Scotland in the Age of the Disruption

Published in the year of the 150th anniversary of the Disruption, this is a reassessment of the historical significance of the event, both for the Church and for Scotland. It argues that the Disruption is one of the most important events in modern Scottish history, and one that requires new interpretations in the light of the increase in scholarship of the 1970s and 80s. Leading scholars and writers, including Angus Calder, Donald Withrington, Donald Macleod and Andrew Ross, examine the social and political context of the Disruption and analyze its effect upon Scottish literature, education, science and politics, as well as upon the Scotish diaspora in the wider world. The role of the Disruption in ending Scotland's semi-independence from London is given serious treatment, and its place in the restructuring of the Church-State relations throughout 19th-century Europe is analyzed. This book is intended for anyone seeking a non-partisan reassessment of the Disruption of 1843.