Lawrence S Pedregosa

KU Leuven, Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, Alumnus

University Of Santo Tomas, Faculty of Arts and Letters, Alumnus

De La Salle University, College of Liberal Arts, Alumnus

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Lawrence Santiago Pedregosa is an academic member of the Initiative for the Study of Asian Catholics (ISAC) based in Singapore and an editorial board member of MST Review.

He holds the degrees of Doctor of Theology (Ph.D.) and Sacrae Theologiae Doctor (S.T.D.) - summa cum laude with congratulations from the examinations committee - from KU Leuven. He also acquired the degrees of Sacrae Theologiae Licentiatus, Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus (magna cum laude), and M.A. Advanced Studies in Theology and Religion (magna cum laude) from the same university. Before his studies at KU Leuven, he taught as an Asst. Professorial Lecturer at De La Salle University, Manila. He also received his degrees in M.A. Applied Theology from De La Salle University, Manila and A.B. Political Science from University of Santo Tomas, Manila.

His research interests are ethics, metaphysics, political philosophy, critical theory, liberation theology, migration theology, and postcolonial theology.
Supervisors: Johan Verstraeten and Ferdinand Dagmang

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7 Journal Articles
4 Theses and Dissertation
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Journal Articles by Lawrence S Pedregosa

"Traces of Secularization in Philippine Catholic Church History: A Postcolonial Genealogy of Nationalist, Political, and Sexual Ethical Struggles," Analecta Bruxellensia 26, no. 2 (2024).

Analecta Bruxellensia, 2024

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"The Heterotopic Ground of the Bayani Tradition as Embodied by the Multitude of Overseas Filipino Workers," Hapag 21, no 2 (2024): 103-131.

Hapág A Journal of Interdisciplinary Theological Research, 2024

This interdisciplinary theological article provides a meta-ethical critique of the practical para... more This interdisciplinary theological article provides a meta-ethical critique of the practical paradoxes manifested in the bayani tradition as embodied by Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). OFWs have been recognized by the Philippine government as mga bagong bayani (new/modern-day patriots/heroes) for their contribution to nation-building through remittances and their immeasurable sacrifices brought by physical separation from their families. Despite the economic gains of OFWs, labor migration also has its social costs, which are symptoms of deeper socialstructural causes. Politically, despite their acculturation in modern and higher-developed countries, it is observable that OFWs as overseas voters still adhere to traditional Filipino political culture based on ethnolinguistic regionalism and indifference to liberal democratic values. Against this background, the article argues that while OFWs' contribution to nationbuilding is part of the Filipino multitude's engagement in modernity, their adherence to the bayani tradition as seen in traditional Filipino politics however causes their critical disentanglements to realize this modern project. Employing Antonio Negri's multitude and Michel Foucault's heterotopia as key concepts for doing a meta-ethical critique, the paper analyzes this political ontological 'grounding' that causes the practical paradoxes of the bayani tradition.

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"The State's Belligerent Reason for Existence: A Recurring Challenge to Pacem in Terris's Theopolitical Ethical Vision," Asian Horizons 17, no. 3 (2023): 373-386.

Asian Horizons, 2023

This theological ethical article reflects on the state's belligerent reason for existence as a re... more This theological ethical article reflects on the state's belligerent reason for existence as a recurring challenge to Pacem in Terris's vision. Rooted in natural law, Pope John XXIII's social encyclical was groundbreaking for its universal appeal for world peace among states. Political theorists, however, see that the state is organized through wars and the monopolization of legitimate violence to enforce laws, secure order, and achieve peace. In this regard, Pacem in Terris responds to the state's violent tendencies through the ethical principles of subsidiarity and universal human family. The practical limitations of smaller social bodies or the United Nations Organization as world authority nonetheless necessitate the continuing reliance on the state, despite its coercive practices, to realize the universal common good. Given this paradox, the article argues that Pope Francis's ecclesial images of the Church as 'mother to all', 'field hospital', and 'polyhedron' offer insights to re-imagine the state as a social body based on the commons by unearthing its theopolitical ethical foundations in pursuance of peace.

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"A Theological Ethical Critique of Political Dynasties: A Sociobiological and Evolutionary Perspective," Maryhill School of Theology Review 24, no. 1 (2022): 37-82.

Maryhill School of Theology Review, 2022

This article provides a theological ethical critique of political dynasties from a sociobiologica... more This article provides a theological ethical critique of political dynasties from a sociobiological and evolutionary perspective. Using Philippine politics as context, these biological theories are utilized to provide parallels by analyzing the strategies of political families to secure power that are akin to the social behavior of animals based on survival instincts. Not reducing the argument to mere biological determinism, these theories elucidate how the oligarchic political behavior of elites rooted in the limited view of kinship altruism is ethically problematic in contemporary societies that aspire for the realization of democracy especially when it is already habituated as political culture. When viewed from the theological ethical perspective, issues arising from the concentration of power, wealth, and influence among political clans resulting in social injustice, corruption, and weakening of democratic institutions are thus considered structurally and socially sinful. In this regard, the essay criticizes the limitation of politics primarily based on the narrow view of kinship ties for consolidating a democratic society founded on the principles of the rule of law, equality, and the common good.

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Maryhill School of Theology Review, 2019

The article conceptualizes a popular-theological anthropology of bayani (hero/patriot) in the con... more The article conceptualizes a popular-theological anthropology of bayani (hero/patriot) in the context of Overseas Filipino Workers’ (OFWs) sacrifices and difficulties abroad. It shows the parallelism between Filipino popular religiosity (e.g. Hesus Nazareno and Santo Entierro) based on the pasyon narrative and the Filipino labor migrant experiences of their vulnerabilities brought by practical paradoxes to give love to their left-behind families in the Philippines. Their expressions of love and sacrifice is akin to a bayani who also performs sacrifices and honorable deeds to promote the welfare of the community, both in the local and national sense. It also shows how the Messianic tradition which Jesus of Nazareth embodied is culturally expressed in the Filipino bayani tradition. In other words, OFWs, who are recognized as mga bagong bayani (new or modern-day heroes/patriots) through their love as sacrifice, express the Messianic tradition embodied by Jesus of Nazareth.

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“Theoretical Presuppositions in Doing a Postcolonial Theology,” Justitia 16 (2011): 19-49.

Justitia , 2011

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“A Case of [Mis]Representation of the Marginalized: The Challenge of Postmodernity to the Catholic Social Teaching of Preferential Option for the Poor,” Justitia 14 (2009): 24-43.

Justitia, 2009

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