




































87 

 

A THOMISTIC INTERPRETATION OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION FOR 

NATIONAL UNITY 

                                  Victoria OpenifOluwa AKOLEOWO 

 

Abstract 
This paper contends that theological education promotes national unity when it 

recognizes the need to construct a notion of ‘the common good’ as the basis of national 

unity. It examines the human person as a rational, relational, and religious being whose 

rationality provides a common denominator with other rational beings of different 

persuasions. It also examines the notion of the common good as one associated with 

higher purposes and a virtuous life, which can only be realized in an ideal political 

community. Utilizing the analytic and synthetic methods, it draws from Thomas 

Aquinas’ Natural Law tradition to present a compatibilist notion of faith and reason as 

necessary tools for the identification of the common good, which ultimately leads to 

due order in society. Due order is maintained in a multi- religious entity where 

members of each religion are equipped with the philosophical tool of rationality which 

encourages inter-faith dialogues, thus leading to an effective management of tensions 

and conflicts and an enthronement of peaceful coexistence. 

Keywords: Common good, national unity, rationality, theological education 

 

1. Introduction 

This paper argues that theological education as distinct from theological indoctrination 

fosters national unity when it espouses the notion of a common good desired by all 

rational beings. It asserts that indoctrination is a deliberate attempt to set up a religion 

as the only valid religion, discouraging other alternative religions and encouraging the 

suppression of all other possible understanding and criticisms of the beliefs taught in 

the ‘valid’ religion. Indoctrination neglects the fact of pluralism, which is a demanding 

factor of the twenty-first century state, and in the face of which, the call for unity 

becomes an urgent and pertinent task. 

This paper therefore provides a theoretical background for a theological education 

which would foster national unity, with particular emphasis on the common ground 

shared by all rational beings. However, to proffer such a theoretical background 

imposes an initial intellectual obligation to clarify what is meant by theological 

education, national unity, common good and how theological education, through the 

recognition of the common good, can foster national unity. This paper is therefore 

divided into three sections. Section one attempts a definition of what theological 

education is; section two provides an analysis of the concept of national unity, with 

particular emphasis on its role in multicultural societies; and the third section examines 

the notion of common good, its relationship to national unity, and concludes with how 

theological education can be instrumental in achieving national unity, and ultimately, a 

peaceful and well-ordered society. 

 

2. What is Theological Education? 

As the name implies, theological education is education about theology. Education 

itself is the process of acquiring the art of utilization of knowledge (Whitehead, 1932). 

Derived etymologically from the 16th century Latin word educare, meaning to bring 



                                                                  Aquino Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 1(1), 2021 

88 

 

up, train or rear, it is also defined as “the process of receiving or giving systematic 

instruction, especially at a school or university” (Dictionary, 2018). In pre-colonial 

Africa, character formation and skill acquisition were inseparably linked. Pre-colonial 

education was geared towards the need for sharing and transmitting cultural, religious 

and moral values; and the impact of these values on the work ethics of society  

(Mosweunyane, 2013).  

Education in pre-colonial Africa was thus, value-laden and participatory. Its value-

laden and participatory features were truncated by the colonial adoption of John 

Dewey’s theory of education which proposed a scientific and humanistic approach to 

education, to the detriment of the hitherto value-laden approach. Dewey’s theory of 

education rested on the fundamental assumption of the human person as one who is 

naturally good and thus, does not need a divine being to make him/her good. To explain 

the presence of evil in the world, Dewey simply asserted that the evils in society arise 

out of the evolutionary adjustment process, and such evils can be addressed by humans 

without recourse to any divine being. How? Through the utilization of the human 

intelligence. The scientific method of research is human intelligence in praxis, and is 

best suited for resolving all social ills  (Dewey, 1998). Dewey defined education itself 

as an accumulation of experiences that stimulate both growth and the capacity for 

further growth  (Dewey, 1998).  

