The concept of identity is difficult to define, although most
writers would agree that aspects of culture, language, ethnicity
and religion all have central roles to play. The eighteenth century
was a crucial period in the development of Scottish national
identity. Within this period, religion played an important part in
national, as well as individual experience, of what it meant to be
Scottish at a time when many political, economic and cultural
changes were taking place. Religion, in the form of Presbyterianism,
continued to influence the lives of most Scots as it pervaded
the whole of Scottish society in the eighteenth century.

The impact of the Enlightenment upon eighteenth-century
Scotland has generated a great deal of discussion in recent years,
focusing primarily on the influence of the Literati upon
university and ecclesiastical life, ¹ without necessarily asking how
the ordinary Scot was affected. Indeed, although many leaders of
the Popular party within the Established Church could adopt
many aspects of the Enlightenment ethos, ² there is evidence that
popular piety within Presbyterianism criticized the strong affiliation
of Moderate Enlightenment perspectives with the spiritual
malaise of the Church of Scotland.

Presbyterianism experienced a great deal of turmoil in the
eighteenth century. The 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688, which
caused the flight of James VII (James II of England) and the

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