Every good salesperson knows there are multiple types of people. When it comes to belief in God, there are basically four: fundamentalists, progressives, lights, and God-only deists. The first two are devout churchgoers. Last two, not so much.
Fundamentalists
Devout churchgoers practice their faith on a regular basis (like attending church on Sundays) and faith is a big part of their identity. Most of their friends feel the same way. But not all church people are built alike: fundamentalists take scripture literally, while progressives like to think about it.
Well-mannered Canadians are often cautious around churchgoers because they don’t wish to offend anyone. But you needn’t be so guarded around progressives because they’re fairly open minded.
Progressives
Progressives also view scripture as being inspired from above but feel it’s mostly allegorical (stories that need to be held in context), thereby open to interpretation. They’re okay with considering multiple possibilities and not knowing all the answers. But because non-churchgoers don’t always know about multiple types, open minded progressives often get lumped in with fundamentalists, which is wrong.
Lights
Lights are somewhat believers who don’t buy in all the way. It doesn’t mean they don’t trust in God—it means they’re not totally sold on formal practice or that the Bible is divine. The majority of Canadian Roman Catholics fit into this category. They can easily be classified as Christian-light. Yes, they like to be married and buried in a church, but don’t ask them to quote scripture or attend regular service.
God-only deist
A God-only person believes in some form of higher power without the formality of religion. A common misconception is these people don’t have faith at all, but that’s not the case. They can be just as spiritual about their version of god—they simply don’t want any of that (in their opinion) man-made stuff.
Summary
So there you have it. Four types of believers, plus atheists (people who don’t believe) and agnostics (those who neither believe nor disbelieve). It’s always good to know who you’re talking to so mannerisms can be adjusted. If you meet someone who mentions their church or starts talking about religion, it’s perfectly okay to ask which category they fit into. Because deep down, people like to be pigeon-holed.