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Despite the fact that I only occasionally go to church, I would consider myself a practicing Christian affiliated with the Episcopalian church as far as beliefs go. I think nature is my church--I don't need to go to service and have the vicar lead me through the kyrie; I can ask God for mercy myself. That, I believe makes me Protestant above all else. Sometimes I do like to go to church, because church isn't about worshipping, it's about fellowship--about being a part of the Christian community and being with people who feel the same way that you do. I practice my faith every day, but I tend to take the attitude reflected in Matthew 6:16-6:18:
"Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly."
I tend to take this as the cue to witness when appropriate, but to otherwise not openly advertise that I am Christian. If people ask, I tell, but otherwise I keep my faith like a secret. I try not to advertise the lengths I go to to practice my faith, for example: fasting, Lenten practices, donations to charity, and volunteer work I keep largely to myself--unless people ask, of course, because then I feel obligated to answer an honest question honestly.
I would say whether one is practicing a certain faith or not is something answered by the person's mindset--one need not attend church to be a practicing Protestant, after all--Martin Luther clearly said that Protestants need no intermediary between themselves and their God.
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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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