 This church split in 1747 over the issue of the Burgher Oath, which required holders of public offices to affirm approval of the religion "presently professed in this kingdom".The issue was civil compulsion in religious affairs, a forerunner of later arguments over the separation of church and state.Opponents of the Burgher Oath on theological grounds became known as the Anti-Burghers — showing a distinctive independence of conviction and an unwillingness to compromise over sincerely held beliefs.