ABSTRACT
To a far greater extent than in England or in most continental European countries, the Scottish Reformation was a popular movement, a Reformation from below rather than a religious change imposed from above by the crown on a puzzled and sometimes resistant populace. The sixteenth century Reformation period established a sharp distinction between the spheres of Church and State, yet spoke of the mutual responsibilities that they had for each other. The eighteenth century was the high noon of the 'establishment' of the Church of Scotland in the legal sense. The Revolution Settlement and the Act of Union had formally protected the position of the Church, including the recognition of its freedom from state interference. Financial and property matters were by no means the most complex issues that faced the Church of Scotland as it laid the groundwork for the reunion with the United Free Church which finally took place in 1929.
