God or god -> do you capitalize God/god?

[_bobcat_ Veteran]

It depends on the context.

It's just like the word moon. There are many moons in the universe, but the one orbiting around Earth is a proper noun and it's name is The Moon, therefore it's capitalized. The same with suns and The Sun.

Also, you would capitalize things like Big Foot, Santa, The Loch Ness Monster, etc., because they are all proper nouns. It doesn't matter if you believe in them or not.

Exactly.

I don't really believe in 'God' (well I'm on the fence, how can anyone know?) however if I am talking about the God that monotheists believe in I can stomach capitalising it because I can distinguish between talking about something "in theory" and "as though it's real". I.e I know that talking about God with a capital G does not necessarily mean that I believe in Him.

Also, refusing to capitalise it would probably be offensive to some people, and really, what's the point?

[Apollo]

who cares?

[I am Reid]

Its because God is supposedly a proper noun (ie: a specific instance of a type of object), but how can a noun be proper if it does not exist?

Yeah, and when you read a book the characters names are capitalized, and you obviously know they are not real. Its proper grammer, so quit trying to be a smart ass, becuase you're wrong.

[jokeripa]

Wheres the 'Neowinians read too much into things' option? :p

[Mx]

I say God, because that is the right spelling, I don't do it because I believe or don't believe.

[jackwanders]

capitalizing God has nothing to do with whether you believe in him/her/it, and everything to do with the fact that God is a 'being', and names are capitalized.

Huckelberry Finn is capitalized, but do any of you believe he exists? No. It's irrelevant.

god = regular noun referring to any deity

God = proper noun referring to the Christian god

[Nigriv_LV1]

Null vote

God, god - I would usually use "God", unless it isn't refering to the one of the monotheistic religions, or if i'm lazy.

[ramesees]

Exactly.

I don't really believe in 'God' (well I'm on the fence, how can anyone know?) however if I am talking about the God that monotheists believe in I can stomach capitalising it because I can distinguish between talking about something "in theory" and "as though it's real". I.e I know that talking about God with a capital G does not necessarily mean that I believe in Him.

Also, refusing to capitalise it would probably be offensive to some people, and really, what's the point?

+1

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

It's a proper noun, so surely it's capitalised. This isn't down to beliefs but grammar surely?

[snyper]

It's a proper noun, so surely it's capitalised. This isn't down to beliefs but grammar surely?

(Y)

[Nicholas-c Veteran]

"God" is just a word that means all powerful basically :p not a name its capitalised if at begining of sentence

[MrKuro]

I bet I've only written out the word God/god a handful of times in my life . . . beats me if I capitalize it or not.

Humm . . I'm going to go with . . GOD . . . all capitals, looks a little for powerful and believable that way :p

[Aud]

It's just a grammar rule. Now what's really questionable is when religious texts have this format:

God sat down at the Table to Eat his Sandwich. The Balony was dry Today.

[Rudnartim]

God is in reference to a particular god, god is just a word used to describe a divine deity

[+John. Subscriber¹]

Sometimes, it's not really a big deal to me in all honesty.

God is in reference to a particular god, god is just a word used to describe a divine deity

Spot on.

[brentaal]

god

[Mike Revenge]

I usually just capitalize "God" for the sake of satisfying everybody.

[balupton]

God is in reference to a particular god, god is just a word used to describe a divine deity

Agreed.

[Southern Patriot]

I'm a Christian, so I capitalize the word when referring to my God (as it is a proper noun), but if I am referring to the general concept of a supreme being, or when referring to the supreme beings of polytheistic religions, I do not (such as saying "the gods of the Egyptians and Romans", etc.), as they have their own names. Now, if I were to refer to one of those other gods by their name, I'd capitalize that name (such as "Ra", "Thoth", "Zeus", etc.).

[qdave]

I capitalize it when I am referring to the Christian god, otherwise no.

there is no christian god...all gods are the same (christian, jewish,muslim)

anyway i never capitalize the word god.

now things like Ra, Budha, Jupiter etc. is different :)

[Southern Patriot]

The Islamic God is also capitalized (if you want to argue if it is the same god as the Christian god, I'm doing a paper on it as we speak)

"There is no God but Allah"

The way I understand it, Muslims believe that Allah is the same as the God of Christians and Jehovah of the Jews (whose name is never supposed to be completely written out in their beliefs, only "Jhvh"). Many names, but all the same being called God.

[Ajapi]

Its a grammatical issue. Whether you believe in God or not, you need to capitalize it if you are reffering to God (as opposed to a god, like a mythical god of war). The fact that you are an atheist is absolutely irrelevant: you probably agree that Harry Potter is a fictional character, but you capitalize his name, right? It in no way implies that you believe in God's existance to capitalize his name, it just serves to differentiate between God the entity and god the noun.

[Lexcyn]

Its a grammatical issue. Whether you believe in God or not, you need to capitalize it if you are reffering to God (as opposed to a god, like a mythical god of war). The fact that you are an atheist is absolutely irrelevant: you probably agree that Harry Potter is a fictional character, but you capitalize his name, right? It in no way implies that you believe in God's existance to capitalize his name, it just serves to differentiate between God the entity and god the noun.

Indeed you are correct. God is a proper noun, which means it has to be capitalized because it's referring to a name. It doesn't matter whether or not you believe in "God", it's proper English grammar.

On the other hand, there are exceptions to this rule if you are using Gods in a plural tense. If you are just saying Gods in a sentence without mentioning specific names (ex: By the Gods!), you should capitalize it because you are using it as a proper noun (specific names aren't mentioned so you are sort of 'wrapping' up all Gods in one word). However, if you are mentioning the names in a list after saying 'gods', it doesn't have to be capitalized (ex: The gods of Roman time were Jupiter, Juno, Mars, etc).

Edit: There are so many rules in the English language. :s

Edited December 23, 2006 by Lexcyn

[Ajapi]

Indeed you are correct. God is a proper noun, which means it has to be capitalized because it's referring to a name. It doesn't matter whether or not you believe in "God", it's proper English grammar.

On the other hand, there are exceptions to this rule if you are using Gods in a plural tense. If you are just saying Gods in a sentence without mentioning specific names (ex: By the Gods!), you should capitalize it because you are using it as a proper noun (specific names aren't mentioned so you are sort of 'wrapping' up all Gods in one word). However, if you are mentioning the names in a list after saying 'gods', it doesn't have to be capitalized (ex: The gods of Roman time were Jupiter, Juno, Mars, etc).

Edit: There are so many rules in the English language. :s

Tell me about it :p English isn't my first language, but I strive to write as correctly as possible so I'm not misunderstood. If you think English has a lot of rules, though, try Spanish hehe. The amount of rules and exceptions are absolutely ridiculous. I handle them because it is my first language and I am well read, but I imagine it must be extremely difficult for foreigners to grasp some of it's finer details. In fact, I'd be willing to say I like English better than Spanish since it manages to create better balance between simplicity and eloquence. To write something in Spanish and make it sound fancy, it's not just using the proper words..you have to employ some phrase structures that are so absurdly difficult to come up with it's not even funny :laugh:

[Kreuger]

god.