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John Hick and Candomblé: The concept of religion and the experience of evil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 November 2024

Agnaldo Cuoco Portugal Open the ORCID record for Agnaldo Cuoco Portugal [Opens in a new window]
Agnaldo Cuoco Portugal*
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil
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Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

The article takes as point of departure the influential book An Interpretation of Religion by John Hick both to understand an Afro-Brazilian religion called Candomblé and to suggest a way to define this human activity as a whole. After a description of Hick’s proposal, his ideas will be applied to Candomblé to see what kind of religion it is. From the problems raised in this classification, the article puts forward two formal refinements in Hick’s proposal, which can increase its internal coherence as well. In addition, in view of a salient feature of Candomblé, it is argued that the concept of religion should include the experience of evil as an essential element. The resulting definition is justified by its explanatory power, amplitude and fruitfulness.

Keywords

Candombléconcept of religionexperience of evilJohn Hick
Type
Original Article
Information
Religious Studies , Volume 61 , Special Issue 2: Featuring articles on Engaging Philosophically with Afro-Brazilian Religions , June 2025 , pp. 493 - 505
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press.

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