Assessing the First World War’s Spiritual Impact on Scottish Presbyterianism in the Diaspora: The Case of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand

Abstract

This article assesses the First World War’s impact on Scottish Presbyterianism from a transnational perspective. Recent research on Presbyterianism in Scotland has highlighted that the horrors of the war provoked a rise in premillennial thinking and dented support for strict Calvinism. This article argues that the experience of the New Zealand Presbyterian Church, a heavily Scottish denomination situated on the other side of the world, was very similar but not identical. In doing so, this article provides a transnational perspective on Scottish Presbyterianism and this aspect of the First World War.