In an attempt to restore African education from a system which had robbed the African 

child of innovativeness, originality and creativity  (Fasokun, 1999),  Aliu Babatunde 

Fafunwa defined education as the aggregate of all the processes by which a child or 

young adult develops the abilities, attitudes and other forms of behaviour which are of 

positive value to the society in which he lives, with primary emphasis on learning 

through the use of  the mother-tongue  rather than colonial languages (Fafunwa, 1974). 

This presents a picture of education as a process through which a person learns the 

necessary tools for adding value to his/her society. Such tools are typically embedded 

in the social and cultural practices of a people; thus, education is a process of 

transmitting the culture of a people to the young members of society in a manner that 

ensures continuity and growth, and also ensures social control and rational direction of 

society. 

Having defined what education is, it is also pertinent to know what theology is. From 

its etymological roots  theo and logos, theology  is literarily translated as the science 

concerning God  (Vos, 1975), or the study of God. It is also defined as “a process of 

bringing to speech who I am as a person of faith and as a product of my historical, 

geographical, social and cultural environment” (Trokan, 2013, p. 146); and as an 

intellectual quest aimed at attaining the highest possible degree of intelligibility, charity 

and consistency in its attempt to investigate, explain and systematize the understanding 

of the religion of a people  (Nmah, 2013); among other definitions. It is distinct from 

religion, in that while religion is the belief in, and worship of a superhuman deity, with 

a primary focus on morality and God, theology is “an investigation of the nature of 

Deity, deities, and divinity; an intellectual framework for religious belief and practice; 

(and) an organized expression of the meaning of numinous or sacred experiences” 

(Kraemer, 2013).   



Akeleowo                                                         A Thomistic Interpretation of Religious … 

89 

 

Worthy of note here is the fact that theology, which is mostly practiced by Roman 

Catholic and Protestant scholars is viewed as a faith-imbued intellectual activity with 

the aim of providing justifications for the beliefs held by the theologian whose 

foundational stance is a belief in what s/he is studying  (Louth & Thielicke, 2020). 

Religious studies on the other hand is often regarded as a more comparative, systematic 

and scientific study of the different religious beliefs, institutions and cultures of the 

world due to its presentation of texts and findings in a manner that precludes religious 

scholars’ necessary acceptance/adoption of the beliefs they study. Anthony Akinwale 

explains this distinction this way 

Whereas the study of religion in most Nigerian universities 

combines the phenomenological and comparative approaches, 

theology, while not ignoring the phenomenological and 

comparative approaches, sees religion as more than a mere 

phenomenon. Whereas other approaches see religion as a mere 

phenomenon explicable by unaided human intellect, theology 

sees religion as a revealed phenomenon…theology is the 

approach of a scholar whose starting point is adherence to the 

doctrines and beliefs of the religion, and whose intent is to 

demonstrate the conceptual possibility and intellectual honesty 

in adhering to such doctrines and beliefs. (2007, p 141). 

From the above definitions, theological education can be defined simply as the 

preparation of church leaders for the current and coming generations. A more formal 

definition is that of Diememe  Noelliste, who defines it as the formation of the “people 

of God in the truth and wisdom of God for the purpose of personal renewal and 

meaningful participation in the fulfillment of the purpose of God in the Church and in 

the world”  (Noelliste, 1995, p. 299). It is a study geared towards priestly formation, 

Christian vocation and is typically structured such that the student achieves a balance 

between spiritual formation, academic excellence and personal development. It is also a 

study that is deemed vital for the transmission of Christian tradition to future 

generations; necessary for the renewal and continuity of church leadership; essential for 

authentic and contextual mission of the church in contemporary times; and necessary 

for the interaction between church and society  (Conway, 2010).  

