The use of terminology in ethical and theological discourse about alcohol is complicated by the fact that history and Christian scripture have tended to employ a variety of different terms, most of which do not correspond readily with contemporary popular or scientific usage. Thus, terms such as ‘intemperance’ and ‘chronic inebriety’ are either unfamiliar or potentially misleading to the modern reader, whereas terms such as ‘addiction’ or ‘dependence’ are conceptually anachronistic to scripture and the Church Fathers. On the other hand, a historical and scriptural term such as ‘drunkenness’, which still seems familiar and unambiguous today, does not necessarily encompass all that contemporary ethical discourse must engage with. But drunkenness is important, since ethical concerns about drunkenness appear in Judeo-Christian scripture, and recur throughout Christian history up to and including the present day.

Contemporary terminology in the field of the use and misuse of alcohol is also contentious and confusing. The term ‘alcohol misuse’ is nowhere tightly defined. Whereas the terminology of the World Health Organization (WHO) prefers to refer to ‘harmful use’ of alcohol, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) refers to ‘abuse’ of alcohol. Similarly, although the term ‘addiction’ is still widely used, it is without consistent definition. In scientific circles, the term ‘dependence’ is therefore preferred, and is now employed by both the WHO and APA. The scientific context for discussion of these matters is, however, that of alcohol as a psycho-active drug, and thus all the preceding terms can be, and are, also used in reference to drugs other than alcohol.