*Style guides have been updated since this post was published. Be sure to read the updated post here.
I’ve been in Christian publishing for over 10 years, first as an editor at LifeWay Christian Resources, and now as a freelance contributor. In addition to stylebooks, such as the AP Stylebook and the Chicago Manual of Style, those who work in Christian publishing have additional style guides for religious terms. For example, how do you know whether to capitalize “godly” since it refers to God? Is “Bible” always capitalized? One of the best resources is “The Christian Writer’s Manual of Style” by Robert Hudson (Zondervan, 2004). However, each publishing house will have its own style guide, as well. LifeWay may style curriculum and resources differently than Zondervan or Thomas Nelson. But most of them agree on the following styles below.
Whether you are a writer, editor, or you merely refer to religious and spiritual terms as a Christian, these following tips can serve as a helpful guide.
Capitalize Words That Refer to God
Examples: Lord, Almighty, Baby Jesus, Christ, Comforter, Counselor, Creator, Father, Godhead, Judge, King, Providence, Redeemer, Savior, Servant, Son, Sovereign, Trinity
Lowercase General References to Jesus
Examples: friend, person, baby, child, boy, and man (Jesus is my friend.)
Capitalize Adjectives That Are Part of God’s Name
Examples: Almighty God, Anointed One, Divine Savior, Good Shepherd, Great Physician, Heavenly Father, High Priest, Holy Father, Holy Spirit, Promised One, Sovereign Lord, Suffering Savior, Suffering Servant, Supreme Being, Wise Creator
Refer to the Holy Spirit as “He,” not “It”
Examples: The Holy Spirit comforts me; He brings peace into my life.
Capitalize pronouns (except relative pronouns) that refer to God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit
Examples:
God gave His Son for our sins.
God loves His children; He loves us with an everlasting love!
When Christ died on the cross, He gave Himself for our sins.
O Lord, You are holy!
Christ is the One in whom we find salvation
Lowercase Relative Pronouns (who, whom, whoever, whomever) referring to God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit
Examples:
The God whom we serve is faithful.
God, who is most faithful, loves us unconditionally.
Lowercase Most Derivatives Referring to God, (Whether Nouns or Adjectives)
Examples:
godly (He is a godly man.)
fatherhood messianic
lordship
saviorhood
sonship
Exceptions:
Capitalize these words: Christian, Christlike, God-fearing, Godlike, Godhead
Always Capitalize “Bible” and “God’s Word”
Examples:
The Holy Bible is God’s Word.
God speaks through His Word, the Bible.
Always Capitalize “Scripture”
Examples:
The Scripture says, “Great is thy faithfulness!”
The Scriptures are God’s truth to His people.
Read the Scriptures daily to know God.
Gospel: Whether to Capitalize Depends on Meaning
-
- “Gospel” meaning “good news” is not capitalized.
Examples:
Tell others the gospel message of Christ!
I love good old gospel music! - “Gospel” meaning first four books of the New Testament is lowercased, except when it is included in the name of the book.
Examples:
The four gospels are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
The Gospel of John is my favorite book.
John’s gospel is my favorite book.
- “Gospel” meaning “good news” is not capitalized.
Lowercase Names of Places
Examples: heaven, hell, paradise, garden of Eden, kingdom (God’s kingdom; kingdom of God)
Which of these styles do you use most in your everyday life?
Do you blog about “God” or how the “Scriptures” impact your life?
Do you have a question about how to style a particular word or phrase?
Let me know by commenting below!
This makes good sense. I need all the help I can get!
Thanks for reading!
[…] Spiritual Style […]
Would you spell out Second Corinthians if it is at the start of a sentence? Thanks!
Yes, you would. For example: Second Corinthians 1:1 says, . . .
Would you capitalize the word “our” when it is written with “Our Savior”? (Publishing a playbill for a play on the Passion of Christ.) Thanks for any help!
No, you would not. It should be “our Savior.”
Hello Christi,
Thank you for doing this site! I was wondering if when referring to a book of the Bible, should the word “book” be capitalized along with the name of the book? For instance:
“I was reading through the Book of John;” or,
“In the Book of Exodus it says…”
Page 425 of The Christian Writer’s Manual of Style states: “In references to books of the Bible, lowercase the word book, as in the book of Genesis, unless the version of the Bible being references capitalizes the entire phrase as a title, as does the KJV and some of its derivative translations. Always follow the style of the translation being used.
I’ve worked in the Christian publishing industry a long time as well. This is spot on (and I use the same style book). I would add to “Bible” that it should be lowercase when the word is used not as God’s Word, but a definitive manual, as in, “He wrote the bible on fishing.” I’ve also found that capitalizing deity pronouns is vastly different across the board. Even some versions of the Bible do not capitalize the pronouns for God.
Good suggestion! And of course the CWMS has been updated since I wrote this post. Robert Hudson spoke at PENCON (Christian editors’ annual conference) in May 2018, and he was incredible! Meeting the author of CWMS was like meeting a celebrity for us editors!
Christi, could you write an update to this article? I’d really be interested in what changes you view have happened in recent years. There seems to be a strong secularization of the Gospel in Christian publishing & I would love to know what changes you have seen. I’m hearing rumors that larger Christian publishing houses are strongly urging lowercase pronouns when referring to deity. I know a lot of the larger houses are own by secular companies so I was curious how you see current changes.
Diane,
I updated this article. You can view it at https://www.christimcguire.com/spiritual-style-updated/. Thanks!
I read all the instructions on the use of the word Bible; however, should it be capitalized in this sentence?
This was back in bible times (or Bible times).
Thanks!
Yes, Bible is always capitalized, per CWMS. Bible times, Bible belt, Bible school, etc. The only time it is not capitalized is in the form of biblical.
Thank you for posting. Would appreciate guidance on the rule of capitalization of “child” when referencing a child of God … or should it be a Child of God?
Kim,
Child should be lowercase, even when it’s referring to Jesus. Page 103 of the newest version (4th) of the Christian Writer’s Manual of Style shows these examples: the child Jesus, Christ child. The phrase “child of God” would be lowercase as well. Hope that helps!
Autocorrect changes only to capitalized when I type “God sent His only Son.” Should only be capitalized?
No, “only” is not capitalized.
Thank you for posting. Very helpful.
This is super helpful. Thanks
This is incredibly helpful! Thank you for posting!
Thank you! This was super clear and very useful!