Atheists: Why don't we capitalize "Man" instead of "god"?

Question

Why do we devalue our fellow man, yet elevate the imaginary?

Faith in God necessarily implies a lack of faith in humanity.
— Barbara G. Walker

Man's inhumanity to man will continue as long as man loves God more than he loves his fellow man.
— Joseph Lewis

An Atheist loves himself and his fellowman instead of a god. An Atheist knows that heaven is something for which we should work now -- here on earth -- for all men together to enjoy.
— Madalyn Murray O'Hair

I am certain and have always stressed that the destination of mankind is to become more and more humane. The ideal of humanity has to be revived.
— Albert Schweitzer, (1875-1965)

GREAT answers everybody, especially those that mentioned God is capitalized because it's a proper noun, but that we shouldn't be capitalizing "He" when referring to "Him". That is the part that many believers are avoiding answering

Answer 1

"Man" is not a proper name.

When you refer to a person, even a fictional person, you have to capitalize the name. So, the Christian god named "God" gets capitalized. It would be the same, and just as unimaginative, if I named my dog, "Dog".

Where they go wrong is when they capitalize "He" when refering to Jesus or God. That's just bad grammar.

Answer 2

I capitalize the g in God when I want to be clearer about meanings. It is typically understood that God refers to a monotheistic belief in god, whereas god refers to a similar being in a polytheistic belief. I capitalize the m in Man when I speak of the general group.

Anyway, I agree. Believers like to say that, through God, they help others. It should be that helping others takes you to God, whatever it is, if it even exists.

Also, consider a parallel thought: People always looking to the past and the future have no time for the present. Religious people are obsessed with the past and the future, undeniably. There is no need for this, and often it isn't even a part of what they're "supposed" to believe. Too bad.

Answer 3

God is only capitalized when it is used to refer to the Christian god by name. Man is not a proper name.

Answer 4

In English, nouns are only capitalized if they are at the beginning of a sentence or are proper nouns. "Man" is not a proper noun. "God" is not a proper noun either, unless one is referring specifically to the Abrahamic god and is for some reason not using YHWH. Therefore, neither require capitalization.

Answer 5

I agree with those quotes 100%

We should be trying to change the world for good instead of just sitting back, letting things get worst and say, "I don't care I'll be in heaven soon!". That is a selfish way of thinking

Answer 6

With all the wars, atrocities, children starving (though there is enough food for all), etc... mankind no more deserves a capital M than god deserves a capital G.

Answer 7

First, if anybody goes through my posts, they would see that I don't capitalize the word "god" unless grammer dictates otherwise (i.e., at the beginning of a sentence).

Secondly, I would not capitalize "man/men/mankind." I don't worship people.

Answer 8

Cause mankind is not superior on this planet... it's even a hazard!
(and if, then take human and not man! It's sexism, like calling a god 'him')

Answer 9

dude, the decapitalization of god has taken a while. the capitalization of man will take a while too. let's enjoy our freedom for right now, shall we?

i'm not crazy about Man over man, anyway.

Answer 10

Generally speaking, "man" to refer to human kind collectively is a bit sexist.