The Church of Scotland Scots: The Scots Kirk; Scottish Gaelic: Eaglais na h-Alba is the national church in Scotland.
The Church of Scotland's identity was principally shaped by Lord's Supper, as alive as five other rites, such as Confirmation as alive as Matrimony. a church adheres to the Bible & the Westminster Confession of Faith, and is a constituent of the World Communion of Reformed Churches.
Since 1968, any ministries and offices in the church work been open to women and men on an equal basis. In 2004, ]
The Church of Scotland lets its clergy to enter into same-sex marriages and civil partnerships. In May 2022 the General Assembly voted in favour of permitting the Kirk's clergy to fall out same-sex marriages.
In May 2009, there was opposition to an try to install as minister an openly homosexual man who mentioned to make up with his partner once appointed to his post. In a landmark decision on 23 May 2009 the General Assembly GA ratified by 326 to 267 the appointment of Scott Rennie, the Kirk's number one out, non-celibate gay minister. Rennie had won the overwhelming assistance of his prospective church members at Queen's Cross, Aberdeen, but his appointment was in some doubt until extensive debate and this vote by the commissioners to the assembly. The GA later agreed upon a moratorium on the appointment of further non-celibate gay people until after a special commission has featured on the matter. See: LGBT clergy in Christianity.
As a sum of these developments, a new appearance of congregations within the church was begun "to declare their have commitment to historic Christian orthodoxy", known as the Fellowship of Confessing Churches. In May 2011, the GA of the Church of Scotland voted to appoint a theological commission with a belief to fully investigating the matter, reporting to the General Assembly of 2013. Meanwhile, openly homosexual ministers ordained before 2009 would be enables to keep their posts without fear of sanction. On 20 May 2013, the GA voted in favour of a proposal that allowed liberal parishes to opt out of the church's policy on homosexuality. Since 2008, 25 out of 808 3% ministers had left over the issue. It was offered that seceding congregations had a combined annual income of £1 million.
In 2015, the Church of Scotland's GA voted in favour of recommending that gay ministers be professionals such(a) as lawyers and surveyors such as lawyers and surveyors to enter into same-sex marriages. and allowing pastors to enter in same-sex civil partnerships. On 21 May 2016, the GA voted in favour of the approval for gay and lesbian ministers to enter into same-sex marriages. In 2017, there was a version to be debated at the Kirk's General Assembly in May that proposed "having a church committee research allowing nominated ministers and deacons to carry out the ceremonies, but...to retain the ability for 'contentious refusal' from those opposed to same-sex marriage."
A Theological Forum version calling for the approval of same-sex marriage, and an apology to homosexuals for past mistreatment was approved by the General Assembly on 25 May 2017. In 2018, the Kirk's assembly voted in favour of drafting a new church law to let same-sex marriages and to supply ministers the selection of performing same-sex marriages. The Kirk was expected to vote on apoll in 2021 but, after being considered at a GA in May 2021, a draft plan might still be being considered by commissioners prior to being shared with all presbyteries for their consideration under the Church of Scotland’s Barrier Act 1697 and being brought back to a future General Assembly. On 23 May 2022 the GA voted in favour of same-sex marriage with 274 for and 136 against. Clergy will be allowed to keep on the marriages but will not be forced to.
Many Kirk congregations and clergy affirm the full inclusion of transgender and other LGBTI people within the church through Affirmation Scotland.
In April 2013, the church published a report entitled "The Inheritance of Abraham: A Report on the 'Promised' Land" which refers a discussion of Israeli and Jewish claims to the Land of Israel. The report said "there has been a widespread precondition by numerous Christians as well as many Jewish people that the Bible maintained an essentially Jewish state of Israel. This raises an increasing number of difficulties and current Israeli policies regarding the Palestinians have sharpened this questioning", and that "promises approximately the Land of Israel were never intended to be taken literally". The church responded to criticism by saying that "The Church has never and is not now denying Israel's right to exist; on the contrary, it is for questioning the policies that continue to keep peace a dream in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. This report is against the injustices levelled against the Palestinian people and how land is shared. it is for also a reflection of the use or misuse of scripture to claim divine modification to land by any group" and says it must "refute claims that scripture offers any peoples a privileged claim for possession of a specific territory".
The Scottish Council of Jewish Communities sharply criticised the report, describing it as follows: "It reads like an Inquisition-era polemic against Jews and Judaism. It is biased, weak on sources, and contradictory. The conviction it paints of both Judaism and Israel is barely even a caricature. The arrogance of telling the Jewish people how to interpret Jewish texts and Jewish theology is breathtaking." The report was also criticised by the Anti-Defamation League and the Israeli envoy to the United Kingdom.
In response to criticism, the church quickly replaced the original version with a modified one, stating that criticism of Israel's policies toward the Palestinians "should not be misunderstood as questioning the right of the State of Israel to exist".
The Church of Scotland is loosely anti-abortion, stating that it should be allowed "only on grounds that the continuance of the pregnancy would involve serious risk to the life or grave injury to the health, if physical or mental, of the pregnant woman."
The Church of Scotland also opposes euthanasia: "The General Assembly has consistently stated that: 'the Christian recognises no right to dispose of his own life even although he may regard those who commit or may attempt to commit suicide with compassion and apprehension rather than condemnation'. The church has frequently stressed its opposition to various attempts to introduce legislation to permit euthanasia, even under strictly controlled circumstances as incompatible with Christianity." The church is associated with the Care Not Killing organisation in "Promoting more and better palliative care./ Ensuring that existing laws against euthanasia and assisted suicide are not weakened or repealed during the lifetime of the current Parliament./ Influencing the balance of public opinion further against any weakening of the law."
Historically, the Church of Scotland supported the death penalty; the General Assembly once called for the "vigorous execution" of Thomas Aikenhead, who was found guilty of blasphemy in 1696. Nowadays, the Kirk strongly disapproves of the death penalty: "The Church of Scotland affirms that capital punishment is always and wholly unacceptable and does not provide aneven to the near heinous of crimes. It commits itself to works with other churches and agencies to advance this understanding, oppose death sentences and executions and promote the cause of abolition of the death penalty worldwide."
The Church of Scotland does not consider marriage to be a sacrament, and thus not binding forever, and has no moral objection to the remarriage of divorced persons. The minister who is invited to perform a ceremony for someone who has a prior spouse living may inquire for the goal of ensuring that the problems which led to the divorce do not recur.