Philosophy of Religion and the Problem of Evil: Theodicy in Nigerian Christian and Muslim Thought

This study examines the problem of evil as a central challenge in the philosophy of religion, analysing how Nigerian Christian and Muslim thinkers across the South West and North West geopolitical zones have constructed theodicies that seek to reconcile the existence of a good and all-powerful God with the reality of suffering and moral evil. The problem of evil is one of the oldest and most powerful arguments against theistic belief, and its resolution has generated a rich tradition of theodical reasoning in both Western and African religious philosophy. Using a descriptive philosophical design, the study engages with classical theodicies from Augustine, Alvin Plantinga, and John Hick, alongside Islamic kalam theological responses from Al-Ghazali and contemporary Nigerian Muslim philosophers, supplemented by secondary literature published between 2020 and 2024. Structured interviews with 20 theologians, imams, pastors, and philosophy of religion academics in Ibadan and Kano inform the primary data. Findings reveal that Nigerian Christian theodicies predominantly invoke soul-making arguments, while Nigerian Muslim theodicies emphasise divine wisdom and the limitations of human knowledge as explanatory frameworks. The study argues that African communitarian philosophy offers additional resources for theodicy through its relational and ancestral conception of suffering. Keywords: problem of evil, theodicy, philosophy of religion, Nigerian theology, Islam and Christianity.