Interfaith Activities and Interreligious Dialogue

Interreligious Dialogue – Is held separately from debate and evangelism. It involves a meeting (or series of meetings) between scholars from two or more religious communities. The meetings consist of discourse on key components of the religions that may need clarification for the members of the communities. Discussion of the religions is included, but conflicting claims to truth are not debated. Dialogue should ideally precede debate and evangelism, although the latter two encounters are frequently what inspires dialogue.

Religious Debate – Is held separately from formal dialogical encounters. It is, in effect, a form of evangelism: the purpose is to convince the audience of the superiority of one’s religious position. Unlike typical evangelism, the debates are highly structured, with opportunities for both participants to present their positions and formally rebut the positions of the other participant. Audience participation is frequently allowed following the official debate.

Evangelism – Is held separately from formal dialogical encounters. The purpose of evangelism is to convert others to one’s religious position. For Christians, this involves sharing the gospel with non-Christians. The modes in which evangelism can occur are endless, although many participants differentiate between formal evangelism and "lifestyle" evangelism. Evangelism usually occurs, unlike formal dialogue and debate, in informal circumstances.