Theological education has undergone considerable change over the years, but from the 

Christian perspective it has focused predominantly upon imparting knowledge of the 

Bible in the western model, with the beginnings of an effort been made now to discern 

God’s ways in the present world. Prior to this effort, theology was taught using what is 

referred to as the banking method  (Trokan, 2013). This method is typically assumed as 

the proper method of transmitting knowledge; the teacher is the repository of 

knowledge which s/he transfers to the student(s) in a ‘deposit’ like process. This 

process excludes the possibility of students reflecting on the deposited knowledge to 

arrive at new knowledge, as aptly captured in the Humean and Kantian theories of 

knowledge. In David Hume and Immanuel Kant’s theories of knowledge, knowledge is 

acquired through perception from the external world and such acquired knowledge is 

reflected upon to arrive at new knowledge.  



                                                                  Aquino Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 1(1), 2021 

90 

 

A closer analysis of Noelliste’s definition of theological education highlights the fact 

that theological education is education which is geared towards a particular purpose, 

which is the transformation of individuals. These individuals are transformed in their 

nature as social beings, to actualize a mission – the fulfillment of God’s purpose on 

earth. This implies that theological education should produce people who have been 

transformed from what they were, to become persons who in turn transform and 

influence their social spheres of influence. 

This in turn implies that rather than have a theological education structured as a 

continuous process of theoretical knowledge acquisition, the curriculum for theological 

education should be structured to create a proper ethos that integrates theory with 

practice. This becomes necessary in view of the fact of an increasingly connected world 

abounding with pluralism of cultures, religions, doctrines and beliefs. Using a 

pluralistic world as a backdrop, and bearing in mind that the final product of 

theological education should be individuals with the ability to affect their world, 

theological education needs to encourage critical reflection in order for proper and 

informed relations to contemporary issues facing the local and wider church settings. 

Collaboration among seminaries and theological schools is a feature of the world we 

live in now, but while collaboration among people of the same faith is premised on the 

similarities between beliefs and doctrines, interreligious dialogue suffers from a lack of 

common ground in the sense of similarity of faiths/beliefs. 

 

3. National Unity 

National unity is defined in various ways, and the first definition typically proffered in 

conversational situations presents national unity as a form of government composed by 

a coalition of political parties. While this definition follows the line of argument made 

in this work on the notion of peaceful co-existence, it does not explicate the concept of 

national unity itself. As a political/philosophical concept, nation unity has numerous 

definitions. An acceptable definition is that it is a situation where members/citizens of a 

country possess a mutual understanding of what makes them one country, and act in 

ways that encourage, prolong and sustain such ‘oneness’. This does not in any way 

imply that such citizens act in uniformity or homogeneity; rather, it advocates that 

multicultural societies can achieve peaceful co-existence where each nationality 

recognizes diversity, and acts to minimize sectional practices which are disruptive to 

such co-existence (Etzioni, 2002). 

It must be noted that the concept of national unity is often denounced in its 

conceptualization as a utopian ideal. In this sense it is romanticized as the sole 

determinant of peaceful co-existence in multicultural societies. While this view can be 

acknowledged as one that places too much emphasis on the importance of national 

unity, it must be noted that national unity is indeed an important and necessary 

condition for societal peace where national unity is underpinned by racial and religious 

tolerance (Etzioni, 2002). Unity makes it possible for the citizens of a nation to act as a 

cohesive whole, mostly through their representatives, allowing them to achieve set 

goals as a nation, rather than as component individuals. However, national unity is 

possible only where there is an underpinning feature of a common identity shared by all 

citizens of a nation, and can only be fostered by having a common goal. 



Akeleowo                                                         A Thomistic Interpretation of Religious … 

91 

 

An example of a multicultural country which rose from ‘humble beginnings’ to an 

enviable success story through its citizenry’s pursuit of a common goal is Singapore. 

Singapore rose from a third world status to an enviable position in the committee of 

nations, an achievement which has been credited majorly to the unity of its citizens. 

