e public consideration of the nature of reality itself, apart from its material manifestations. The theme of the life’s work of the Dominican priest, Thomas Aquinas, made master of theology by papal dispensation in 1259, involved the existential recognition of this dichotomy of existence, esse, and essence, natur

d beyond other individuals. In the next chapter, theologian Don Browning also embraces the concept of inclusive fitness and, through the writings of Thomas Aquinas, shows how religion serves the human need for meaning and connection through the ethics they advocate, the congregations they form, the institutions