A controversy over whether ministers must subscribe (affirm) the Westminster Confession of Faith had preoccupied Presbyterians in Scotland, Ireland and England for some time.
[1] In America, the Synod of Philadelphia initially had no official confessional statement, as American leaders tried to maintain unity and avoid division.
The question of subscription was initially raised in reaction to the synod's lenient treatment of Robert Cross, a young pastor from New Castle Presbytery found guilty of fornication in 1720.
"[3] A synod-wide requirement to subscribe to the Westminster Standards was first proposed in 1727 by John Thomson of New Castle Presbytery and was supported by Presbyterians with Scotch-Irish and Scottish backgrounds.
[7] The Scotch-Irish were convinced, based on their experience in the Old World, that refusal to subscribe tended to be the first step toward Arminianism and other beliefs that were incompatible with Calvinism.
[7] Ethnic and cultural tensions fed the controversy because New Englanders also felt that the Scottish and Scotch-Irish clergy were attempting a takeover of the synod.
[11][12] The act required all ministers to declare "agreement in and approbation of" the Westminster Confession and Larger and Shorter Catechisms as being "in all the essential and necessary articles, good forms of sound words and systems of Christian doctrine.
Ministerial candidates were asked, "Do you sincerely receive and adopt, the confession of faith of this church, as containing the system of doctrine taught in the holy Scriptures?"