Faith in Baton Rouge as varied as its culture

• Advocate staff report
• Published: Jun 14, 2009

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From storefront chapels to mega churches, Baton Rouge houses of worship come in many styles. And in the city of the Rev. Jimmy Swaggart, faith comes in many varieties.

Interfaith cooperation

The leading ecumenical group is the Interfaith Federation of Greater Baton Rouge, 3112 Convention St. This federation brings together different congregations for service projects and community dialogue. For information, call (225) 267-5600.

Catholicism

Catholicism runs through the fabric of the state’s history, which is deeply rooted in French and Spanish influences and remains one of the largest religious influences in the state today. The Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge is housed at the Catholic Life Center on Acadian Thruway. The Baton Rouge diocese covers 11 civil parishes. For information about schools and religious parishes in the Diocese of Baton Rouge, visit the Web site at http://www.diobr.org.

People from varying denominations participate in a Stations of the Cross walk on Good Friday each year. The walk is sponsored by St. Joseph Cathedral and Catholic Community Services.

Downtown churches

For a sampling of the diversity in the city’s Christian population, as well as the community’s religious history, visit downtown. St. Joseph Cathedral, First United Methodist, First Presbyterian, St. James Episcopal, Mount Zion First Baptist and First Baptist churches are all downtown, where they cooperate on mission endeavors and join in an annual Christian carol pilgrimage featuring most of the congregations and their choirs.

Big congregations

Some of the area’s larger churches include Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, Bethany World Prayer Center, The Healing Place Church and Istrouma Baptist Church.

Jewish synagogues

Though the Baton Rouge Jewish populations is relatively small, it supports two vibrant reform synagogues: Congregation B’nai Israel, 3354 Kleinert Ave., (225) 343-0111; and Beth Shalom, 9111 Jefferson Highway, (225) 924-6773.

Islamic life