View source for Wee Free

{{Short description|Scottish epithet}}
The term '''Wee Free''' was an [[epithet]] commonly used to distinguish two [[Scottish Presbyterian]] Churches after the union of 1900: [[Free Church of Scotland (since 1900)|The Free Kirk]] and The [[United Free Church of Scotland|United Free Kirk]]. Since the United Free were approximately 25 times larger, but hard to distinguish without some knowledge of Scottish history and theology, the rhyming Scottish [[diminutive]] became used as an epithet of the post 1900 Free Kirk. The epithet Wee Free was also applied to a small group in the 1918 [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] Party who on principle did not want to go into coalition with the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] Party. The [[Independent Liberal Party (UK, 1918)|Wee Free Liberals]] either did not get, or refused, [[Coalition Coupon|the coupon]] signed by [[David Lloyd George]] of the Liberals and [[Bonar Law]] of the Conservatives.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Beaverbrook |first1=Lord |title=The Decline and Fall of Lloyd George |date=1963 |publisher=Duell, Sloan and Pearce |location=New York |page=14 |edition=first |url=https://archive.org/stream/declineandfallof006894mbp#page/n23/mode/2up/search/wee |access-date=30 December 2017}}</ref> The ''Wee Free'' in modern usage is used, usually in a pejorative way, of any small group who because of their, arguably obscure, religious principles choose to remain outside or separate from a larger body. A Wee Free attitude might show as a preference for being part of a smaller but ideologically pure group rather than a larger compromised one.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Maguire |first1=Patrick |title=Vince Cable's "exotic spresm" moment disguises bigger questions for the Liberal Democrats |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2018/09/vince-cable-s-exotic-spresm-moment-disguises-bigger-questions-liberal-democrats |access-date=18 September 2018 |agency=New Statesman |date=18 September 2018}}</ref>
== Origin ==
== Background ==
A pair of rhyming jibes remain from the time of the heated split of the Disruption in 1843 when about a third<ref>{{cite news |last1=Moffat |first1=Alistair |title=Good riddance to the Wee Frees |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/node/193323 |access-date=29 April 2017 |publisher=New Statesman |date=31 January 2000}}</ref> of the Auld Kirk of Scotland left to form the Free Kirk. The Free Kirkers who had sometimes given up homes as well as church buildings and started financially from scratch were taunted with the rhyme: "The Free Kirk, the wee kirk the kirk without the steeple." This rhyme linking the Free Kirk with the derogatory diminutive "wee" was offensive and a reply was devised in: "The Auld Kirk, the cauld kirk, the kirk without the people." It may even have been known in America.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mills |first1=Frank Moody |title=Home-made jinglets cast in the rough at odd times |date=1914 |publisher=Sessions-Mannix Co. |location=Sioux Falls, South Dakota |page=63 |url=https://archive.org/stream/homemadejinglets00mill#page/63/mode/1up/search/%22without+the+steeple%22 |access-date=29 April 2017}}</ref>
== Politics ==
[[Independent Liberal Party (UK, 1918)|The Wee Free Liberals]],<ref>{{cite book |title=The Campaign Guide |date=1922 |publisher=The National Unionist Association |location=London |pages=80–82 |edition=14 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112087696206;view=1up;seq=92 |access-date=29 April 2017}}</ref> including [[Donald Maclean (British politician)|Donald Maclean]], were [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberals]] who did not go into the [[Lloyd George ministry|coalition]] of [[David Lloyd George]] with the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservatives]] of [[Bonar Law]] when he took over as prime minister from [[H. H. Asquith]] (Asquith remained Liberal Party leader, although he was out of Parliament between the [[1918 United Kingdom general election|1918 general election]] and the [[1920 Paisley by-election]]). There were around 31 Wee Free [[List of United Kingdom MPs|MPs]] although political boundaries were not black and white.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Douglas |first1=Roy |authorlink=Roy Douglas (academic) |title=A History of the Liberal and Liberal Democrat Parties |date=2005 |publisher=A&C Black |location=London |page=185 |isbn=978-1-85285-353-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z_MLf1cci3wC&q=list+of+wee+free+liberals&pg=PA185 |access-date=30 December 2017}}</ref>
== Modern usage ==
