In the first half of the nineteenth century the Highlands and Islands
of Scotland were affected by social and economic changes. During that
half-century the religious life of the people of the Western Isles was also
transformed, so that by the time of the Disruption, Skye and the Outer
Hebrides had become a stronghold of Evangelicalism. The purpose of this
thesis is to explore and evaluate the different forces which moulded the
religious thinking and practice of the Presbyterian population of the islands
during that period.Because parishes were extensive and ministers few, religion in many
remote areas must have been of a nominal nature, although there was much
traditional religious lore extant among the people. Endeavours which were
made in the first half of the nineteenth century to improve the educational
and religious lot of the Hebrideans introduced to the Western Isles earnest
men of Evangelical faith. A revival movement began whose impact is still
felt in the twentieth century.For the purposes of this survey the three Presbyteries of Skye, Lewis
and Uist are included in the term "Western Isles" - the Argyllshire islands,
with their distinctive religious history, are omitte
