Problem_of_evil In the philosophy of religion and theology, the problem of evil is the question of whether evil exists and, if so, why. The question particularly arises in religions that propose the existence of a deity who is omnibenevolent while simultaneously also being omnipotent, and omniscient; attempts to resolve the question under these contexts has historically been one of the prime concerns of theodicy. The problem is also relevant to certain polytheistic traditions involving many gods.