Should God Be Capitalized or not is a question which has been asked by millions of theists all around the world from times immemorial. One of the most common questions people ask about religious words is whether to capitalize the word “god.”
People who do not believe in god have frequently spelled with a lowercase g while the people who believe in god, who belong to the various religious like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam use the word, God.
Meaning of God with lower g
The term God can be written with both a capital letter and a non-capital letter.
For the people who believe in God the issue can become a very painful point because they are very particular about the fact that if they do not refer God in the capital letter form then it becomes grammatically incorrect to spell the particular word.
This further leaves them to wonder if the people who do not believe in god are simply ignorant about the laws of grammar.
These people also believe that the people who do not believe in god are deliberately trying to insult and hurt the feelings and beliefs related to any religion or God in particular.
One should always keep in mind that what are the factors which could motivate a person to misspell such a simple word which is used very frequently by everyone all around the world.
It is not the fact that they like to break the laws of grammar but it is believed that some people do this particular thing because of the psychological factors.
It is considered to be a Juvenile crime for using the incorrect spelling for God to insult the people who believe in God.
It should be kept in the mind by the people who believe in God that a person who does not believe in God will have very little respect in his or her mind for God and also for the people who believe in God.
It is not always true that the people who do not believe in god deliberately try to hurt the feelings of the people who believe in God but can also do it when they are in a state of hurry or unknowingly writing it with a small letter.
When Not to Capitalize God?
One should always be clear about the fact that should God be capitalized or not. For understanding why, a person needs to capitalize on the term god or not we need to observe the fact that the Christians don’t capitalize.
They write about the gods and goddesses with the lowercase letter g.
The same evidence can also be found in various ancient Greek and Roman books. It is not an attempt for insulting or denigrating those people who believe in God. It is also considered to be grammatically correct to use a lowercase letter and write gods and goddesses.
The reason behind this is that in such cases we are always talking about the members of a General class or category and specifically those people who are members of a group which has got the label of gods.
Because the people belonging to that particular group at one time or another have worshipped its members in the form of gods.
Any particular time we are referring to the fact that some people are alleged to be a member of this particular class then it is grammatically appropriate for using lowercase letters.
But inappropriate using an uppercase letter as it will be inappropriate to write about Apples and Cats.
The same particular thing holds if a person is writing very generally about the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or Sikh religion and beliefs.
It is considered to be appropriate saying that the Christians believe in a god, the Jewish people believe in a single god, the Muslims pray every Friday to their god and all the people of the Sikh religion worship their god.
There is absolutely no reason behind this particular lowercase word being wrong or to be termed grammatically wrong.
When to Capitalize on God?
When to capitalize on the word God is also a very important term and the factor which all the people around the world should consider before referring God.
If the people are referring to the specific concept of God that is worshipped by a group, then it may be correct and appropriate for using the capitalization of the word God.
We can easily conclude the fact that the Christians are supposed to follow what their god has told them to do and we can also say that the Christians are supposed to follow what God wants them to do.
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Either of the spelling will work but we normally capitalized the word God in the latter sentence because we are essentially using it as a proper name like we are talking about Mercury, Apollo, or Odin.
The confusion between the spelling of this particular word is caused by the fact that all the Christians around the world do not assign any personal name to their God. Some use the word Yahweh while others use Jehovah.
But both these cases are pretty rare. The name which they normally used happens to be the same as a general term for the class that it belongs to.
It is not like a person who has named their pet animal like their cat, Cat. If such a situation arises then there could be a lot of confusion at the time when the word should be capitalized and when it should not be capitalized.
The rules are pretty clear but their application might not be clear among the people.
Christians all around the world are accustomed to using the capital form of the word God because they always reference it in a personal manner. They use “God has spoken to me” and do not say that “my god has spoken to me”.
So, all these people who are monotheists might be taken back at the finding of the people who don’t privilege their particular God concept and so reference it in a general manner so that they can treat every God in the same manner.
It is very important to remember this particular fact so that they do not insult any other people who are religious or non-religious.
Conclusion
Should God be capitalized or not is a topic which is discussed by millions of people all around the world. People have different beliefs and emotions attached to the capitalization of the letter G when they are talking or writing about god.
One should understand the fact that the capitalization of the letter g when talking or spelling the word god does not make any significant difference and also does not hurt the feelings of any religion or individual.
Both the spellings are considered to be correct and can be used alternatively according to the will and the mid of the devotee of the god.
People Also Ask (FAQs)
When can we use capital G when spelling God?
The capital G can be used at any time when one is spelling God. There is no such rule present. But, majority of the theists like to use the capital letter pronunciation while they are referring to God for giving extra honour and respect to God.
Is there any difference in the pronunciation of God and god?
No, there is no difference between the pronunciation of the word god and God. It is just the feelings and beliefs behind the word which makes the meaning and respect different from each other.