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Which branch of the Ayrshire church did Robert Burns oppose?
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Robert Burns
Robert Burns, engraving from A Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen, 1870.
Robert Burns opposed the extreme Calvinist wing of the church in Ayrshire.1
His opposition was rooted in his humanitarian Deism and his rejection of religious doctrines that he felt condoned or perpetuated inhumanity. Burns famously championed his friend Gavin Hamilton, a local gentleman who faced disciplinary action from the kirk session for alleged offenses such as Sabbath breaking. Through his satirical writing, Burns frequently challenged the rigid moral authority and social control exerted by this conservative faction of the church.1