A subordinate standard is a Reformed confession of faith, catechism or other doctrinal or regulatory statement subscribed to by a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

church, setting out key elements of religious belief and church governance. It is ''subordinate'' to the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

as the supreme standard, which is held as

divinely inspired Divine inspiration is the concept of a supernatural force, typically a deity, causing a person or people to experience a creative desire. It has been a commonly reported aspect of many religions, for thousands of years. Divine inspiration is ofte ...

and without error. Examples of such standards are the

Westminster Confession of Faith The Westminster Confession of Faith, or simply the Westminster Confession, is a Reformed confession of faith. Drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the Church of England, it becam ...

, drawn up by the 1646

Westminster Assembly The Westminster Assembly of Divines was a council of Divinity (academic discipline), divines (theologians) and members of the English Parliament appointed from 1643 to 1653 to restructure the Church of England. Several Scots also attended, and ...

as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. It became and remains the subordinate standard of doctrine in the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

, and has been influential within

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

churches worldwide. The Westminster Confession of Faith was modified and adopted by

Congregationalists Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

in England in the form of the Savoy Declaration (1658). Likewise, the

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

of England modified the Savoy Declaration to produce the Second London Baptist Confession (1689). The

Three Forms of Unity The Three Forms of Unity is a collective name for the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, and the Heidelberg Catechism, which reflect the doctrinal concerns of continental Calvinism and are accepted as official statements of doctrine by man ...

(the

Belgic Confession The ''Confession of Faith'', popularly known as the Belgic Confession, is a confession to which many Reformed churches subscribe as a doctrinal standard. The Confession forms part of the Three Forms of Unity, which are the official subordinate st ...

Heidelberg Catechism The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), one of the Three Forms of Unity, is a Reformed catechism taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Reformed Christian doctrine. It was published in 1563 in Heidelberg, Germany. Its ...

and the

Canons of Dort The Canons of Dort, or Canons of Dordrecht, formally titled ''The Decision of the Synod of Dort on the Five Main Points of Doctrine in Dispute in the Netherlands'', is an exposition of orthodox Reformed soteriology against Arminianism, by the Nat ...

) were adopted as subordinate standards in the

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, , abbreviated NHK ) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal famil ...

, a practice which was embraced by most Dutch Reformed denominations and federations around the world. In

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, the Scots Confession of 1560, drawn up by

John Knox John Knox ( – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgate, a street in Haddington, East Lot ...

and other leaders of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

, was the first subordinate standard for the Protestant church in Scotland. Enacted in law in 1567, it was superseded by the Westminster Confession in 1648. While some churches identify only one key document as their subordinate standard, others specify several. For example, in 1789 the

Presbyterian Church in the United States of America The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) was a Presbyterian denomination existing from 1789 to 1958. In that year, the PCUSA merged with the United Presbyterian Church of North America. The new church was named the United ...

adopted the

, together with the Larger Catechism and the Shorter Catechism, but modified the Confession to bring its teaching on civil government in line with American practices and removed references to the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

as an

Antichrist In Christian eschatology, Antichrist (or in broader eschatology, Anti-Messiah) refers to a kind of entity prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ and falsely substitute themselves as a savior in Christ's place before ...

. The Presbyterian Reformed Church (North America) adopted the Westminster Confession of Faith along with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms and

Directory of Public Worship The ''Directory for Public Worship'' (known in Scotland as the ''Westminster Directory'') is a liturgical manual produced by the Westminster Assembly in 1644 to replace the '' Book of Common Prayer''. Approved by the Parliament of England (Lo ...

, while the (separate)

Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America The Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA) is a Presbyterian church with congregations and missions throughout the United States, Japan, and Chile. Its beliefs—held in common with other members of the Reformed Presbyterian Globa ...

considers as its constitution the same standards along with the ''Testimony, Directory for Church Government, and Book of Discipline''. In Australia, the Presbyterian Church of Australia accepts the Westminster Confession of Faith, read in the light of a Declaratory Statement of 1901. The Presbyterian Church of Victoria, one of its constituent bodies, also subscribes to the "general principles" of the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, the

Form of Presbyterial Church Government ''The Form of Presbyterial Church Government'' is a document drawn up by the Westminster Assembly dealing with Presbyterian polity. It forms part of the Westminster Standards, and was adopted by the Church of Scotland in 1645. Contents Church of ...

, the Directory of Public Worship, and the 1578 Second Book of Discipline. The

Presbyterian Church in Canada The Presbyterian Church in Canada () is a Presbyterian denomination, serving in Canada under this name since 1875. The United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939. According to the Religion in Canada, Canada 2021 Censu ...

produced a ''Declaration of Faith Concerning Church and Nation'' deemed a "subordinate standard" of the PCC in 1954. Churches specifying only the Westminster Confession of Faith include the

Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland The Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland is a small, Scotland, Scottish, Presbyterian church denomination. Theologically they are similar to many other Presbyterian denominations in that their office-bearers subscribe to the Westminster Confe ...

and

Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland (FPC Church; , ) was formed in 1893. The Church identifies itself as the spiritual descendant of the Scottish Reformation. The Church web-site states that it is "the constitutional heir of the historic Chu ...

. The

United Free Church of Scotland The United Free Church of Scotland (UF Church; , ) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (or UP) and the Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900), majority of the 19th-cen ...

specified the Westminster Confession while asserting the church's right to modify it.

References

{{Reformed confessions Reformed confessions of faith Christian terminology