Under Proposed Rules, Russians will have to Write ‘God’ with a Capital ‘G’

Paul Goble

            Staunton, May 23 – In Soviet times, officials were religious in their insistence that god be written with a lower-case “g.” Only in perestroika times did writers and publishers other than those of the Russian Orthodox Church have the right to use a capital letter at the start of this generic name for the divine.

            But now, with the wave of neo-traditionalism being promoted by the Kremlin, Russian officials are planning to require that anyone using the word “God” use a capital “g,” Enlightenment Minister Sergey Kravtsov says. The new rules are now being discussed, but it is likely they will be introduced soon (interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=79154).

            The new rules, which will replace those last codified in 1956, do not address what is certain to be a problem: Will publishers and others be required to use capital letters for the names of the divine in other religious traditions such as Judaism, Islam and paganism. If the rules don’t, this is likely to spark controversy as many of their followers will see that as discrimination.