Theology and Philosophy of Evil
Theology and Philosophy of Evil is a research topic within Philosophy. Science Explorer counts 13k research works in it since 1950. 16.7% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers explores the philosophical and theological problem of evil, including discussions on theodicy, divine hiddenness, skeptical theism, original sin, free will defense, divine providence, moral skepticism, evidential arguments, and human suffering.
- Problem of Evil
- Theodicy
- Divine Hiddenness
- Skeptical Theism
- Original Sin
- Free Will Defense
- Divine Providence
- Moral Skepticism
- Evidential Arguments
- Human Suffering
- Research works
- 13k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 2.2k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 16.7% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +14% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Theology and Philosophy of Evil research?
By volume, the United States and the United Kingdom publish the most (709 and 276 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 United States 709 works
- 2 United Kingdom 276 works
- 3 Germany 76 works
- 4 Poland 62 works
- 5 Canada 61 works
- 6 Italy 58 works
- 7 Australia 46 works
- 8 South Africa 39 works
- 9 Netherlands 37 works
- 10 China 32 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Theology and Philosophy of Evil research?
By volume in 2022–2025, University of Oxford publishes the most Theology and Philosophy of Evil research, followed by University of Cambridge and University of St Andrews.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 University of OxfordUnited Kingdom 43 works
- 2 University of CambridgeUnited Kingdom 25 works
- 3 University of St AndrewsUnited Kingdom 23 works
- 4 Durham UniversityUnited Kingdom 17 works
- 5 University of Notre DameUnited States 17 works
- 6 The University of Texas at AustinUnited States 15 works
- 7 Loyola University ChicagoUnited States 14 works
- 8 Baylor UniversityUnited States 14 works
- 9 University of TorontoCanada 12 works
- 10 Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamNetherlands 12 works
Who are the leading researchers in Theology and Philosophy of Evil?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Theology and Philosophy of Evil include Thomas Nagel.
- 1 Thomas Nagel Germany 1.8k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Theology and Philosophy of Evil research done?
The largest centres of Theology and Philosophy of Evil research in 2022–2025 are Oxford (United Kingdom), London (United Kingdom), Rome (Italy) and Cambridge (United Kingdom). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in St Andrews and Oxford.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
- 1 Oxford United Kingdom 49 works
- 2 London United Kingdom 35 works
- 3 Rome Italy 32 works
- 4 Cambridge United Kingdom 28 works
- 5 New York United States 23 works
- 6 St Andrews United Kingdom 23 works
- 7 Chicago United States 22 works
- 8 Toronto Canada 19 works
- 9 Austin United States 18 works
- 10 Los Angeles United States 17 works
Where it is the local speciality
- St AndrewsGB · 22.5 works57×
- OxfordGB · 48.8 works15×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Theology and Philosophy of Evil than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Theology and Philosophy of Evil?
Among universities, judged by research, University of Pretoria, University of St Andrews and University of Oxford score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of PretoriaSouth Africa | 65.3 | 52.7% | 14.1× | 11 | -16.1% |
| 2 | University of St AndrewsUnited Kingdom | 65.0 | 22.9% | 57.1× | 22 | +98.4% |
| 3 | University of OxfordUnited Kingdom | 63.3 | 13.0% | 18.9× | 43 | -23.8% |
| 4 | University of CambridgeUnited Kingdom | 62.5 | 12.1% | 12.6× | 25 | +80.0% |
| 5 | Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamNetherlands | 57.6 | 20.7% | 17.2× | 12 | +59.3% |
| 6 | University of Notre DameUnited States | 57.3 | 30.2% | 30.0× | 17 | +27.7% |
| 7 | University of HelsinkiFinland | 55.7 | 17.0% | 11.2× | 12 | +101.4% |
| 8 | University of AberdeenUnited Kingdom | 55.0 | 30.8% | 25.5× | 9 | -16.4% |
| 9 | University of BirminghamUnited Kingdom | 53.9 | 24.1% | 11.4× | 12 | -10.1% |
| 10 | Durham UniversityUnited Kingdom | 52.8 | 16.9% | 25.8× | 17 | -3.8% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Theology and Philosophy of Evil research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 14% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2021. The fastest-growing topics are Theology and Philosophy of Evil.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.