Luke Bretherton is Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at Oxford University. Before Oxford he was Robert E. Cushman Distinguished Professor of Moral and Political Theology and Senior Fellow of the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University (2012-2024). Prior to Duke, he was Reader in Theology and Politics at King’s College London (2004-2012).
Luke’s latest book is A Primer in Christian Ethics: Christ and the Struggle to Live Well (2023). His other books include Christ and the Common Life: Political Theology and the Case for Democracy (2019); Resurrecting Democracy (2015), which was based on a four-year ethnographic study of community organizing initiatives in London and elsewhere; Christianity & Contemporary Politics (2010), winner of the 2013 Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing; and Hospitality as Holiness (2006), which develops a constructive response to pluralism. Alongside his scholarly work, he writes in the media (including The Guardian, The Times, and The Washington Post) on topics related to religion and politics, has worked with a variety of faith-based NGOs and churches around the world, and is actively involved in forms of grassroots democratic politics, both in the UK and the US. He has received a number of grants and awards, including a Henry Luce III Fellowship (2017-18).