Presbyterian

The Presbyterian Church is a Protestant denomination founded in the Calvinist Reformation of the 1500s, although they were differentiated from the Lutherans over sacraments and church government. John Knox founded the Scotch Presbyterian church in about 1560.

Traditionally the ethics of the church lean towards strictness and firm church and self discipline. Otherwise the church as a whole is fairly tolerant. Authority in Presbyterian churches is given to Scripture. Church organization is highly structured with a representational system of ministers and laypersons (presbyters) in local, regional and national bodies (called synods)

The Presbyterian Church is the dominant religion in Scotland, and because of this was historically strong in areas of the United States where large numbers of Scots-Irish settled, although many Americans of Scots-Irish ancestry would later convert to the Baptist and Methodist faiths during the early 1800s.