. Scotland and England were linked but separate countries, each with its own Parliament; decisions in one did not bind the other.
  Issues included religious freedom but also arbitrary rule and the divine right of kings; the Revolution ended a century of political dispute by confirming the primacy of Parliament over the Crown. In 2016, one of its amendments, the 1689 Claim of Right, was referenced in legal arguments as to whether Scotland was bound by Brexit.
  James became King in February 1685 with widespread support in both countries but tolerance for his personal beliefs did not apply to Catholicism in general. James suspended the English and Scottish Parliaments when they refused to pass his measures and ruled by decree; it was this response that most damaged him.
context_section_description: Conflicts between Protestors and Resolutioners during the Protectorate, then Episcopalians and Cameronians after 1660 had left deep divisions while also normalising the eviction of defeated opponents. The kirk's General Assembly meeting in November 1690 was the first since 1654 and even before it convened, over 200 conformist and Episcopalian ministers had been removed from their livings.
  This meant the Assembly was overwhelmingly composed of radical Presbyterians who rejected any measure of Episcopalianism or the reinstatement of those already evicted. Despite being a fellow Calvinist, William was more tolerant towards Episcopalians, seeing them as potential allies while recognising the dangers of alienating an important political constituency. However, the Assembly eliminated Episcopacy and created two commissions for the south and north of the Tay which over the next 25 years removed almost two-thirds  of all ministers. The General Assembly of 1692 refused to reinstate even those Episcopalian ministers who pledged to accept Presbyterianism leaving many presbyteries with few or no parish clergy.
  William issued two acts of indulgence in 1693 and 1695 restoring ministers who accepted him as king; nearly one hundred clergy took advantage of this and a further measure of indulgence in 1707 left only a small remnant of Jacobite Episcopalians and some Society people. The final settlement was closer to that of 1592 rather than the more radical position of 1649 and the degree of independence between kirk and State remained ambiguous. Despite the theoretical abolition of lay patronage, heritors and elders retained the right to nominate candidates for their own parishes who could then be "called" by the congregation.
caption: Archbishop Sharp; his killing in May 1679 was symptomatic of the deep divisions within the Scottish kirk
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