Some fifty years ago, Singapore had no natural resources and was tagged one of the 

developing nations of the world. Now, it is touted as a fully developed nation, with a 

high standard of living; an achievement credited to the unified pursuit of a better life by 

its diverse citizenry  (Keong, 2013).  Nigeria is also an example of a multicultural 

country. However, Nigerians have not been able to articulate a common good to which 

all Nigerians aspire towards, and this has resulted into a high level of intolerance 

towards members of other nationalities, ideologies, religions, beliefs and doctrines. Of 

particular importance to this work is the plurality of religions in the country. Comprised 

of citizens belonging to three main religions, namely Christianity, Islam, and traditional 

African religions, Nigeria has been particularly bedeviled by religious intolerance, and 

although it is often referred to as a secular state, it is more accurate to describe the 

country as a multi-religious society, judging by the overarching influence of religion in 

all aspects of our national life.  

In Nigeria, devotion to the teachings of Islam and Christianity on the part of their 

respective adherents without a requisite acknowledgement of the inherent humanity of 

the ‘Other’ has resulted into an unprecedented level of religious intolerance. Religious 

intolerance or fanaticism is the inability of an adherent of a particular religion to 

acknowledge, accommodate and accept the right of others to live by another faith 

different from his own. Invariably, such an attitude is connected to the conviction that 

one’s religion is the only divinely ordained path to spiritual enlightenment and 

immortality in heaven. Consequently, a religious fanatic believes strongly that his 

religion is unquestionably superior to other religions, and those who belong to other 

faiths must be converted. An extreme form of this belief is practiced by some Islamic 

sects who believe that in the absence of the possibility of conversion, non-adherents 

must be killed.  

 

3.1. Theological Education for National Unity 

In the Nigerian context, the theologian is faced with problems stemming from cultural, 

religious and ethnic differences. The contemporary Nigerian nation pays lip service to 

the idea of a ‘Nigerian essence’, and identification is done on the basis of ethnic and 

religious affiliations. This has resulted into a divided society, one where each religion 

or ethnic group views itself as primary over others, and searches for ways/ methods of 

asserting primacy over others. This does not paint the picture of a society of people 

living in peace and harmony, and the terrorist attacks by Boko Haram insurgents can be 

seen as a result of having the mind-set that one’s religion is the ‘One’. It has therefore 

become imperative to restructure theological education in order to address the concerns 

of national unity. This restructuring must be one where the final products of a 

theological education operate on the foundation of the facts that  

1. All humans possess dignity, and  

2. The continuous existence of a collective of people is inherently dependent on 

their mutual recognition and pursuit of (a) common good(s). 



                                                                  Aquino Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 1(1), 2021 

92 

 

 

4. The Common Good 

As a socio-political concept, the common good is best defined as what is in the public 

interest. It denotes those goods/activities that serve all members of a given community 

and its institutions, and, as such, includes both goods that serve no identifiable 

particular group, as well as those that serve members of generations not yet born 

(Etzioni, 2015). As a normative concept with a long and contested history, there is no 

universal agreement on what it entails, how it should be balanced against individual 

goods, and if and by whom it should be enforced. Having deep religious and political 

roots, it is a concept which rarely receives adequate attention in contemporary socio-

political discuss. This paper therefore attempts to highlight the principal lines of 

Thomas Aquinas’ thought on the nature and constitution of the common good, with 

particular emphasis on why this concept is a necessary foundational concept for 

teachers and students of theological education, with the ultimate aim of revitalizing 

interest in this concept. 

 

4.1 Thomas Aquinas and the Common Good 

Thomas Aquinas relied heavily on Aristotle for his notion of common good. In the 

Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle defines the good as that which all things desire. 

Everything has a nature, which is a form to which it must conform. Everything also has 

an end, and the end of a thing lies in the fulfillment of its nature (Aristotle, 1941). For 

plants and inanimate objects, the inclination to achieve perfection is motivated by 

internal principles/features/properties which lead them from one state of existence to 

another in a predictable manner. In humans and other animals, the inclination towards 

perfection is motivated by knowledge and love. Knowledge is derived from 

experiencing the world, and such knowledge consists of the determination of things that 

are beneficial or harmful to them. Once acquired, knowledge enables animals to 

discover their position/niche in the world, and operate within this position/niche as an 

established being. 

