I have wanted to write this article for a long while. It is regarding an issue that gives me fits on an almost-daily basis! I can imagine that there are others that would be happy to join my club! The issue is regarding the capitalization of “religious” words. Whether it is regarding the capitalization of the pronouns used for any persons of the Trinity, the word “bible, or the names of sacraments, among other things, you will find a great deal of disparity between publications, and I don’t expect to end anytime soon!
Let’s start by talking about the sacraments and giving an example. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, sections #1423 and 1424, you’ll read about the names used for the sacrament most commonly called “Reconciliation” or confession: “It is called the sacrament of conversion… it is called the sacrament of Penance… it is called the sacrament of confession… it is called the sacrament of forgiveness… it is called the sacrament of Reconciliation…” Do you notice the discrepancy? One of our “Catechism in a Year” participants did and asked why “Penance” and “Reconciliation” were capitalized, and the other “names” were not. To answer, I relied on my rule of thumb: “When they are using a word to refer to a sacrament itself, it is almost always capitalized. I say ‘almost always’ because it differs based on source/publisher. ‘Penance’ and ‘Reconciliation’ are being used as the (official) name for the sacrament.” I had to qualify my answer because, while the Catechism capitalized those words, read this from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee: “Catholics and Orthodox recognize seven sacraments. The word sacrament is lowercase. Capitalize only Eucharist, lowercase all other sacraments: baptism, confirmation, penance (or reconciliation), matrimony, holy orders, the sacrament of anointing of the sick (formerly extreme unction).” The Archdiocese of St. Louis says, “Lowercase (is used) unless used in the Sacrament of Penance for the formal name of the sacrament,” but the Archdiocese of Boston has posted, “The sacrament of penance is one of two sacraments of healing.” Do you see the chaotic craziness surrounding this topic?
Pronouns for God, the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, follow a similar up and down! Many folks use an uppercase “H” for “He” and “Him” simply because they want to indicate reverence for the Persons of the Trinity. I fully understand that. The debate rears its ugly head, though, when you consider the fact that almost always, bibles use the lowercase letter. For example, Genesis 1:27 says, “God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them; male and female* he created them.” In reference to Jesus, we read, “As he continued his journey to Jerusalem…” (Luke 17:11). Further, The Roman Missal, the book that a priest uses to celebrate Mass also uses the lowercase “H.” Honestly, I understand the desire to be reverent, but if The Holy Bible, and The Roman Missal, two of our most important, and holy, books in the Church
Honest to goodness… I could find a million more sources that contradict each other. When we get on the topic of pronouns for God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit it is really bad!!! Don’t get me started on the word “bible!!”
Can you tell that you hit on a tender spot for me?!? It has driven me nuts for almost my entire ministry, if not my entire life!! I’ve been meaning to write an article on it “for a coon’s age” as well. In short, there don’t seem to be any hard and fast rules, even though editors seem to think there are – even when those “rules” differ from editor to editor.