The 1788 American Revision
How the American Presbyterians rewrote the magistrate chapters for a disestablished republic.
Mixed
Background
When the American Presbyterian Church was constituted as a national body in 1788 (the first General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America met in Philadelphia, May 1789), the Westminster Confession was the natural confessional choice. But the 1646 Confession's magistrate chapter (XXIII) gave the civil magistrate authority to suppress heresy and call synods — language that was not only impracticable but politically incompatible with the new federal Constitution's First Amendment (1791) disestablishment. Chapter XX.4 had similar problems. The American Synod commissioned a revision.
The Assembly’s handling
The 1788 revision rewrote WCF XX.4, XXIII.3, and XXXI.2 to align with disestablishment. The magistrate's duty became to 'protect the Church of our common Lord, without giving the preference to any denomination of Christians above the rest' and 'so to order all public assemblies as may be convenient' without specifically suppressing heresies or calling synods. The clause identifying the Pope as Antichrist (XXV.6) was also softened. The revision is the major confessional fracture in the Westminster tradition: the Reformed Presbyterian (Covenanter) tradition kept the 1646 text; the PCUSA, PCA, OPC, and most American Presbyterian bodies follow the 1788. Both texts remain confessional in their respective traditions.
Parties
The 1788 American revisers
The magistrate chapters must be rewritten to fit a disestablished republican context; the civil magistrate protects the church but does not establish, direct, or coerce.
The Reformed Presbyterian (Covenanter) retention
The 1646 text is confessional; the magistrate's duty to suppress heresy and establish the true religion is biblical. Disestablishment is a departure from biblical magistracy, not a progress.
Confessional language
WCF XXIII.3 (American 1788): 'Civil magistrates may not assume to themselves the administration of the Word and sacraments; or the power of the keys of the kingdom of heaven; or, in the least, interfere in matters of faith. Yet, as nursing fathers, it is the duty of civil magistrates to protect the Church of our common Lord, without giving the preference to any denomination of Christians above the rest…'
Ontology placement
This crux bears on the following attribute of the Westminster ontology. The Westminster baseline value is marked WCF.
VIII · Civil & Last Things · Magistrate's Role
Legacy
The 1788 revision became the working confessional text of American Presbyterianism. The 1903 PCUSA revisions further softened the language on the decree and the heathen; the 1936 OPC formation reaffirmed the 1788 text without the 1903 amendments. The PCA at its 1973 formation also adopted the 1788 text. The Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America and the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland continue to use the 1646 text. Modern arguments over Christian nationalism, religious liberty, and church-state relations continue to play out across this Westminster fracture.
References
- WCF XX.4 (1646 vs 1788)
- WCF XXIII.3 (1646 vs 1788)
- WCF XXV.6 (1646 vs 1788)
- WCF XXXI.2 (1646 vs 1788)