If the good is that which all desire, happiness is that which is sought by all. Everything 

is done to achieve happiness, and for humans, happiness is the final end. This is where 

Aquinas builds up Aristotle’s position to arrive at the fact of the common good. For 

Aquinas, social groups are ordered by law. While laws might be coercive, they are 

primarily accessed through reason which dictates that humans share a common goal – 

human flourishing. Using this as a fulcrum, Aquinas identifies three (3) inclinations 

that are possessed by human namely: an inclination towards existence in a manner 

suitable to his/her nature (which is shared by all other things); an inclination to live as 

members of the animal kingdom which encompasses identification of one’s 

position/niche, fulfillment of natural biological ‘obligations’ including propagation of 

the species (which is shared by other animals); and lastly, an inclination to live in 

society (which is the human beings’ natural habitat, as rational and political animals, 

and within which humans can attain well-being) and a desire to attain perfection 

(Aquinas, 1947).  

This final inclination is peculiar to humans because of the social aspect of their nature 

which dictates society as humans’ natural habitat. This implies that humans cannot 

exist outside society. This position is justified by the fact that it is impossible to 

conceive of a human baby surviving and growing up outside of a community of people 



Akeleowo                                                         A Thomistic Interpretation of Religious … 

93 

 

to take care of its needs. If humans cannot exist outside of society, it then becomes 

necessary that society itself must be one that is conducive enough for humans to 

achieve their ends. Society is intrinsically necessary to man, and following from 

Aquinas’ position that all things are ordered towards their ends, it follows that society 

also has its own end to which it is ordered. This end, for society, is the ‘common good’. 

In the sense that society is ordered towards a particular end, and humans cannot live 

outside of society, the common good becomes the supreme human good, differing 

qualitatively from the particular goods of individual members of the society, although 

directed toward the same end: attaining the knowledge of God through virtuous living. 

According to Aristotle, the common good consists of actions performed for the mutual 

advantage of all citizens of any particular society. The sole purpose of humans living in 

society is to ensure that they attain their ends. Extrapolating from this, Aquinas argues 

that the notion of the common good implies a mutually shared concept among members 

of society. While he asserts that this concept is found in the knowledge of God, this 

paper argues that it is also found in the notion of a peaceful and well-ordered society.  

 

4.2 The Common Good as Knowledge of God/ Well-ordered Society 

Aquinas affirms that God loves all human beings, and that all human beings desire one 

thing – the knowledge of God. To know God is to love Him, and thus, anyone who 

claims to love God must also love those God loves. This is further buttressed by the 

fact that a human being is a social being who should help others of his/her kind to 

achieve/attain their ends with the hope/belief that these others would reciprocate when 

s/he is also in need of help. Consequently, humans ought to live in mutual love, which 

is often manifested where people help out strangers with no hope of reciprocity. 

Thus, the pursuit of the knowledge of God requires participation in public life. Since 

the human being’s particular good is interwoven with society’s common good, it 

follows that all actions which are inimical to attaining the knowledge of God are 

actions which are contrary to the common good, while actions which encourage the 

actualization of the common good are in the interest of all. Public, peaceful 

participation in societal life encourages the actualization of the common good where 

such participation is done with due order and proportionality. 

 

4.3 Rationality and the Common Good 

The human being is a rational animal whose rationality enables him/her to participate in 

the eternal laws. This participation imbues in humans certain natural basic propositions, 

better known as natural laws. Natural laws are known through the application of reason, 

but humans derive variations of laws from natural laws which are applied to existential 

issues of social life. However, given that all laws have their causes/source in the eternal 

laws created by God; it is not out of place to conclude that all laws are naturally 

directed towards achieving the common good.  Aquinas categorically asserts this 

conclusion by stating that the purpose of law is to promote the common good. Since the 

natural law is nothing more than human participation in the eternal law, and reason is 

the principal tool of this participation, when a human being acts in accordance with 

reason, s/he acts in accordance with virtue. 

