Alasdair Raffe's study of Scottish religious culture across the turn of the eighteenth century makes an important contribution to our understanding of Scottish religious and controversial culture in this period. Based on work originally undertaken for his doctorate, this book represents the fruits of a decade of engagement of this critical period in Scottish church history which saw the confirmation of Presbyterian order in the Church of Scotland and with it the emergence of both Episcopalianism and dissenting forms of Presbyterianism. By taking as his period the entirety of the later Stuart monarchy, from the Restoration in 1660 to the death of Queen Anne in 1714, Raffe also sheds significant light on the continuities across this period, placing the shift in power from James VII/II to William and Mary in context rather than seeing the years 1688–90 as the end of one era and the beginning of another.

Raffe proceeds first by defining the ‘Culture of Controversy’ that existed in early modern Scotland, and differentiating it from modern concepts of public politics, which he believes ‘threaten to distort our understanding of controversial culture’ (p. 5). In contrast to Habermas’ presentation of the public sphere, public opinion in Scotland was not necessarily regarded as either legitimate or rational. Debate, a valued aspect of modern public life, was in this period ‘not always viewed in a positive light’ (p. 15). Polemical rhetoric was the norm in many religious controversies, and status, gender and education influenced whether and how people could speak or act, and how what they said or did was heard. Scottish religious controversies played out locally, but also in Edinburgh and increasingly also in London, where the opinions of English politicians and churchmen had implications for the Scottish churches. There were, as Raffe emphasises, many ways by which people could contribute to the debate: different genres of printed media were central. So too were oral forms of communication including not only, as might be expected, sermons and preaching, but also the speeches of Presbyterian rebels from the scaffold. Opinions might also be expressed through actions, such as the burning of books and pamphlets, collective boycotts of sermons, the interruption of services or damage to property.

Chapter 2 considers the religious groups and cultures which existed in late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century Scotland. Here Raffe offers a really useful survey of the complexities of this period, showing not only the implications of the political developments under the later Stuarts for Presbyterians and Episcopalians, but also the way in which Presbyterian dissent emerged. Raffe thus offers insights into the developments which led to the Secessions of the later eighteenth century. This chapter alone makes an important contribution to our understanding of the Scottish ecclesiastical landscape.

The second section of the book considers ‘Controversial Discourse’, focusing on four themes: the covenants and controversial dissent, particularly amongst Presbyterians; persecution and the way in which the language of persecution shaped the self-understanding of first Presbyterians and later Episcopalians; fanatics and enthusiasts, and the use of this rhetoric to denigrate and dismiss others; and clerical reputations. The third section explores ‘Controversial Action’, first in the context of, primarily Presbyterian, Nonconformity, and then as it expressed itself in crowd violence. Raffe concludes with a discussion of ‘Concepts and Consequences’. Here he reflects that his focus on confrontation between Presbyterians and Episcopalians means that his study ‘gives a pessimistic impression of the extent of religious toleration in late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century Scotland’; further work needs to be done to explore ‘the everyday local coexistence of confessional cultures’ in households and local communities (p. 236).

Raffe's is a fascinating and insightful study, which offers many vignettes of early modern Scottish religious controversy whilst making a real contribution to a better understanding of the situation of the Scottish churches in this period. It is much to be recommended to any student of Scottish church history or theology.