Ministerial Stipend Cross Subsidy in the United Free Church of Scotland

Abstract

In this paper we offer a detailed analysis of the extent, direction and evolution of ministerial stipend cross subsidies at differing levels of granularity in the United Free Church of Scotland between 1909 and 1929; from the Church's establishment of a single Central Fund, to its union with the Church of Scotland. By focussing on aggregate flows of money in support of the Church's key employees, we throw new light not only on the question of the extent to which the United Free Church's national provision of the ordinances of religion was dependant on financial transfers, but also the wider challenge of bringing two culturally distinct ecclesiastical bodies together. 1