The Oxford Handbook of Presbyterianism

Presbyterianism emerged during the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It spread from the British Isles to North America in the early eighteenth century. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Presbyterian denominations grew throughout the world. Today, there are an estimated 35 million Presbyterians in dozens of countries. The Oxford Handbook of Presbyterianism provides a state of the art reference tool written by leading scholars in the fields of religious studies and history. These thirty five articles cover major facets of Presbyterian history, theological beliefs, worship practices, ecclesiastical forms and structures, as well as important ethical, political, and educational issues. Eschewing parochial and sectarian triumphalism, prominent scholars address their particular topics objectively and judiciously.

About the Editors

Gary Scott Smith earned his Ph.D. in American history at Johns Hopkins University. He taught at Grove City College from 1978 to 2017, where he chaired the History Department. Smith was named Pennsylvania Professor of the Year in 2001. He has authored and edited fourteen books including Religion in the Oval Office (OUP 2015). Smith is also an ordained minister in the PCUSA and currently is a parish associate and the co-director of the mission program at Saint Andrews-Covenant Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, North Carolina.


P.C. Kemeny is Interim Dean and Professor of Religion and Humanities at Grove City College. He has received grants from the American Academy of Religion and the American Historical Association. He is author of The New England Watch and Ward Society (OUP 2018) and holds degrees from Wake Forest University, Westminster Seminary, Duke University, and Princeton Seminary.

1. Introduction by Gary Scott Smith and P.C. Kemeny

I. History of the Presbyterian Tradition
2. Sixteenth-Century Origins by Gary Neal Hanson
3. Seventeenth Century and the Westminster Assembly by Chad van Dixhoorn
4. Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century North America by Sean Lucas
5. Twentieth- and Twenty First-Century North America by Bradley J. Longfield
6. The Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy by Bradley J. Gundlach
7. Presbyterians in the British Isles and the European Continent by Ian Shaw
8. Presbyterians in Africa by Benhardt Y. Quarshie
9. Presbyterians in Asia by Scott W. Sunquist and Peter Lin
10. Presbyterians in Latin America by Alderí S. Matos
11. Presbyterianism in Middle East by Kaley M. Carpenter

II. Ecclesial Forms and Structures
12. Presbyterian Polity by Jeffery McDonald
13. Presbyterian Confessions by Donald K. McKim
14. Doctrine of Sacraments by Gordon Mikoski
15. Ecumenism by Louis Weeks
16. Women's Ordination by Margaret Bendroth
17. Presbyterians, Schisms, and Denominations by P.C. Kemeny

III. Theology
18. Doctrine of God by Ivor J. Davidson
19. Doctrine of Humanity by Marguerite Shuster
20. Doctrine of Christ by William B. Evans
21. Doctrine of the Holy Spirit by Richard Burnett
22. Doctrine of the Word of God by Michael S. Horton
23. Doctrine of the Church by Anna Case-Winters
24. Predestination and Election by W. Andrew Hoffecker
25. Presbyterians and Neo-Orthodoxy by John Burgess
26. Presbyterians and the Charismatic and Pentecostal Movements by Michael McClymond
27. Presbyterians, Religious Diversity, and World Religions by Martha L. Moore-Keish
28. Presbyterians and Philosophy, Natural Theology, and Apologetics by David VanDrunen

IV. Worship
29. Theology of Worship by Kimberly Long
30. Hymnody and Liturgy by Jonathan Hehn
31. Preaching by Thomas G. Long

V. Ethics, Politics, and Education
32. Presbyterians and Ethics by Mark Douglas
33. Presbyterians and Church-State Relations by Mark A. Noll
34. Presbyterians Social Reform by Gary Scott Smith
35. Presbyterians and Higher Education by David S. Guthrie and Robert Tyler Derreth