Born in Duns, Berwickshire, in 1807, Alexander Hislop grew up in a religious household; his father, Stephen Hislop, was a mason and an elder of the Relief Church. His brother, also named Stephen Hislop, would later achieve recognition as a naturalist and missionary to India. Alexander initially worked as a parish schoolmaster in Wick, Caithness, and married Jane Pearson in 1831. He also spent time working as the editor of the Scottish Guardian newspaper.
As a religious probationer, Hislop aligned himself with the Free Church of Scotland during the Disruption of 1843. He was ordained the following year in 1844 at the East Free Church in Arbroath. He dedicated his remaining decades to this ministry, rising to the position of senior minister in 1864. His service concluded shortly thereafter when he suffered a paralytic stroke, passing away in Arbroath in 1865 after being ill for approximately two years.
Hislop was a dedicated writer who published several books during his career, with a particular focus on theological critiques. He is best remembered for his criticisms of the Catholic Church, which culminated in his most famous work, The Two Babylons: Papal Worship Proved to be the Worship of Nimrod and His Wife. This book remains his most prominent and widely discussed contribution to religious literature.
