History of Scottish Theology

THE THREE VOLUMES OF HISTORY OF SCOTTISH THEOLOGY ARE NOW PUBLISHED! Available for purchase through all major online retailers. For publication details, see https://global.oup.com/academic/content/series/h/history-of-scottish-theology-hst/?lang=en&cc=us

THE VOLUMES WILL BE LAUNCHED AT A SPECIAL EVENT AT ST GILES CATHEDRAL, EDINBURGH ON TUESDAY 14 JANUARY 2020 AT 5.30PM – ALL WELCOME.

What is their purpose and content?

A series which provides comprehensive coverage of the history of theology in Scotland is long overdue. Through monasteries, universities, colleges and churches, theologians from Scotland have made a significant contribution to their discipline. And especially at a time of concerted scholarly study of Scottish culture, a more in-depth account of the theologies that have been developed and exported to other parts of the world over the centuries is required.

Over seventy leading scholars from around the world, each with expertise in some particular period, theme or body of literature, have contributed essays to the History of Scottish Theology, co-edited by Professor David Fergusson (Edinburgh) and Professor Mark W. Elliott (Glasgow). The three volumes have been published by Oxford University Press in late 2019. A full list of contributors and their subject area is set out below. The UK Arts and Humanities Research Council provided funding towards three seminars for contributors which took place contributors from late 2016 to mid-2017.

Together the three volumes in the series present in diachronic perspective the debates, thinkers and movements that have characterized theology in Scotland and been exported overseas. Recurrent themes are assessed, alongside trends and challenges that arose through Renaissance humanism, Reformation teaching, federal theology, the Scottish Enlightenment, evangelicalism, missionary movements, Biblical criticism, idealist philosophy, dialectical theology, existentialism and secularism. Coverage of under-researched areas, including Roman Catholic, Episcopalian and Non-conformist theologies and woman writers, have also been provided.

The series combines state-of-the-art research with clear presentation of primary sources and informed comparative scholarship in closely cognate disciplines, including philosophy, politics, ecclesiastical history, and theology. The essays take cognizance of the social, ecclesial and intellectual contexts in which theology has been undertaken in Scotland.

Volume One covers the period from the monasticism of the early middle ages to the federal orthodoxy of the mid-17^th century, in many ways the high-water mark of Reformed theology in Scotland. Volume Two begins with the late 17^th century and the changing intellectual climate of the early Enlightenment. This proceeds through the 18^th and 19^th centuries, the time when newer trends in Biblical criticism, philosophy and theology, often influenced by Germans scholars, can be discerned.  Volume Three continues the story of these trends and includes exploration of key thinkers and movements until the end of the 20^th century. These chronological boundaries, are not intended to be rigid however; more thematic essays aim at a broader and more synoptic perspective.

The series seeks to register the impact of Scottish theology upon national life, and also its wider international influence through the export of ideas and thinkers to other parts of the world. In addition, attention is accorded to the different contexts and media in which theological ideas entered the wider public domain through music, art, liturgy, church architecture, preaching, mission, hymn writing and education.

It is hoped that providing comprehensive coverage of Scottish theology from its earliest beginnings to the late 20th century will make a valuable contribution to theological scholarship, and to our understanding of Scottish history and culture.

For further information about the project, please contact its Research Assistant, Dr Sandy Forsyth – alexander.forsyth@ed.ac.uk.