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It was formed in the mid-16th century by [[John Knox]] (1514-1572) and the Protestant Lords of the Congregation.  When Mary I became Queen in 1553 Knox fled to Switzerland, where he was strongly influenced by the Calvinist theology of [[John Calvin]] of Geneva; he sent many letters and pamphlets back to Scotland in returned in 1559.  In 1560, the [[Scottish Parliament]] formally rejected Papal jurisdiction.  

It was formed in the mid-16th century by [[John Knox]] (1514-1572) and the Protestant Lords of the Congregation.  When Mary I became Queen in 1553 Knox fled to Switzerland, where he was strongly influenced by the Calvinist theology of [[John Calvin]] of Geneva; he sent many letters and pamphlets back to Scotland in returned in 1559.  In 1560, the [[Scottish Parliament]] formally rejected Papal jurisdiction.  

The Presbyterianism which replaced the Latin Roman Catholic services and episcopal system of government was then regularized by the adoption of the Scots Confession, Knox's Liturgy, and the First Book of Discipline (replaced by the Second Book of Discipline in 1581). These innovations were at once opposed by the Erastian Stuart monarchy, and this opposition was not resolved until the signing of the National Covenant of 1638 and the Solemn League and Covenant of 1643, by the latter of which the Scottish Church adopted the Westminster symbols as permanent standards of doctrine, worship, and government. These symbols were the Westminster Confession, the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, the Directory for the Public Worship of God, the Form of Presbyterian Church Government, and the new version of the Metrical Psalms. Following the return of Charles II to the throne in Restoration of 1660 and the "killing time" of the Covenanters, Presbyterianism was guaranteed as the national form of religion by the Revolution Settlement of 1690 and the Act of Union that merged Scotland and England of 1707.

The Presbyterianism which replaced the Latin Roman Catholic services and episcopal system of government was then regularized by the adoption of the Scots Confession, Knox's Liturgy, and the First Book of Discipline (replaced by the Second Book of Discipline in 1581). These innovations were at once opposed by the [[Erastianism|Erastian]] Stuart monarchy, and this opposition was not resolved until the signing of the National Covenant of 1638 and the Solemn League and Covenant of 1643, by the latter of which the Scottish Church adopted the Westminster symbols as permanent standards of doctrine, worship, and government. These symbols were the Westminster Confession, the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, the Directory for the Public Worship of God, the Form of Presbyterian Church Government, and the new version of the Metrical Psalms. Following the return of Charles II to the throne in Restoration of 1660 and the "killing time" of the Covenanters, Presbyterianism was guaranteed as the national form of religion by the Revolution Settlement of 1690 and the Act of Union that merged Scotland and England of 1707.

The parish was the main unit of local government in Scotland, and since it was also part of the church, the elders imposed public humiliation for what the locals considered immoral behavior, including fornication, drunkenness, wife beating, cursing and Sabbath breaking. After 1700 the police powers were focused primarily on sexual misbehavior and profaning the Sabbath. The landlords and gentry, and their servants, were not subject to the parish's scrutiny--their bastards were ignored. The policing system weakened after 1800 and disappeared in most places by the 1850s.<ref> Soldiers and vagrants were also immune. Devine (1999), pp. 84-89</ref>

The parish was the main unit of local government in Scotland, and since it was also part of the church, the elders imposed public humiliation for what the locals considered immoral behavior, including fornication, drunkenness, wife beating, cursing and Sabbath breaking. After 1700 the police powers were focused primarily on sexual misbehavior and profaning the Sabbath. The landlords and gentry, and their servants, were not subject to the parish's scrutiny--their bastards were ignored. The policing system weakened after 1800 and disappeared in most places by the 1850s.<ref> Soldiers and vagrants were also immune. Devine (1999), pp. 84-89</ref>