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The problem of religious evil

Co-winner of the 2014 Religious Studies Postgraduate Essay Prize

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2014

DANIEL KODAJ
DANIEL KODAJ*
Affiliation:
Central European University, Department of Philosophy, 1051 Budapest, Nador u 9, Hungary e-mail: kodaj_daniel@student.ceu.hu
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Abstract

The article argues that evils perpetrated in the name of God (‘religious evils') generate a special version of the problem of evil, and a concomitant evidential argument, that cannot be solved by any of the current defences and theodicies. The article draws on historical examples to clarify the concept of religious evil, it shows that religious evil is a candidate defeater of theism, and it claims that the resulting evidential argument cannot be defused by defences and theodicies currently on offer. The last section outlines a solution.

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Type
Articles
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Religious Studies , Volume 50 , Issue 4 , December 2014 , pp. 425 - 443
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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