While the Auburn-Opelika community features numerous churches and other houses of worship, students rarely get the opportunity to study different religions and Christian denominations in a scholarly setting.
"The Current Religious Scene" meets three times a week and has been taught by Richard Penaskovic for the last 22 years. The main purpose of the class is to educate students about different religions and denominations, Penaskovic said.
"As people, we usually get upset when others disagree with us," Penaskovic said. "I say if you disagree with me, then you have something you can give me."
Penaskovic has been a professor of religious studies for 36 years and said his job is enjoyable. He said he enjoys not only teaching his students, but also learning from them.
"A university consists only of students," Penaskovic said. "Some of them just happen to teach."
Penaskovic said the class has always been a popular choice for students.
He said it usually fills up fast because the size of the class is limited by the number of seats available in the classroom. Otherwise, he said, he would have more than 100 students.
Jeff Skinner, senior in communications, said the class has given him a better understanding of religion. The class is part of his minor in religious studies, but he said he would still take the class regardless.
"It gives you the ability to open your mind to other people's views instead of just your own," Skinner said. "It shapes you, so you can see where other people are coming from."
Another reason Skinner said he wanted to take the class is because he is interested in learning about other religions. He said he already knows a lot about Christianity from living in the Bible Belt, and the class has taught him to be more open to different views.
"Our professor is big into having open classroom discussions," Skinner said. "It's teaching me how to have better interactions with people who have different beliefs."
Skinner's classmate Shelly Scott, senior in psychology, said this is the fourth class she has taken with Penaskovic. She said she is in the class for similar reasons, even though it is not required for her major.
"I want to get a better knowledge of people in different religions and denominations," Scott said. "I want to have a better understanding of where they're coming from and feel more comfortable talking to them."
Scott works at Auburn United Methodist Church and said the class has helped her teach the children at the church about religion. She said she has also learned more about the different denominations within Christianity and is able to talk about them in more depth.
More importantly, Scott said, the class has been beneficial for her major.
"It's kept me more of a critical thinker," Scott said. "That's important in psychology, since we have to do a lot of analysis."
Penaskovic said he wants students to walk away with a more tolerant, open-minded view toward those with an opposing set of beliefs, even if they do not agree with said beliefs.
"I believe values are caught rather than taught," Penaskovic said. "You can tell a child many things, but they learn more from watching everything you do."
Ultimately, Penaskovic wants his students to acquire wisdom and a better understanding from his class.
"Wisdom is the art at making good of what life throws at us," Penaskovic said. "Wisdom is dealing with things that come our way and managing a smile."
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