John Kennedy of Dingwall, 1819-1884 - (Scottish Religious Cultures) by Alasdair J MacLeod

About the Book

Examines the life and ministry of John Kennedy (1819-84), minister of Dingwall Free Church of Scotland. Explores how Kennedy became the effective leader of the Highland Evangelicals through his preaching, writing and public speaking.

Book Synopsis

Alasdair J. Macleod examines the life and ministry of John Kennedy (1819-84), minister of Dingwall Free Church of Scotland. Drawing on Kennedy's notebooks and published writings, and on source material including unpublished Gaelic poetry, this book explores how Kennedy became the effective leader of the Highland Evangelicals through his preaching, writing and public speaking. Macleod addresses current debate on the divergence in Scottish Evangelicalism and how far Kennedy may have helped to steer the trajectory of Evangelicalism in the Highlands in a conservative direction.

From the Back Cover

Religion has played a key formational role in the development of Scottish society shaping cultural norms, defining individual and corporate identities, and underpinning legal and political institutions. This series presents the very best scholarship on the role of religion as a formative and yet divisive force in Scottish society and highlights its positive and negative functions in the development of the nation's culture. The impact of the Scots diaspora on the wider world means that the subject has major significance far out with Scotland.

Review Quotes

The core arguments of the book are grounded in a skilled use of primary sources, all the while in conversation with previous scholarship. I recommend it wholeheartedly for students, scholars, and ministers and suspect, over time, that it will become required reading in the field.--Andrew Michael Jones, Reinhardt University "The Scottish Historical Review"

This is a superb study of the life and times of John Kennedy of Dingwall, eminent Scottish preacher, theologian and church politician. Through extensive research and balanced historical analysis, Alasdair Macleod shows Kennedy's immense influence in shaping and preserving a distinctive Highland Presbyterian evangelical culture in nineteenth-century Scotland.

--Stewart J. Brown, University of Edinburgh

About the Author

Alasdair J. Macleod studied History and English at Glasgow University, graduating M.A. in 2008. He pursued further study in Theology at the Free Church Seminary, and in History at Edinburgh University, from which he graduated with a Ph.D. in 2019. He serves as Minister of Knock & Point Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) on the Isle of Lewis. This is his first book.