Humans exist within the context of social structures. The social nature of humans is an 

integral dimension and society is germane to the achievement of human happiness, as 



                                                                  Aquino Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 1(1), 2021 

94 

 

such happiness can only be attained within the societal framework. Thus, society, being 

the human’s being’s natural habitat, is the only habitat within which human being can 

find self-realization. In society, humans apply their rational and social aspects to 

achieve a domain necessary for human survival. This domain is regulated and 

preserved through transmission of experiences and discoveries over ceding generations. 

This becomes the culture through which society is sustained, and in which moral norms 

are delineated to ensure preservation. 

The human person is characterized by rationality, relationality and religiousity 

(Akinwale, 2017). Rationality enables the human being to subordinate her/his 

appetitive and emotional aspects. This is necessary for the human being’s attainment of 

both particular individual good and the common good. The Hobbesian transition to 

civil society aptly showcases this ability to utilize rationality as a tool for the 

achievement of both individual and common goods. The Hobbesian state of nature was 

populated by humans who exhibited egoistic tendencies in the pursuit of their personal 

goods. This egoistic pursuit was dictated by their emotions and appetites, and 

ultimately led to a state of anarchy, where each human rose up against the next human. 

Eventually they came to the realization that if the prevailing chaotic state were to 

continue, it would not encourage human flourishing. Recourse was then made to the 

rational aspect of the human nature which dictates that the continuous survival of the 

human race can only be achieved where there is peaceful co-existence.  

Prior to Hobbes, Aquinas’ natural law theory argued that humans possess the capacity 

to know the right way to live in society. This knowledge is attained through the human 

rational nature. Underpinning Aquinas’ theory is the notion of the ‘common good’ 

which is shared by all humans by virtue of their rationality. Rationality imbues one 

with an appreciation of the fact that being human accords one a certain level of dignity. 

This dignity is to be respected and protected in all measures. Thus, implied in the 

notion of the common good is the recognition of the dignity of the human person, an 

inherent dignity that must be respected in the pursuit of person 

 

4.4 Theological Education and the Common Good 

The Nigerian nation is currently plagued by indices of underdevelopment, including 

poverty, institutional corruption, ignorance and differing shades of neo-colonialism. 

Multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious contexts make it difficult for a wide 

acceptance of theories that aid development. The Church has tried to contribute its own 

quota through theological educational as seen in the establishment of schools, institutes 

and centers for lay studies and seminaries. However, it must be noted that inter-

religious dialogue is only possible through rationality and recognition of a mutual 

common good. As Akinwale notes “peoples of divergent religious and political 

affiliations can (only) enter into dialogue or a common ground located on the 

intellectual faculty that is our common possession” (Akinwale, 2017, p. 133). 

Theological education should place more emphasis on interfaith encounters which 

would result in mutual action towards the achievement of the common good. 

Interfaith/Interreligious dialogue however implies knowledge of other religious 

traditions, an example being the Catholic theological tradition which teaches courses in 

Islamic religious knowledge. We must also note that the basic fundamental to being a 

Christian is the ‘mission’ which theological education is meant to prepare for. 



Akeleowo                                                         A Thomistic Interpretation of Religious … 

95 

 

Theological education must thus prepare for mission praxis leading to an orientation 

towards the world to whom God has sent Christians. All subjects should be studied not 

in abstract theory, but with full awareness of the practical implications of topics 

studied, particularly with regards to the mission of evangelizing. 

Theological education itself is renewed by learning new ideas generated by missionary 

praxis in the world. The church is called to work in the world, and understanding the 

world demands that theological education be interdisciplinary in nature. This would 

ensure a working knowledge of the world in which the mission takes place. 

