page_title: Presbyterian Church (USA)
section_title: Origins
hierarchical_section_title: Presbyterian Church (USA) / History / Origins
context_page_description: The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. A part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the US, and known for its relatively progressive stance on doctrine. The PC(USA) was established by the 1983 merger of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, whose churches were located in the Southern and border states, with the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, whose congregations could be found in every state. The similarly named Presbyterian Church in America is a separate denomination whose congregations can also trace their history to the various schisms and mergers of Presbyterian churches in the United States.
  The denomination had 1,352,678 active members and 19,243 ordained ministers in 9,161 congregations at the end of 2018. This number does not include members who are baptized but who are not confirmed or the inactive members also affiliated. For example, in 2005, the PC(USA) claimed 318,291 baptized, but not confirmed, members and nearly 500,000 inactive members in addition to active members.
context_section_description: Presbyterians trace their history to the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. The Presbyterian heritage, and much of its theology, began with the French theologian and lawyer John Calvin (1509–64), whose writings solidified much of the Reformed thinking that came before him in the form of the sermons and writings of Huldrych Zwingli. From Calvin's headquarters in Geneva, the Reformed movement spread to other parts of Europe. John Knox, a former Roman Catholic priest from Scotland who studied with Calvin in Geneva, took Calvin's teachings back to Scotland and led the Scottish Reformation of 1560. Because of this reform movement, the Church of Scotland embraced Reformed theology and presbyterian polity. The Ulster Scots brought their Presbyterian faith with them to Ireland, where they laid the foundation of what would become the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.
  Immigrants from Scotland and Ireland brought Presbyterianism to America as early as 1640, and immigration would remain a large source of growth throughout the colonial era. Another source of growth were a number of New England Puritans who left the Congregational churches because they preferred presbyterian polity. In 1706, seven ministers led by Francis Makemie established the first American presbytery at Philadelphia, which was followed by the creation of the Synod of Philadelphia in 1717.
  The First Great Awakening and the revivalism it generated had a major impact on American Presbyterians. Ministers such as William and Gilbert Tennent, a friend of George Whitefield, emphasized the necessity of a conscious conversion experience and pushed for higher moral standards among the clergy. Disagreements over revivalism, itinerant preaching, and educational requirements for clergy led to a division known as the Old Side–New Side Controversy that lasted from 1741 to 1758.
  In the South, the Presbyterians were evangelical dissenters, mostly Scotch-Irish, who expanded into Virginia between 1740 and 1758. Spangler (2008) argues they were more energetic and held frequent services better attuned to the frontier conditions of the colony. Presbyterianism grew in frontier areas where the Anglicans had made little impression. Uneducated whites and blacks were attracted to the emotional worship of the denomination, its emphasis on biblical simplicity, and its psalm singing. Some local Presbyterian churches, such as Briery in Prince Edward County, owned slaves. The Briery church purchased five slaves in 1766 and raised money for church expenses by hiring them out to local planters.
  After the United States achieved independence from Great Britain, Presbyterian leaders felt that a national Presbyterian denomination was needed, and the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) was organized. The first general assembly was held in Philadelphia in 1789. John Witherspoon, president of Princeton University and the only minister to sign the Declaration of Independence, was the first moderator.
  Not all American Presbyterians participated in the creation of the PCUSA General Assembly because the divisions then occurring in the Church of Scotland were replicated in America. In 1751, Scottish Covenanters began sending ministers to America, and the Seceders were doing the same by 1753. In 1858, the majority of Covenanters and Seceders merged to create the United Presbyterian Church of North America (UPCNA).
caption: John Witherspoon, a Founding Father of the United States and first moderator of the Presbyterian Church in the USA
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