Presbyterianism

====Australia====
{{See also|List of Presbyterian denominations in Australia}}

[[File:Timeline of Aust. Pres. Denominations.png|thumb|upright=2|Timeline showing the Presbyterian denominations in Australia over the past 100 years, and the movement of congregations from one to another]]In Australia, Presbyterianism is the fourth largest denomination of Christianity, with nearly 600,000 Australians claiming to be Presbyterian in the 2006 Commonwealth Census. Presbyterian churches were founded in each colony, some with links to the Church of Scotland and others to the Free Church. There were also congregations originating from United Presbyterian Church of Scotland as well as a number founded by [[John Dunmore Lang]]. Most of these bodies merged between 1859 and 1870, and in 1901 formed a federal union called the [[Presbyterian Church of Australia]] but retaining their state assemblies. The [[Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia]] representing the Free Church of Scotland tradition, and congregations in Victoria of the [[Reformed Presbyterian Church of Australia|Reformed Presbyterian Church]], originally from Ireland, are the other existing denominations dating from colonial times.

In 1977, about 70% of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, along with most of the [[Congregational Union of Australia]] and all the [[Methodist Church of Australasia]], combined to form the [[Uniting Church in Australia]].<ref>Rowland Ward and Robert Humphreys, ''Religious Bodies in Australia'', 3rd edition ([[Wantirna, Victoria]]: New Melbourne Press, 1995), 77.</ref> The 30% who did not unite had various reasons for so acting, often cultural attachment but often conservative theological or social views. The permission for the ordination of women given in 1974 was rescinded in 1991 without affecting the two or three existing woman ministers{{Citation needed|date = September 2018|reason = Dubious}}. The approval of women elders given in the 1960s has been rescinded in all states except New South Wales, which has the largest membership{{Citation needed|date = September 2018|reason = Dubious}}. The theology of the church is now generally conservative and Reformed{{Citation needed|date = September 2018|reason = Unclear. Which church?}}. A number of small Presbyterian denominations have arisen since the 1950s through migration or schism.