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Definitions and Guidelines
A concern for inclusive language bespeaks the church’s
emerging conviction both that the diversity of the people of
God is to be acknowledged and embraced in such a way that all
may feel included, as well as the realization that every reference
to God is limited in its capacity to express the reality and
mystery of the One who has so variously encountered us. For
the sake of guidance within the church the following working
definitions and guidelines for inclusive language are offered.
Definition 1—Inclusive language with reference
to the people of God:
Language that intentionally seeks to acknowledge the diversity
of the membership of the church in such a way that each person
may feel included, addressed, and equally valued before God
(e.g., "brothers and sisters," rather than "brethren";
"God’s children," rather than "sons of God";
"our ancestors" or "our mothers and fathers,"
rather than simply "our fathers").
Guideline 1.A. Effort should be made at every level
in the life of the church to use inclusive language with respect
to the people of God. By seeking to substitute a word such as
"humankind," for the more traditional generic terms
"man" or "mankind," as well as by seeking
to avoid exclusive dependence on the personal pronoun "he,"
we testify to the fact that women and men are called by God
into service and are equally valued before God and the community
of believers. Further, we show responsible sensitivity to the
many women and men who are offended when exclusive language
is used.
Guideline 1.B. The reading of Scripture in the context
of worship is an especially important event for the church.
Careful preparation is advised. Decisions to use inclusive language
are in order when the lector has been able to discern that the
intention of the original text is preserved (e.g., "those
of faith" instead of "those who are men of faith";
"no one is justified" instead of "no man is justified";
"therefore, friends" instead of "therefore, brethren").
When standard translations are altered in the effort to render
them more inclusive, proper acknowledgment is in order. If especially
unfamiliar translations or paraphrases (e.g., An Inclusive
Language Lectionary or The Living Bible) are to be
used, they should be identified for the congregation, so that
the unfamiliarity of a particular reading will not unduly distract
the hearers from proper attention to the reading.
Definition 2—Inclusive language with reference
to God:
Language which intentionally seeks to express the diverse ways
the Bible and our theological tradition speak about God: e.g.,
one who delivers, champions, and befriends as well as "Savior"
and "Lord"; one who acts as guardian, parent, begetter
and bearer of children as well as "Creator" and "Heavenly
Father"; one who serves as rock, shelter, fortress as well
as "the Almighty" or "King."
Guideline 2.A. Our language about God should be as intentionally
diverse and varied as is that of the Bible and our theological
tradition. This diversity should be reflected in the language
and life of the church. Rather than using only a very small
number of terms referring to God (e.g., "Father,"
"Creator," "Lord," "Almighty"),
we should seek to employ the rich reservoir of imagery to be
found in the New and Old Testaments. God is appropriately addressed
as "Father," but many other terms may also be used
legitimately and with great benefit in referring to God. Our
understanding of the richness of God may be enhanced by using
other metaphors and similes such as "Rock," "Refuge,"
"Foundation," "Helper," "Shepherd,"
etc. Although maternal qualities are ascribed to God in Scripture,
the title "Mother" is not applied to God in the Bible
and its use is currently under debate. Our theological tradition
also supplies language that may be useful in speaking about
God (e.g., the Triune One, the Ground of Being, the Divine One,
the Other, etc.).
Guideline 2.B. In some languages such as Spanish, in
which nouns and their modifiers are grammatically either masculine
or feminine, additional care must be exercised in order to be
both inclusive and theologically sound. For example, the word
"Dios" (God), grammatically a masculine form in Spanish,
may only be modified by a masculine definite article, or by
masculine adjectives ("el Dios de Israel," "The
God of Israel"; or "buen Dios," "good God";
or "Dios es misericordioso," "God is merciful").
In these cases, the use of masculine signifiers (el, buen, misericordioso)
required by the rules of grammar may reinforce a theologically
inappropriate impression that the One signified is a being of
masculine gender. Such an impression may be avoided by balancing
the liturgical and homiletical use of grammatically masculine
signifiers with appropriate referentila terms that are grammatically
feminine (e.g., "roca," "rock"; "fortaleza,"
"fortress"; "esperanza," "hope"),
and by highlighting biblical similes for divine activity—for
example, "nursing the children of Israel like a mother"—which
correct the possible wrongful implication of divine maleness.
The use of inclusive language may or may not pose problems
in the worship of other language speakers (e.g., Asians, Africans,
and Native Americans).
Guideline 2.C. The Trinitarian designation, "Father-Son-Holy
Spirit," is an ancient creedal formula and as such should
not be altered. It is deeply rooted in our theological tradition,
is shared widely by the church catholic, and is basic to many
of our ecumenical relationships. It is not theologically acceptable
to refer to the persons of the Trinity in terms of function
alone (e.g., Shepherd, Helper, Refuge, Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier).
The church needs to seek new terms which refer to the being
of the persons of the Trinity (cf. Calvin, Institutes,
I.13. 5, 16, 17). While the language of the Trinitarian formula
should remain unchanged, we must still remember that this formula
is not the only way by which we refer to God, and that efforts
to express the fullness of our knowledge of God in terms of
being and function are to be encouraged.
Guideline 2.D. The personal pronouns "he,"
"his," and "him" are used with reference
to God with great frequency. Biblical usage is often cited in
justification though it is clear that the writers of the Bible
did not think God was a man. The use of nouns rather than masculine
pronouns is desirable (e.g., "God shows God’s love"
for "God shows his love," "praise God’s
name" for "praise his name"). The interchanging
of feminine with masculine pronouns so that it calls attention
to itself seems to emphasize gender in a way that may be counterproductive
to efforts to develop more inclusive language with respect to
God.
Definition 3—Exclusive language:
Language which purposely or inadvertently excludes a part of
the community of faith (e.g., "brethren," "sons
of God," "man") or restricts our perception of
God by failure to use the rich testimony of that community’s
experience of the Holy One.
Guideline 3.A. Exclusive language should be avoided
by the conscientious and affirmative use of inclusive language
as indicated above. "To this end the manifold wisdom of
God is revealed through the church to all peoples everywhere."
(Ephesians 3:10)
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