Although As I Lay Dying has stated on numerous occasions that all of the members of the group are practicing Christians, the band is usually described by media as being in the metalcore genre, not Christian metal. The band's lyrics do not focus on Christian themes the way many praise music bands do, nor do they treat their music as a direct extension of their private Christian worship or proselytizing efforts. For example, not once do the names God or Jesus appear in any As I Lay Dying song, nor do any of their songs explicitly invoke Christian doctrine or quote the Bible. Most songs tend to address broader spiritual concepts like existential angst or the struggle between reason and spirituality.  Lyricist and lead singer Tim Lambesis has given mixed commentary on the subject: asked in 2008 if the members were "a Christian band" or "Christians in a band", Lambesis stated on the band's FAQ, "I'm not sure what the difference is between five Christians playing in a band and a Christian band, If you truly believe something, then it should affect every area of your life. All five of us are Christians. I believe that change should start with me first, and as a result, our lyrics do not come across very 'preachy.' Many of our songs are about life, struggles, mistakes, relationships and other issues that don't fit entirely in the spiritual category. However, all of these topics are written about through my perspective as a Christian." Furthermore, during an August 2010 radio interview on the Christian metal radio show The Full Armor of God Broadcast, Lambesis stated "I can only really write about what I'm passionate about in life, so naturally my faith, my belief in the teachings of Jesus and His resurrection come across in our lyrics."  However, in later years, Lambesis showed an increasing philosophical skepticism towards Christianity and religion in general: Court documents stated Lambesis emailed his wife Meggan in August 2012, while on tour with As I Lay Dying, asking for a divorce and stating he "no longer believed in God". In explaining some of the lyrics from Awakened, Lambesis stated that his studies of theology had led him to the conclusion that "tradition and truth are often at odds with each other", and while he "didn't hate all religious belief", he was finding it "very difficult for to outline exactly who it is that's worth siding with." He also quoted the book Pagan Christianity by George Barna and Frank Viola, claiming that both "Protestant and Catholic denominations have poisonous roots".  While on house arrest in July 2013, after being charged with soliciting his wife's murder, Lambesis published a blog post in which he obliquely confirmed his previous loss of faith in Christianity. However, since his arrest it has been reported that Lambesis "has spent much of the last year reevaluating what originally convinced him to abandon belief in God. After much brokenness and repentance he sees things differently, considers himself a follower of Jesus, someone submitted to the will of God."  In 2014 Lambesis said that although they were marketed as a Christian band, the members privately considered themselves atheists. Former guitarist Nick Hipa calls these claims slanderous and defamatory.

Answer this question "What did the band describe themselves as?" by extracting the answer from the text above.
As I Lay Dying has stated on numerous occasions that all of the members of the group are practicing Christians,