page_title: Scottish religion in the seventeenth century
section_title: 1688 to 1700; Glorious Revolution
hierarchical_section_title: Scottish religion in the seventeenth century / 1688 to 1700; Glorious Revolution
caption_attribution_description: English: This image is among a group of prints illustrating the massacre of the Waldenses which took place in 1655. The young woman being tortured is said to be Anna, daughter of Giovanni Charboniere of La Torre.
context_page_description: Scottish religion in the seventeenth century includes all forms of religious organisation and belief in the Kingdom of Scotland in the seventeenth century. The 16th century Reformation created a Church of Scotland, popularly known as the kirk, predominantly Calvinist in doctrine and Presbyterian in structure, to which James VI added a layer of bishops in 1584.
  While these terms now imply differences in doctrine, in the 17th century Episcopalian meant churches governed by bishops, usually appointed by the monarch; Presbyterian implied rule by Elders, nominated by congregations. By the 1630s, around 90-95% of Scots were members of the church, and despite disagreements on governance, there was general alignment on Calvinist doctrine. In the 17th century, religious disputes were often as much about political principles, due to the assumption 'true religion and true government' were one and the same.
  Although both nominally Episcopalian, the Church of England was very different in doctrine and religious practice. This meant attempts by Charles I to impose shared canon laws and a new liturgy, led to the National Covenant.
context_section_description: The Scottish Succession Act of August 1681 confirmed the divine right of kings, the rights of the natural heir 'regardless of religion,' the duty of all to swear allegiance to that king and the independence of the Scottish Crown. It went beyond simply ensuring James's succession to the Scottish throne by explicitly stating the aim was also to make his exclusion from the English throne impossible without '...the fatall and dreadfull consequences of a civil war.' At the same time, the 1681 Scottish Test Act confirmed the primacy of the kirk; it required all public officials and MPs to swear unconditional loyalty to the King but with the crucial qualifier that they 'promise to uphold the true Protestant religion.' 
  James became King in April 1685 with widespread support in Scotland, despite his Catholicism due to fears of civil war if he were bypassed, while opposition to re-opening past divisions within the kirk helped in the rapid defeat of Argyll's Rising in June 1685. In 1687, James now threatened to do the same by his Letters of Indulgence; these extended 'tolerance' to dissident Presbyterians, many of whom had backed Argyll but excluded the Society People, whose leading minister James Renwick was executed in 1688. He thus alienated his Episcopalian base for little gain, while use of the Royal Prerogative to promote Catholics seemed to go against previous commitments and fed the perception he could not be trusted.
  It was also badly timed; Scotland in particular had long-standing links with French Huguenots, who were expelled from France under the October 1685 Edict of Fontainebleau. This was followed in 1686 by the killing of some 2,000 Vaudois Protestants; while only a tiny percentage of Scots were practicing Catholics, such events reinforced fears Protestant Europe was threatened by a Catholic counter-reformation. 
  In June 1688, two events turned dissent into a crisis; the birth of James Francis Edward on 10 June created a Catholic heir, excluding James' Protestant daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange. Prosecuting the Seven Bishops seemed to go beyond tolerance for Catholicism and into an assault on the Episcopalian establishment; their acquittal on 30 June destroyed James' political authority. Representatives from the English political class invited William to assume the English throne; when he landed in Brixham on 5 November, James' army deserted him and he left for France on 23 December.
  In Edinburgh, key Royal officials like the Earl of Perth, Lord Chancellor of Scotland, fled the capital due to rumours of Orange plots. This left a power vacuum and rioters stormed Holyrood Abbey, destroyed its Catholic chapel and damaged the tombs of the Stuart kings; others burnt an effigy of the Pope and took down the heads of executed Covenanters from above the city gates. Order was restored when news came James had gone into exile; while there was little domestic Scottish involvement in the coup, Scots were well represented among those who returned with William, while his invasion force included the Dutch Scots Brigade. Members of the Scottish Privy Council went to London and on 7 January 1689, they asked William to take over the responsibilities of government, pending a Scottish Convention in March.
  While a large majority of the English Parliament agreed Mary should replace her father, William's demand he be made joint monarch and sole ruler if she died was only narrowly approved. In Scotland, the split within the kirk made William more important because his Calvinism meant Presbyterians saw him as a natural ally, while the Episcopalian minority could only retain control with his support.
  The Scottish Convention that convened on 14 March in Edinburgh was dominated by the Presbyterians. On 4 April, it passed the Claim of Right and the 'Articles of Grievances', which held James forfeited the Crown by his actions; on 11 May, William and Mary became co-monarchs of Scotland. The kirk's General Assembly meeting in November 1690 was the first since 1654 and even before it convened, over 200 Episcopalian ministers had bee
caption: Images of alleged tortures inflicted on Vaudois Protestants in 1685 fed the perception of a Protestant Europe under threat
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "QuickTime 7.6", "Image DateTime": "2010:07:26 01:00:02", "Image HostComputer": "Mac OS X 10.4.9", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "294", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "9907", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Centered"}