My experience with American Christianity teaches me that there are three main types (of course, subtypes exist within each type).
- (1) the true Christian. S/he would happily talk to you about his/her faith, if prompted, though s/he will never push you to it. This is a two-way conversation, where s/he is as excited to share his/her faith with you, as s/he is to learn about yours. This Christian is more likely to categorize him/herself as a 'Christ-follower' than a 'Christian', due to the stigma created by the other two types of Christians, but won't take offense when s/he is called a Christian, and s/he would often call him/herself 'Christian' when in conversation with others, for the sake of simplicity that it provides to others. This Christian celebrates 'Christmas' as the birth of his/her savior. Though s/he tries to go to church, s/he finds communion with her/his savior anywhere. S/he understands that communion and church are different, and s/he strives for a relationship with his/her god. While there are more of them than the other two types, this Christian is respectful of others, and won't trump others' rights, which often makes them quieter than the masses. This Christian tends to respect your right to believe in whatever you want, though s/he would love it if you, too, started believing.
- (2) the media Christian. S/he would happily, and often forcefully, talk to you about his/her religion. Whether or not this person holds the faith is irrelevant, as their followings are surrounding religion, instead of faith (though faith may exist). Because of this, this conversation is one-sided, as s/he talks at you, instead of with you, and the goal of this "conversation" is to convert you to his/her side. Whether this is by choice or by force, is irrelevant. S/he is part of the remnants of the Crusader-types. While there are fewer of them than the other two types, they tend to be the loudest. They celebrate 'Christmas' as a holiday. S/he goes to church and generally shuns those who don't. A communion with his/her god is not the goal of attending church. If you find yourself in a "conversation" with this Christian about his/her religion, you will also find yourself being forcefully pushed into their way of thinking. More often than not, this will become a heated argument.
- (3) the non-Christian Christian. S/he was raised in an extreme household of one of the two other types (more often than not, type 2), but is not sure whether s/he believes in the faith or religion, or are just going through the motions. S/he would rather not talk about his/her faith nor his/her religion, because s/he isn't sure what they believe and s/he would rather not dredge up (often negative) memories of his/her parents pushing their religion onto him/her. S/he generally celebrates 'X-mas' as a time to spend with family and friends, and as a break from the humdrum of work/standard daily life. S/he may go to church, but it's a chore, and s/he will eventually cease going. This Christian is 50:50 loud:quiet, depending on how his/her upbringing ended up affecting his/her personality. More often than not, this Christian is against religion, as a whole, but respects your right to believe in whatever you want.
Ever had black coffee with cardamom? It's very tasty, imo, and it has a strange calming effect on me, despite having a bunch of caffeine. Almost like the world just quieted, allowing me to hear everything more clearly. I've never known why, but maybe this is a reason.