Southern Baptist
Southern Baptists and Catholics have been working together for many years in different forms: congregational cooperation on local levels, efforts to support marriage and the family, joint educational projects in a variety of educational contexts, joint efforts in social service, and public policy concerns.
The USCCB began conversations with Southern Baptists under the auspices of the Ecumenical Institute at Wake Forest University in 1967. This was subsequently taken over by the Interfaith Evangelism Department of the Southern Baptist Convention (formerly, Interfaith Witness) in 1971. Conversations were intiated with this body in 1978. The final set of conversations, with the expressed purpose of honest clarification of differences and mutual understanding, began in 1994 and ended in 2001. Topics included the environment, poverty, racism, life, and sickness, disability, and healing. Its last round discussed issues pertaining to scripture and salvation.
Although no official dialogue exists at this time, many avenues of communication and cooperation continue. The Conference remains open to dialogue and welcomes a collaborative relationship on ad hoc projects of common interest.
Documents and News Releases Produced by the Dialogue
Link to our collaborative partner: The Southern Baptist Convention
Evangelical
Evangelicals and Catholics, two of the largest religious communities in the United States, are important voices in the public square. While we acknowledge important differences between our two communions, there should be no doubt that shared familial and societal concerns, such as criminal justice reform, environmental issues, marriage, religious liberty, family and life issues, help bring us together on both the local and national levels.
Past examples of collaboration include the 1994 document “Evangelicals and Catholics Toward a Common Mission” that helped forge a new relationship and new opportunities for dialogue, and the 2013 statement “A Christian Call for Immigration Reform” signed by more than 100 leaders of both communities, as well as the gathering at the Poverty Summit at Georgetown University in 2015.
A formal dialogue between the USCCB and the Evangelical Community met from 2003-2008. While the dialogue has concluded, the USCCB continues to co-sponsor a yearly meeting of Catholic and Evangelical scholars with University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota that studies theological questions and ways both communities can cooperate together for the good of our local communities.
Documents and News Releases Produced by the Dialogue
Link to our collaborative partner: The National Association of Evangelicals