The divisions which led to the formation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church can be traced back to the First Great Awakening.

At that time, Presbyterians in North America split between the Old Side (mainly congregations of Scottish and Scotch-Irish extraction) who favored a doctrinally oriented church with a highly educated ministry and a New Side (mainly of English extraction) who put greater emphasis on the experiential techniques championed by the Great Awakening.

Ultimately, the synod decided to dissolve Cumberland Presbytery and expel a number of its ministers.

[3] There is historical evidence in the writings of several of the founders that indicate they did not intend the split to be permanent and certainly did not anticipate a long-standing separate denomination.

Samuel McAdow's cabin now stands where the three founded the church, and a sandstone chapel commemorating the event has been erected nearby.

Relations between the two groups have for the most part been very cordial, and many of the CPCA ministers have trained at Memphis Theological Seminary.

The joint committee drafting the plan of union agreed and made such a stipulation in its reporting to the General Assembly.

Members of this group protested modernizing trends within that denomination, in particular the widespread usage of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible.

When the CP General Assembly declared its actions to be unconstitutional, several leaders of the group left the CPC and formed the new Upper Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

[3] After making revisions to the Westminster Confession in 1903, the PCUSA (the so-called "Northern" denomination) proposed reunification with the CPC.

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 is entirely absent, and recent trends in the denomination seem to be moving it further towards traditionalism.

As the denomination has become more conservative, some of its 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.

Cumberland Presbyterian congregations may be found throughout the U.S. as well as in several foreign countries (Japan, Hong Kong, Colombia, etc.)

but are primarily located in the American South and border states, with strong concentrations in Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Missouri, southern Illinois, Arkansas, and Texas.

[6] Many of those congregations are located outside major metropolitan areas, in small towns and rural communities.

The majority of those churches founded in towns and cities in the 19th century joined in the union with the PCUSA in 1906 after the General Assembly voted to unite with that body.

However, so did a fair number of the country churches, who were likely served at the time by pastors with relatively greater theological training, which would have been required by the mainstream Presbyterian tradition for admission to the ministry.

The synod maintained a "Center" in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and employed an executive and staff.

The denomination is present also in Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

[9] Prior to the 1906 partial union, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church placed a great deal of emphasis on education and sponsored 22 colleges and universities.

[11] Recently, the denomination has related to this institution through a covenant agreement, forgoing direct ownership and control.

[11] The Historical Foundation of the CPC and the CPCA maintains its library and archives at the Cumberland Presbyterian Center in Memphis.

PAS, as it became known, was intended to serve persons embarking on a second vocation but not as an alternate a seminary education.