Westminster Shorter Catechism
The Westminster Shorter Catechism is a catechism written in 1646 and 1647 by the Westminster Assembly, a synod of English and Scottish theologians and laymen intended to bring the Church of England into greater conformity with the Church of Scotland. The assembly also produced the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Westminster Larger Catechism. A version without Scripture citations was completed on 25 November 1647 and presented to the Long Parliament, and Scripture citations were added on 14 April 1649.
Background[edit]
Catechesis is a practice of teaching the Christian faith. New converts to Christianity were taught through lectures during the first four centuries of the Church's existence, but this practice was largely abandoned with the rise of Christendom. Christian humanists and Protestant Reformers sought to revive the practice, including the Reformed. John Calvin's Genevan Catechism was especially influential among the British Reformed. The most popular British catechisms included works by John Craig, James Ussher, Herbert Palmer, John Ball, and Anthony Tuckney.[1]
On John Knox's return to Scotland after long exile because he was deemed by the authorities a heretic, the First Book of Discipline (1560) was drafted. It required that a Sabbath afternoon session be set aside for examination of young children in catechism, and this practice eventually was adopted in the Kirk. Catechizing became a part of life in the Scottish Churches with itinerant catechists being employed to instruct the people—a practice that continued into the 19th century.
In 1643, the Westminster Assembly, which was designed to bring the two national churches into greater conformity, was convened at the height of the English Civil War to reform the Church of England. When the Solemn League and Covenant was as a result signed between the English and Scots the Assembly's work also became the framing of "four points or parts of uniformity": a Confession of Faith, Form of Church Government, Directory for Worship, and Catechizing.[2]
Form and content[edit]
The purpose of the Shorter Catechism is to educate children and others "of weaker capacity" (according to a preface written by the Church of Scotland) in the Reformed faith. It is based on the Larger Catechism, which was intended for use by ministers as they taught the faith to their congregations in preaching.[6] The Catechism is in a question and answer format, which had been popularized by Martin Luther as a way to help children learn the meaning of the material, rather than simply memorizing the Lord's Prayer, Ten Commandments, and Apostles' Creed as had been the practice prior to the Reformation.[9]
The catechism is composed of 107 questions and answers. The first 12 questions concern God as Creator. Questions 13–20 deal with original sin and the fallen state of man's nature. Questions 21–38 concern Christ the Redeemer and the benefits that flow from redemption. The next set of questions, 39–84, discuss the Ten Commandments. Questions 85–97 teach concerning the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion. The final set of questions, 98–107, teach and explain the Lord's Prayer. This organization mimics the earlier Heidelberg Catechism used by many Continental Reformed churches.
The most famous of the questions (known to a great many Presbyterian children) is the first:
Q. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.
Legacy[edit]
The Church of Scotland approved the Westminster Shorter Catechism in 1648, and thereafter it was the manual for instruction. However, because a significant portion of the Scottish Highland population spoke only Gaelic, the Synod of Argyll in 1649 instructed seven of its ministers to translate the Westminster Shorter Catechism into that language. The result was published that same year, and the Gaelic Shorter Catechism continued to play a part in church life for decades after it had ceased to be used in the English speaking churches. The Free Church of Scotland still presents a Bible to a child who can answer all 107 questions accurately at one sitting.
In 1675, the Presbyterian Thomas Vincent in London published a popular exposition called The Shorter Catechism Explained. Later, Reformed catechisms such as the 1693 Baptist Keach's Catechism mimic the Westminster catechism on most points except infant baptism.
The Westminster Catechism is mentioned in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, chapter eight, in reference to Pearl's ability to bear a fair examination by this catechism.