Confessions play a crucial part in the theological identity of reformed churches, either as standards to which ministers must subscribe, or more generally as accurate descriptions of their faith.
[1] Christianity • Protestantism Confessions state that church's beliefs in a full, while not exhaustive, way.
The presbyterians' Westminster was formed by an assembly of ministers called by parliament for use in the established churches of England and Scotland.
The difference in application of the congregationalists' primary confession, Savoy, is that it was written as a declaration of consensus, and as such it was not treated as morally binding upon church officers like Westminster for presbyterians[10] (called subscriptionism[11]).
They "have never been held as tests of orthodoxy, as of any authoritative or binding force; they merely reflect the existing harmony of views and the scriptural interpretations of the churches assenting to them.