Theological Forum

The Theological Forum was established by the General Assembly to resource, express, and challenge the theology that informs the life and work of the Church.

The Theological Forum's remit is:

a) To articulate and develop the doctrinal understanding of the Church in accordance with Holy Scripture and with reference to the confessional standards of the Church of Scotland

b) To express the theological vision of the Church in its worship, fellowship, witness, and mission in and beyond contemporary Scotland

c) To respond to particular theological requests as and when these arise from the General Assembly, the Council of Assembly, and the ecumenical partners of the Church

d) To draw to the attention of the General Assembly theological matters which the Theological Forum considers to be of pressing contemporary relevance

e) To stimulate wider theological reflection throughout the Church on key doctrinal, ethical, and apologetic matters through the provision of appropriate materials and other activities

Theological Forum Membership, 2025-2026

  • Professor Paul T Nimmo, Convener
  • Rev Dr Lynn McChlery, Vice-Convener
  • Professor Helen Bond
  • Rev Pamela Kennedy
  • Rev Dr Alasdair J Macleod
  • Dr Sara Mannen
  • Rev Hector Morrison
  • Dr Scott Paget
  • Professor Glen Pettigrove
  • Rev Dr Daniel Spencer
  • Ms Jennifer Stark
  • Rev Moira Taylor-Wintersgill
  • Dr Andrew Torrance

Contact for more information:
Ms Nathalie Mares MacCallum, Secretary to the Theological Forum at nmaresmaccallum@churchofscotland.org.uk

Recent General Assembly Reports

Recent Work Undertaken

The Theological Forum's work spans the academic disciplines of systematic theology, biblical studies, church history, theological ethics and practical theology. The work that the Forum has recently undertaken includes studies of the following topics:

  • Confessional reform
  • Sacramental ministries
  • Calling
  • Human sexuality
  • Transgender identities
  • Assisted dying
  • Apologies for historic wrongs
  • The Jewish-Christian Glossary project
  • Disability theology
  • Theology of baptism, profession of faith and Church membership
  • Online celebration of the Lord's Supper
  • Eldership
  • Ecotheology
  • Children and the Lord's Supper

Further details on three of these pieces of work are included below.

Confessional Reform

The most significant piece of work that the Theological Forum has recently undertaken has been leading the Church through the process of confessional reform between 2018 and 2025.
Since 1647, the principal subordinate standard of the Church of Scotland has been the Westminster Confession of Faith. However, at the conclusion of a seven-year process of confessional reform, on 1 January 2026, the Westminster Confession of Faith will be joined by other historic and contemporary statements of faith to form the Church of Scotland's Book of Confessions. The Book of Confessions will include the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Scots Confession, the Westminster Confession of Faith and the 1992 Statement of Faith.
A detailed account of the process of confessional reform can be found in the 2025 Report of the Committee on Overtures and Cases.
This process has included the following pieces of work undertaken by the Theological Forum:
For more information on the Book of Confessions, please see the Church of Scotland's dedicated webpage.
The Theological Forum is also developing an accompanying module in collaboration with Church of Scotland Learning to help bring deeper understanding and explore practical application of the materials in the Book of Confessions.
This module will be launched in early 2026, and more information can be found by watching this film:

Register for Church of Scotland Learning today to access this module when it launches: Register for Church of Scotland Learning

Human Sexuality

The Theological Forum and its predecessor bodies have produced a number of reports on human sexuality since the 1990's. These have explored the theology of marriage and of same-sex relationships by looking at different interpretations of Scripture, by engaging with Church history and tradition, and by dialoguing with the different theological views of leading contemporary scholars. The development of the Church's thinking in this connection can be traced through the following materials:

This theological groundwork informed the debate at the 2022 General Assembly, which voted to change a standing law of the Church in order to allow Ministers of Word and Sacrament and Deacons the right to apply to become an authorised celebrant of same-sex marriages. For more information on the legislative process, please visit our views page.

Apologies for Historic Wrongs

At the 2021 General Assembly the Theological Forum committed to explore the theology of apologies, and in particular apologies for historical wrongs. The context includes societal discussions about institutional apologies for the treatment of those accused as witches, European involvement in and benefit from chattel slavery, and the historical mistreatment of and prejudice towards minorities.
The Theological Forum's paper from 2022 is for discussion and reflection only, and does not make any concrete proposals in relation to particular historic wrongs.
The Faith Impact Forum's 2022 report addresses a Scottish Government statement of apology for the deaths of thousands of people accused of witchcraft in Scotland between 1563 and 1736. The report says the Forum: "appreciates the First Minister's statement, on International Women's Day, apologising for the way in which, predominantly women, were accused and condemned of witchcraft, and acknowledges that, often, the Church played a part in feeding the fury, and deeply regrets that to be the case."
The Church has a project looking at the legacy of slavery, which reported to the General Assembly in 2023 and in 2025. The Theological Forum, Faith Action Programme Leadership Team and the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Group is currently preparing a statement of acknowledgement and apology for the Church's involvement with and connection to historic chattel slavery, to be brought to the General Assembly of 2026.