Only If You’re Racist

A friend in a Hindu group I’m a member of online posted a few days ago about a conversation he had over IM with a Christian friend. It ended with this:

I spoke yesterday about how I feel about “idol worship.”

The convention of capitalizing the word “God” has to do with respect. It’s a way of showing deference and respect in English. This idea that “God” is only for the Abrahamic God and “god” is for our Gods is one I’ve heard before. I was taught this in school when writing papers on religion.

Yet I can now see it for what it is: another attempt by monotheistic exclusivists to discredit the importance and respect of our Gods.

Racist might not be quite the right word here (religionist? faithist?) but it’s the same idea. It’s trying to invalidate our Gods in favor of the supposed “one true god.”

The “Just FYI” at the end is the killer punch. Like it’s totally out of her hands, just how things are. Absolutely ridiculous.

Don’t believe this drivel.

Our Gods deserve as much respect as any others and I will continue to use this convention of English to do so.