Robbie Burns

Robbie Burns (1759-1796) was renowned for his drinking and womanizing life style and claimed that he was haunted rather than helped by his religion. Despite this, the Scottish Bard was by no means irreligious, retaining a belief in a good and pure God but his preference was for the more liberal Christianity rather than the more traditionally rigid Scottish Calvinism. Indeed he circulated satirical poems on religion amongst friends including his Holy Fair which slammed Calvinist bigotry by contrasting the admonishments of the church leaders preaching hellfire and damnation with the genial sociability of the congregation at the local Calvinist church prayer meeting.