The Canadian-American Theological Association (CATA) is a Christian, ecumenical, academic society that finds its primary membership and interest in North America. Our members and Executive Board come from a variety of cultural backgrounds, Christian traditions, and geographical locations. All, however, identify with the Christian faith as outlined in such classic statements as the Apostles’ Creed and Nicene Creed, and seek to contribute to deepening theological reflection and biblical interpretation among Christian scholars, pastors, and theological students, for the sake of the church.

Our history

Origins

CATA has its origins in CETA, the Canadian Evangelical Theological Association. CETA began in May 1990, when approximately sixty scholars, pastors, and other interested persons met together in Toronto to form a new theological society oriented towards the renewal of theology and the church in Canada.

From the beginning, CETA sought to be a genuinely ecumenical theological society, finding its identity in the broad understanding of British and Canadian evangelicalism which eschewed the infighting and exclusivism endemic to some forms of the evangelical church. CETA has therefore hosted papers and panels by theologians, students, and pastors from diverse Christian perspectives, including Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and a wide variety of Protestant traditions.

CETA also endeavored to be a forum for interdisciplinary theological conversations. Hence, scholars and practitioners from all theological disciplines have been welcomed under the CETA umbrella.

Conferences

Spring Conferences

To foster these ecumenical and interdisciplinary goals, CETA sponsored its first academic conference in Kingston, Ontario in May 1991, as part of the Learned Societies of Canada (now known as the Congress of Humanities and Social Sciences). Every year since then (in late May or early June) the CETA annual meeting was held in conjunction with the Congress at a different university campus in Canada.

Fall Conferences

Beginning in 2012 CETA began partnering with a different theological institution each year to offer regional conferences in the Fall, at which theological students and more established academics would present papers on a given theme. The first Fall regional conference (“New Voices in Canadian Evangelical Theology”), held at McMaster Divinity College, was attended by over seventy faculty and graduate students and featured some twenty-five papers and responses. The second CETA regional Fall conference (“New Creation”) took place at Northeastern Seminary in Rochester, NY; attendance at this conference rose to over 120.

Journal - CATR

In 1991, CETA launched a newsletter, which later developed into an academic journal, the Canadian Evangelical Review. Along with the CETA annual meetings, the Canadian Evangelical Review has provided an important forum for scholarly contributions from Canadian theologians and others in the evangelical tradition that would speak to a general theologically-educated audience on matters of interest and concern to the church.

Beginning in 2012 the CETA executive changed the name of the journal to the Canadian Theological Review and made it into a peer-reviewed journal with an editorial board, under the editorial guidance of Kent Clarke (New Testament professor at Trinity Western University). Although the Canadian Evangelical Review was never intended to be limited to evangelical points of view, the name perhaps communicated an unduly narrow focus. The new name signaled the Association’s desire to engage a broad range of theological discourse in order to ensure that evangelical views are thoughtfully weighed and evaluated in conversation with others from different traditions.

In 2017, in conformity to CETA name-change to CATA, the Canadian Theological Review became the Canadian-American Theological Review. A subscription to the journal is included in CATA membership.

Transition to Bi-National Association

By the Fall of 2015 interest was expressed by CETA members in expanding the name and orientation of the Association to explicitly include all of North America.

It was brought to the attention of the Executive Board that the United States does not have an ecumenical, interdisciplinary theological organization like CETA. The Society of Biblical Literature is not explicitly Christian; the Evangelical Theological Society tends to represent a narrower band of American evangelicalism than CETA; and the Institute for Biblical Research caters to practitioners of biblical studies and associated historical disciplines (to the exclusion of theology, church history, pastoral studies, etc.).

Largely because of this situation, a substantial portion of CETA membership, and even the Executive Board, has come from the United States. The question was whether the Association would explicitly embrace this bi-national identity.

This issue was brought to the table at the Spring 2016 business meeting at the Congress in Calgary. At that meeting a formal proposal to transition into the Canadian-American Theological Association (CATA) was unanimously approved. The website, the constitution, and name of the Association were revised accordingly.

Although the word “Evangelical” no longer appears in the name of the Association (Canadian-American Theological Association it is already a mouthful), we remain fast in our evangelical identity. Just as at the beginning, CATA intends to represent a hospitable and ecumenical evangelical tradition, open to all branches of orthodox Christian faith.


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Vision and Mission

As CATA continues to grow, it plans to nourish its new identity and reach out to constituents in both Canada and the United States, aware of the new and ever present challenges that the academy and church face in the twenty-first century.

Vision

A vibrant theological community that bridges academic scholarship and church life through thoughtful, Scripture-centered dialogue.

Mission

CATA seeks to provide a forum for scholarly contributions to the renewal of theology and church in North America.

Values

Our values serve as the foundation for everything we do, guiding our mission today and our vision for tomorrow.

Our Values

  • Integration, uniting rigorous biblical and theological scholarship with personal faith and spiritual formation
  • Holistic pursuit of lived theology, uniting and enriching heart, mind, character, and actions
  • Interdisciplinary in approaching theological reflection, drawing on all scholarly disciplines to illuminate and deepen the conversation
  • Welcoming rich conversations, representing a variety of ecclesial traditions, cultural backgrounds, nationalities, and vocations within a shared commitment to the historic Christian faith
  • Wisdom in bridging and connecting the church and the academy, as we seek the renewal of theology for the life of the church in North America

Executive Committee

The following members constitute the current CATA Executive Board.

Robert Dean

Robert Dean, ThD

President

Providence University College and Theological Seminary

Rick Wadholm

Rick Wadholm, PhD

Vice President and Book Review Editor

Assemblies of God Theological Seminary

Dustin Burlet

Dustin Burlet, PhD

Secretary and Communications Officer

Millar College of the Bible

Christopher Zoccali

Christopher Zoccali, PhD

CATR General Editor

Northeastern Seminary

Josef Sykora

Josef Sykora, PhD

Rochester Conference Liaison

Northeastern Seminary

Electra Rozakis

Electra Rozakis

Website and Social Media Manager

Patrick Franklin

Dr. Patrick S. Franklin

2023-2025

Cyntha Long Westfall

Dr. Cynthia Long Westfall

2021-2023

Lee Beach

Dr. Lee Beach

2018-2021

Marion Taylor

Dr. Marion Taylor

2016-2018

August Konkel

Dr. August Konkel

2014-2016

J. Richard Middleton

Dr. Richard Middleton

2011- 2014

Jeffrey McPherson

Dr. Jeffrey McPherson

2009-2011

Tim Perry

Dr. Tim Perry

2008-2009

David Guretzki

Dr. David Guretzki

2004-2008

Hans Boersma

Dr. Hans Boersma

2003-2004

Doug Harink

Dr. Doug Harink

1998-2003

Gordon Smith

Dr. Gordon T. Smith

1996-1998

Glen Scorgie

Dr. Glen Scorgie

1994-1996

John Stackhouse

Dr. John Stackhouse, Jr.

1992-1994

John Vissers

Dr. John Vissers

1990-1992

Constitution

Rooted in the evangelical tradition and recognizing the need to provide a context in which scholars with a common commitment to the Christian faith may make scholarly contributions to the renewal of theology and the church in Canada and the USA, we agree to establish an association in accordance with the guidelines in CATA’s Constitution.