James Thurber captioned one New Yorker cartoon: "I love the idea of there being two sexes, don't you?"

As Thurber was wryly suggesting, not only do we not have a lot of choice in the matter, the reality is infinitely more interesting than the mere idea.

Gender issues have provoked extensive discussion, especially in the church. Is there a difference between what women and men experience in congregational life? How significant is this gender gap, and in what direction does it run?

To determine the way gender impacts church life, LEADERSHIP surveyed one thousand subscribers, and nearly 30 percent responded, representing churches across the spectrum of size and theological orientation.

Average Sunday morning attendance of these churches:

100 or fewer (33 percent)

101 to 200 (26 percent)

201 to 500 (23 percent)

More than 500 (18 percent).

(In this summary, "small churches" means churches averaging one hundred or fewer; "large churches" means churches averaging more than five hundred.)

Respondents were ...