The Church of Scotland and the ‘increase of popery’, c.1690–1714

Abstract

This article explores representations of ‘popery’ compiled by the Presbyterian Church of Scotland between 1690 and 1714. The ‘increase of popery’ was a ubiquitous phrase in this period. Synods and presbyteries regularly complained of Catholic encroachments in their parishes, and sent extensive reports of the activities of ‘papists’ to the general assembly and its commission. In turn, these national church courts collated these local petitions into longer representations of the ‘state of popery’ in Scotland. Representations have not been examined systematically by scholars. Indeed, representations have often been dismissed as cynical ploys rather than sincere expressions of anxiety at Catholic survival. Yet the very significance of these documents lies in their polemical nature. This article argues that the emphasis on political disaffection in national representations was informed by the Church's fraught relationship with central government, and with rival Protestant groups. Desperate efforts to showcase the necessity of Presbyterian government underpinned national representations of ‘popery’; as such, anti-Catholic sentiments were informed increasingly by the weaknesses of Scottish Presbyterianism as much as by actual Catholic activity. By contextualising representations of ‘popery’ and approaching them as part of a genre, the clerical petition, this article provides new perspectives on the nature of Scottish anti-Catholic polemic.