When NIU sophomore Brett Jacobson saw a documentary about a book club that discussed religion, he decided to initiate a religious discussion group on campus.

Jacobson, a psychology major, said he wants to invite all students and faculty of any faith to have an informal discussion about various religious issues. The idea came from watching a documentary on a woman’s book club where women of three major faiths, Judaism, Islam and Christianity, discussed various religious books, he said.

“They would talk about the similarities and differences between the religions, and said they became closer because of it,” Jacobson said. “I figured that would be a perfect thing to do at a college because college is about expanding your views and opening yourself up to new ideas.”

Matt Wier, a sophomore journalism major said he is interested in the discussion group because it will be an opportunity for people to hear about the love of God and it will remove a lot of misconceptions about people of different faiths.

“It is an opportunity for me to share the truth I have come to learn-the good news of Jesus Christ and his life, death and resurrection-and the way that has changed my life,” Wier said.

Jacobson, an agnostic, said he would like to start with a discussion regarding broad religious topics, such as “How do we know there is a God?” and if there is, “What is He like?”

Another possible topic of discussion is “Do people need to have a faith to hold public office?”

He also said he encourages people to bring their questions for discussion. “My goal for this is to spread understanding and tolerance of people,” he said.