The General Assembly of 2015

Abstract

While in some Presbyterian Churches, discussion and analysis of Assembly debates and decisions are common this type of analysis is far less common in Scotland. In this paper, Johnston McKay offers us a survey of the debate concerning same-sex relationships in recent years, culminating in the 2015 General Assembly. He traces the history of the debate from 2009 onwards, in the events, discussions and debates following the decision of the Presbytery of Aberdeen to sustain a call to a minister in a homosexual partnership. McKay describes the divisions and tensions apparent in the Church of Scotland, but also demonstrates the way in which the introduction of a model of the Church as a ‘mixed economy’ and, then, the use of the concept of ‘constrained difference’ contributed towards a major resolution of the discussion.