Denominations other than the Free Church are also regularly called Wee Frees in the press. For example, the epithet has been used about the [[Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland|Free Presbyterians]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Munro |first1=Alasdair |title=Scottish independence: Self rule would be a 'provocation of God' say Wee Frees |url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/scottish-independence-self-rule-would-be-a-provocation-of-god-say-wee-frees-1-2363261 |access-date=29 April 2017 |publisher=The Scotsman |date=19 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Burns |first1=Janice |title=Bible-basher Beat Children With Leather Belt |url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/bible-basher-beat-children-with-leather-belt-959564 |access-date=29 April 2017 |publisher=The Daily Record |date=1 July 2012}}</ref> and even the [[United Free Church of Scotland|United Free]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Duke |first1=Barry |title='Wee Frees' minister wins lottery but his church won't see a penny of the dosh |url=http://freethinker.co.uk/2010/11/11/%E2%80%98wee-frees%E2%80%99-minister-wins-lottery-but-his-church-wont-see-a-penny-of-the-cash/ |access-date=29 April 2017 |publisher=The Free Thinker |date=11 November 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Obituary – Craigie Aitchison |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/6860258/Craigie-Aitchison.html |access-date=29 April 2017 |publisher=The Telegraph |date=21 December 2009}}</ref> a remnant of the very body the name was supposed to distinguish from, its greater part having united with the Church of Scotland in 1929. The Free Church has publicly tried to distance itself from the name, calling it a "derogatory and offensive slur".<ref>{{cite web |title=Media enquiries |url=https://freechurch.org/contact/media-enquiries |publisher=Free Church of Scotland |access-date=23 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Free Church in plea over nickname "Wee Frees" |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-21545940 |access-date=22 February 2013 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=22 February 2013}}</ref> However, some people both inside<ref>{{cite news |title=Such a messy schism |url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12215222.Such_a_messy_schism/ |access-date=29 April 2017 |publisher=The Herald |date=1 February 2000}}</ref> and outside<ref>{{cite news |title=Spendidly Pointless Second City Debate |url=https://www.ft.com/content/6f4d18a6-7f3f-11e2-89ed-00144feabdc0 |access-date=29 April 2017 |publisher=The Financial Times}}</ref> the denomination do not mind, even if it causes some to cringe. [[David Robertson (minister)|David Robertson]], a Free Church minister, uses a version of it in his blog<ref>{{cite web |last1=Robertson |first1=David |title=The Wee Flea |url=https://theweeflea.com/ |access-date=29 April 2017}}</ref> after being called a flea by a well-known atheist.
== The Wee Wee Frees ==
[[File:Churches of Scotland timeline.svg|thumb|500px|Timeline showing the evolution of the churches of Scotland from 1560 including pejorative epithets]]
There is no group specifically known as the Wee Wee Frees. Groups coming out of the Free Church include the [[Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland|Free Presbyterian Church]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Evans |first1=Andrew |title=Sabbath on Skye |url=http://digitalnomad.nationalgeographic.com/2013/09/20/sabbath-on-skye/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923031128/http://digitalnomad.nationalgeographic.com/2013/09/20/sabbath-on-skye/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 23, 2013 |website=Digital Nomad 20 September 2013 |date=20 September 2013 |publisher=National Geographic |access-date=29 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Peterkin |first1=Tom |title=Spinster's £1m to Wee Wee Frees |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1416287/Spinsters-1m-to-Wee-Wee-Frees.html |access-date=29 April 2017 |publisher=The Telegraph |date=16 December 2002}}</ref> in 1893 from which the [[Associated Presbyterian Churches]] split in 1989. [[Free Church Continuing|The Free Church (Continuing)]] sometimes is labelled with the derogatory ''Wee Wee Free'' or even ''Wee Wee Wee Free'' term.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cramb |first1=Auslan |title=The 'sinners' set sail for the Hebrides |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3651571/The-sinners-set-sail-for-the-Hebrides.html |access-date=18 September 2018 |agency=The Telegraph |publisher=Telegraph Media Group Limited |date=13 April 2006}}</ref>
== In literature ==
[[Terry Pratchett]]'s [[Wee Free Men]] is an epithet for his [[Nac Mac Feegle]] who appear in some of his [[Discworld]] novels. He denied they are [[caricatures]] of Scots or churchmen, saying, "The Nac Mac Feegle are not Scottish. There is no Scotland on Discworld. They may, in subtle ways, suggest some aspects of the Scottish character as filtered through the media, but that's because of quantum."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Breebaart |first1=Leo |last2=Kew |first2=Mike |title=The Wee Free Men Annotations |url=https://www.lspace.org/books/apf/the-wee-free-men.html |website=APF |publisher=The L-space web |access-date=1 May 2017}}</ref>
== See also ==
* [[Ecclesiastical separatism]]
* [[Protestantism]]
* [[Schism]]
* [[Sectarianism]]
== References ==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Epithets]]
[[Category:Ethnic and religious slurs]]
[[Category:Political terminology in the United Kingdom]]