Luke Arredondo

HOMETOWN: Vicskburg, MS

PhD in Religious Ethics

Legacy Fellowship

I began my undergraduate career at FSU in 2002, as a music major.  After a few years I transferred to a small Benedictine seminary and was considering the priesthood.  Eventually I decided to pursue marriage instead, but in the meantime I earned a BA in P

I am very interested in the development of Catholic sexual ethics, both with regard to the history and contemporary debates.  One of my major interests in this area is the debates surrounding Humanae Vitae and the response of John Paul II to the sexual revolution of the 1960s. 

I also am interested in the wide range of interpretations given to the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas within a religious studies context, and also in ecclesial documents of the Catholic Church.

In 2016 I was asked by a friend and scholar in the UK to co-author a short book on the Fatima Prayer in advance of the 100th anniversary of a series of Marian apparitions in Portugal in 1917.  Writing a book was a super fun experience.  Especially since it's early early in my career, it was a real honor to be asked to do so.

Being a member of the Fellows Society has given me a number of opportunities to interact with other graduate students in the university, almost all of whom are outside of my department.  The research lunches are one of the best ways for me to get a sense of what kinds of questions other disciplines ask, what sort of methods they use, and the startling realization that we all share some of the same obstacles.  In addition, just having a chance to talk with other high-performing students has helped me to realize that even fellowship winners struggle sometimes to keep up with the demand of graduate studies, and that it's okay to be human.  In graduate school at an institution like FSU, it's good to be reminded that we need realistic expectations for ourselves.  The Fellows Society helps me remember that and also challenges me to do my best.