Looking at expressions of "group" faith, such as church attendance and participation in small groups, adult Sunday school programs and church volunteering, the researchers found:

Women lead the way. They drive most faith participation. A majority of weekly churchgoers are women (53%). Small groups that meet for prayer or Bible study (60%) and Sunday school programs for adults (59%) are also more likely to be attended by women. Similarly, a majority of church volunteers (57%) are female.

Home churches are the only type of participatory religious involvement in which most attendees are men (56%).

Older folks dominate. Two-thirds of small group attendees as well as house church participants and three-fifths of church volunteers and Sunday school goers were aged 45 and older.

Bigger church, more involvement. Americans who typically attend a church of at least 500 adults were among the most likely to also attend small groups and house churches and to volunteer. Those attending a medium-sized congregation (101 to 499 adults) were among the most likely to attend small groups and Sunday school classes.

Small-groupers study more. Personal Bible reading is most common among small group attendees. Two-thirds of church attendees (67%) said they had read the Bible outside of church in the previous week, while small group attendees were more likely to read the Bible personally (84%). Bible reading levels for church volunteers and Sunday school attendees were both 77%.

"There certainly is a dominant demographic faith profile of Christians in the nation," commented David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group. "The typical profile of an involved Christian is a married woman in her early 50s."

Source: The Barna Group.

To read the full report, go to: http://www.barna.org/faith-spirituality/400-who-is-active-in-group-expressions-of-faith-barna-study-examines-small-groups-sunday-school-and-house-churches.