Robert Anderson, Michigan State University professor emeritus of Religious Studies, talks about his life and his career at MSU. After receiving his doctorate from Boston University in 1957, Anderson says that he came to MSU as the university's first full time Religious Studies professor. He says that there was always some opposition to teaching religion on campus and explains how the Religious Studies Department handled teaching religion while honoring the separation of church and state, used local pastors as instructors, and eventually began to include religious traditions other than Christianity and Judaism in its curriculum. He also reflects on his research interests, his love of teaching and the courses he taught, and reluctantly becoming an administrator later in his career. Anderson says that he attended seminary with Martin Luther King Jr. and later listened with delight when King spoke at MSU in 1965. Anderson is interviewed by MSU Professors David Stowe and Jon Keune, and University Development Officer Seth Martin.
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