God vs. god

God vs. god: In reporting on religion, sometimes a typo really is just a typo

Anecdotally at least, we at GetReligion have noticed an increasing use of "god" — as opposed to "God" — in mainstream media content.

We've seen the same thing related to "bible" — as opposed to "Bible."

We are, of course, nerdy enough about religion journalism and style that we occasionally focus on such intricacies of the Godbeat.

As we've mentioned before, the Associated Press Stylebook — the journalist's bible (with a lowercase "b") — has this entry concerning when to capitalize God:


gods and goddesses Capitalize God in references to the deity of all monotheistic religions. Capitalize all noun references to the deity: God the Father, Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, Allah, etc. Lowercase personal pronouns: he, him, thee, thou.
Lowercase gods and goddesses in references to the deities of polytheistic religions.
Lowercase god, gods and goddesses in references to false gods: He made money his god.

Concerning "bible" vs. "Bible," AP says:

Bible Capitalize, without quotation marks, when referring to the Scriptures in the Old Testament or the New Testament. Capitalize also related terms such as the Gospels, Gospel of St. Mark, the Scriptures, the Holy Scriptures.
Lowercase biblical in all uses.
Lowercase bible as a nonreligious term: My dictionary is my bible.

The Religion Newswriters Association's Religion Stylebook is another excellent resource for questions:


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