Reverential Capitalization, or God and Pronouns

An interesting thing happened to me on my way to being traditionally published. During my most recent edit, the editor changed all pronouns of God (he, him etc.) to capitals. In writing my novel, I did my due diligence and consulted several style guides to find that pronouns of God should not be capitalized.

Following the style guides did not mean I do not respect God (caps in English do not mean respect anyway). It meant I did not want the capitalization of pronouns to muddle clear communication to the largest number of readers as possible. It can be a distraction, which you don’t want. And a broader than Christian readership may think a Him or He in the middle of a sentence is there for emphasis, changing the meaning of the sentence.

Fervent Feelings

I discussed the changes the editor made with my husband and a couple of friends and found strong opinions on the subject. I unintentionally stoked the flames of a fight regarding grammar and religion. “Of course they should be capitalized,” was the initial reaction.

And then we opened the Bible.

We looked at the first translation, the King James, and found pronouns of God were not capitalized. We looked at the New International Version (the most used Bible translation), The English Standard, and The New Living translations and found no capitalized pronouns.

I use the New King James Version, and knew the pronouns were capitalized. But reading in Matthew, I found verse 16:1. It says, “ Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.” The capitalized pronouns read as though the Pharisees and Sadducees accepted Jesus as a deity, and they did not. Which to me, seemed to change the meaning of Scripture.

The Style Manuals

The Chicago Manual of Style, The Society of Biblical Literature, and Associated Press style guides, state that he, him, his, and so on shouldn’t be capitalized even when referring to God. The Christian Writers Manual of Style states: Most publishers, religious and general, use the lowercase style in large part to conform to the two most popular versions of the Bible (the best-selling NIV and the historically dominant KJV).”

I wanted to confirm most religious publishers used the lowercase style, so I dug around in my own library. I pulled out Historical Biblical Fiction and even one non-fiction book from Tyndale and Bethany House. Flipping through the pages, I found the style guides were right, they did not cap the pronouns referring to God.

Authors and publishing houses can make their own rules regarding reverential capitalization. But the large houses have chosen lowercase pronouns that refer to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. However, words that refer to God; the Lord, the Almighty, the Creator, are capitalized.

Those are the rules, but what are your thoughts on this subject?

Blessings,

KD Holmberg

K. D. Holmberg is an author, blogger, and freelance writer. She is a member of ACFW, Word Weavers International, and a founding member of the Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild. She is represented by Hartline Literary Agency. A retired flight attendant, she has traveled and lived all over the globe. She and her husband, Keith, love to golf and live in South Carolina. You can find more about her: Facebook @authorkdholmberg, twitter @kdeniseholmberg, and website kdholmberg.com