The Brave New World: Young Porteous and Scottish Presbyterianism in the Interwar Years

Abstract

This essay puts Porteous into the context of the profoundly challenging events that shaped the Scottish church and state during the interwar period. This was a time when a clear break had been made with past certainties and when a new future was being forged amidst a period of grim economic and social realities. It looks in particular at the impact of the First World War on the Scottish churches; the social crisis that accompanied the post-war economic recession; and the growing international crisis that accompanied the rise of totalitarian regimes on the Continent.