Baptist Union of Scotland

The Baptist Union of Scotland is a Baptist Christian

Baptist Union of Scotland
denomination in Scotland. It is affiliated with the Baptist World
Alliance. The headquarters is in Glasgow. Classification Evangelical
Christianity

History Theology Baptist

Polity Congregationalist
Associations Baptist World
From the 1650s to 1869
Alliance
Baptists first arrived in Scotland with the armies of English European Baptist
republican Oliver Cromwell in the 1650s, who established small Federation
churches in Leith, Perth, Cupar, Ayr and Aberdeen, but they did
Region Scotland
not survive for long, partly because of their association with
Cromwell (who was generally not welcomed in Scotland), but Origin 1869
more especially as a result of strident and often violent opposition Congregations 156
instigated and inspired by the Church of Scotland and the
Parliament of Scotland which it controlled.[1] Baptists later Members
9,946
emerged in the 18th century—in 1750 at Keiss, where the leader Ministers 175
was William Sinclair and the church was established on the Official website scottishbaptist
English Baptist pattern. The group who in Edinburgh came to .com (http://scotti
Baptist convictions in 1765 under the leadership of Robert
shbaptist.com)
Carmichael and Archibald McLean became known as Scotch
Baptists. Like other Scottish Protestant Christians of the
time they were very conservative and adopted the
opinions of a particularly strict form of Calvinism.
Somewhat later, a different form of Baptist witness
emerged, this time influenced by the Haldane brothers,
James Haldane and Robert Haldane evangelical preachers
who came to Baptist convictions around 1808. Along
with the English Baptists, they were distinguished from
the Scotch Baptists by their more moderate and less
Calvinistic attitudes. After overcoming initial hostilities,
Culloden-Balloch Baptist Church in Inverness.
all these groups were able to unite in 1869.

1869 to the present day

The Baptist Union of Scotland was founded in Hope Street Chapel (later Adelaide Place Baptist Church)[2]
in 1869, with 51 churches in its membership, which represented almost 4000 members.[3] One of its early
presidents (in 1873) was the philanthropist Thomas Coats.[4]

According to a census published by the association in 2023, it claimed 9,946 members and 156 churches.
[5]
The Baptist Union of Scotland is served by a National team comprising Rev Martin Hodson (General
Director), Rev. Lisa Holmes (Deeper Church Lead), Mr Brian Windram (Finance Director), Ms.Lyndsay
Cameron-Ross (Communications Lead) Rev Ali Laing (Younger Generation & Digital Church Lead), Rev
Professor Andrew Clarke (Leadership Development Lead) Rev. Glenn Innes (Future Church Lead.

Beliefs
The Convention has a Baptist confession of faith.[6] It is a member of the Baptist World Alliance. [7]

See also
Religion in Scotland

References
1. James Leo Garrett, Baptist Theology: A Four-century Study, Mercer University Press, US,
2009, p. 201
2. Fisher, John S (1996). Impelled by Faith: A Short History of the Baptists in Scotland. Scottish
Baptist History Project. p. 24.
3. William H. Brackney, Historical Dictionary of the Baptists, Scarecrow Press, US, 2009, p.
508
4. Fisher, John S (1996). Impelled by Faith: A Short History of the Baptists in Scotland. Scottish
Baptist History Project. p. 25.
5. Baptist World Alliance, Members (https://www.baptistworld.org/member-unions/),
baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved May 5, 2023
6. Baptist Union of Scotland, Becoming Who We Are (https://scottishbaptist.com/about-us/who-
we-are/), scottishbaptist.com, Scotland, retrieved December 5, 2020
7. Baptist World Alliance, Members (https://www.baptistworld.org/member-unions/),
baptistworld.org, US, retrieved May 5, 2023

Bibliography
Wardin, Albert W., ed. (1995) Baptists Around the World: a comprehensive handbook.
Nashville, Tenn: Broadman & Holman ISBN 0-8054-1076-7
McBeth, H. Leon (1987) The Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist Witness. Nashville,
Tenn: Broadman Press
Murray, Derek Boyd (1969) The First Hundred Years: the Baptist Union of Scotland.
Glasgow: Baptist Union of Scotland
Bebbington, David W., ed. (1988) The Baptists in Scotland: a History. Glasgow: Baptist
Union of Scotland

Further reading
McBeth, H. Leon (1990) A Sourcebook for Baptist Heritage. Nashville, Tenn: Broadman
Press
Talbot, Brian (2014) 'A Distinctive People', Milton Keynes, Paternoster
 Purves, Jim (2018) 'Becoming Who We Are', Glasgow, Baptist Union of Scotland

External links
Baptist Union of Scotland (https://scottishbaptist.com/) - official Web Site
Scottish Baptist College (http://www.scottishbaptistcollege.org/) - official Web Site

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