Faith Styles: Ways People Believe

by John R. Mabry

A noted spiritual director suggests new ways of looking at how different people understand and relate to the divine. Explores the many styles of faith that characterize believers in all religions, examines the various modes of believing, and offers ways for spiritual directors to use this knowledge as they work with their clients. Includes illustrative case studies and practical suggestions for offering spiritual direction. The Spiritual Directors International Series – This book is part of a special series produced by Morehouse Publishing in cooperation with Spiritual Directors International (SDI), a global network of some 6,000 spiritual directors and members.

Genres: Spirituality

127 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2006

About the author

I've been writing ever since the third grade, when I produced my first short story. I am a United Church of Christ pastor, and teach world religions and spiritual direction at the Chaplaincy Institute (an interfaith seminary in Berkeley, CA). I also sing for two progressive rock bands, Mind Furniture and Metaphor. My wife Lisa Fullam and I live in Oakland with our two lovely dogs Judy and Sally. I don't write heavy, academic books. I write books for regular folk like you and me who want to explore their spirituality and get closer to God. In my fiction, I want to show people of faith as they actually are—screwed up, insecure, and often bumbling—but still usually trying to do the right thing.

Reviews

[Cydne B · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Informative and, by the author, admittedly incomplete. An interesting place to start.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful for those in Chaplain and/or family systems business. Spiritual maturity explained easily. Helped me understand my own confounding journey.

[Marianne Mullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really appreciated this book's categories for understanding different types of faith styles. Definitely helpful for spiritual direction work.

[Melissa Howe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot. I think it was very well researched. I did have a hard time figuring out where I fit. HAHA! I enjoyed reading it though. I'm glad that it was assigned reading for a class.

[Luke Hillier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread April 2025: I read this again as part of my CPE residency and think it's an excellent resource in the context of chaplaincy. My opinions from before still stand. I have only come to be more appreciative of the strengths-based account of each style that emphasizes what is offered to the believer as well as what pitfalls or challenges they may face.

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Read September 2017I have recently begun a new job that involves providing spiritual direction for young adults, and my own spiritual director recommended this book among others to help prepare for that role. I found it to be really useful, especially within that context, and the added bonus was that it was a really engaging, enjoyable read as well.

I found the typology that Mabry came up with to be resonant, and appreciated the room he gave for people to exist between types and move from one to the other throughout their life. As he noted in his introduction, I appreciated the protectiveness he felt towards Traditional Believers in recognizing a subtle (or not so subtle) bias against their belief style. I myself don't identity there, but many of my loved ones do and it was helpful to know their own faith orientation was respected before moving onto other ones. I did find that there may be a slight bias in favor of Liberal Believers (and wonder if Mabry identifies as such himself?) but it also does come with a number of advantages.

Something that worked surprisingly well were the vignettes that were used to introduce and conclude each style, and especially the ones used to illustrate transitions from one style to another in the final chapter. I think almost always these sort've fictional, example-y stories read cheesy and heavy-handed, and was really impressed with the quality and nuance that they were written with here. Honestly, and as an aside, it made me realize (again) the shortage of authors able or willing to explore spirituality or religion and how much I'd love reading novels that do so. Marilynne Robinson and I guess C.S. Lewis are the only ones I can think of, unless religion is dealt with as an oppressive or restrictive force. I would genuinely enjoy following the folks introduced in the final chapter, particularly as each of them navigates the new faith style they've arrived at. But, I digress.

In short, it's a super helpful book for understanding the ins and outs of a variety (and potentially the whole spectrum?) of faith styles, or orientations to the Divine, and one that helped to awaken some appreciation and respect for each style within my own self.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short book and definitely worth the read. This information combined with the stages of faith (see: Faith after Doubt by Brian McLaren) helps me understand myself and others better. I like that this approach is non-hierarchical.