Cumberland Presbyterian Church - Beliefs and Practices

Beliefs and Practices

The denomination as a whole has a socially progressive tradition. Cumberland Presbyterians were among the first denominations to admit women to their educational institutions and to accept them in leadership roles. They were the first to include women as ordained clergy. Cumberland Presbyterians were also early to ordain African-Americans to the ministry. The 1984 revision of the Cumberland Presbyterian Confession of Faith, reflecting the denomination's long-standing traditions, was one of the first inclusive confessional documents in the Reformed tradition. This Confession was revised by a broad composite of theologians of both Cumberland Presbyterian Churches.

However, for the most part, the CPC's constituency and theology resembles that of the United Methodist Church, appealing mainly to long-established families with revivalistic religious tastes and generally conservative cultural dispositions, derived chiefly from the agricultural orientation of most of its historic territory, the Upper South. Although explicit fundamentalism and liberalism are rare in the CPC, neither are entirely absent, and recent trends in the denomination seem to be moving it further to the right. This conservative thrust has probably been generated in response to the strong competition the CPC faces in most of its locales for a lower-to-middle-class constituency from groups like the Southern Baptist Convention, charismatic or Pentecostal faiths, and newer non-denominational fellowships. As the denomination has become more conservative, some of its more liberal ministers and members have transferred membership to the Presbyterian Church (USA), thereby intensifying already-present theological and social tendencies in the remaining CPC faithful toward evangelicalism.