 

 

5. Conclusion 

While there is no formula for what it takes to train a successful and faithful minister of 

the Church, it is possible for products of theological training to achieve a level of 

success as people of God. This would obtain where theological education has moved 

beyond intellectual theorizing to instilling in students a deeper personal ‘appropriation’ 

of their faith. This would in turn result into a love for the truth, which the Christian 

faith teaches is – ‘God is Love’, not only in abstract terms, but also in the 

demonstration of this truth. Products of such training would be persons who recognize 

that members of other faiths living alongside deserve no less mutual awareness and 

respect as other Christians. They would also know that all members of society, 

irrespective of their religious or ethnic affiliations are equally able to comprehend the 

necessity of working together to achieve a peaceful and well-ordered society. This, in 

essence, is the common good which this paper preaches.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



                                                                  Aquino Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 1(1), 2021 

96 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References 
Akinwale, Anthony. (2007). The place of theology in the university curriculum. In J. 

Kenny, (Ed.), The idea of an African university:Nigerian philosophical studies, 

II (141-160). The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy. 

Akinwale, A. (2017). Religion and politics in contemporary Nigeria. African Journal of 

Politics and Society, 2, 133-150. 

Aquinas, T. (1947). Summa theologiae. (F. O. Province, Trans.). New York: Benziger 

Brothers. 

Aristotle. (1941). The basic works of Aristotle. (R. McKeon, Ed., & G. R. Mure, 

Trans.). New York: Random House. 

Conway, M. (2010). Key issues for theological education in the 21st century. In D. 

Werner, D. Esterline, N. Kang, & J. Raja (Eds.), Handbook of theological 

education (pp. 23-29). Oxford: Regnum Books International. 

Dewey, J. (1998). The essential Dewey. (L. A. Hickman, & T. M. Alexander, Eds.) 

Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. 

Etzioni, A. (2002). Diversity within unity: a communitarian approach to immigration 

policy. Migration World Magazine, 30(1-2), 14-19. 

Etzioni, A. (2015). Common good. In M. T. Gibbons, (Ed.) The encyclopedia of 

political thought, First Edition, 1-7. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Blackwell Publishing. 

Fafunwa, A. B. (1974). History of education in Nigeria. London: Allen & Unwin. 

Fasokun, T. O. (1999). Fafunwa, Aliu Babatunde (1923-). Performance Magazine. 

Retrieved from https://www.performancemagazine.org/thinkers-on-

education/fafunwa-aliu-babtunde-1923/ 

Keong, C. S. (2013, March). Multiculturalism in Singapore - the way to a harmonious 

society. Singapore Academy of Law Journal, 25(1), 84-109. 

Kraemer, C. (2013, January 3). Theology is not religious studies (Blog post). Retrieved 

from http://www.patheos.com/blogs/sermonsfromthemound/2013/01/theology-

is-not-religious-studies/?repeat=w3tc 

Louth, A., & Thielicke, H. (2020, September 13). Theology. Encyclopedia Britannica. 

Retrieved from htpps://www.britannica.com/topic/theology 

Mosweunyane, D. (2013). The African educational evolution: from traditional training 

to formal education. Higher Educational Studies, 3(4), 50-59. 

Nmah, P. E. (2013). Theological education and character formation in Nigerian 

christianity: a reflection. African Research Review, 7(28), 34-46. 



Akeleowo                                                         A Thomistic Interpretation of Religious … 

97 

 

Noelliste, D. (1995). Towards a theology of theological education. Evangelical Review 

of Theology, 19(3), 299-307. 

Oxford English Dictionary, O. (2018, January 11). Education. In Oxford English 

Dictionary. Retrieved January 11, 2018, from 

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/education 

Trokan, J. (2013). Models of theological reflection: theory and praxis. Catholic 

Education: A Journal of Inquiry, 1(1), 144-158. 

Vos, G. (1975). Biblical theology old and new testaments. London: Banner of Truth 

Trust. 

Whitehead, A. (1932). The aims of education. London: Ernest Benn. 

 


