So I used the word “churchgoer” in a piece of writing and one persnickety reader challenged it as being narrow and isolating. My intent is to include “being an actively religious person” in a list of nouns like parent, child, teacher, student, employee, employer, [del]churchgoer[/del] [person who works at being some kind of religious]…
“Person of faith” is the suggested replacement but that’s lumpy and precious to my ear. Any better general term, preferably single-word, that fits?
“Follower” with a capital “F.”
I had to edit my first suggestion. It was rude and insulting (just like me!) 
Do you mean “an actively religious person, of the Christian persuasion”
Jews are usually said to be “observant,” but it’s rarely nounized as a standalone word. Does “observant Christian” sound weird?
ETA: yeah, “Believer”.
believer
worshipper
Also Faithful, capital “F”.
Chuchgoer isn’t right because not everyone goes to chuch. That would even leave out those that want to go but can’t.
Believer works, but faithful is probably the best choice. Spiritual might also work as well, but IMO that’s a step below faithful or believer and in the direction of agnosticism. I’d go with Faithful.
Parishioner, for certain faiths.
Well, of course not, but then, not everyone is a parent, or a teacher, or a student, either. I’m not clear on exactly what the OP is looking for.
If the faith is specified, you could say something like “practicing Christian”.
I think she meant not everyone of faith goes to church. Some pray alone, synagogue, mosque etc.
I believe he’s looking for a word, similar to parent, that applies to all people in that are religious. Churchgoer doesn’t work since it doesn’t apply to Jews, Muslims, and many others who don’t attend churches. He wants one blanket term to cover all people of faith.
I like Faithful or Believer but I think both have some baggage. They seem somewhat Christian to me.
Does “theist” have the right connotations?
Moved Cafe Society --> IMHO.
Does the fact that such a word doesn’t seem to exist say something about religion and how people practice it?
There are several words, depending on context and desired connotations.
I don’t see anything specifically Christian about “believer.”
Technically not every religionist believer is a theist.
Some got my intent right, others not. The problem is that “churchgoer,” while exact in every other respect, does imply Christianity. I am looking for a word as neutral as “teacher” or “student” that describes someone who is involved in practicing a faith - who believes it is an important center to their lives, as important and defining as “parent” or “teacher” but without any baggage of a specific faith. “Believer” isn’t quite the right equivalent because there are people who practice a faith and hold that practice important, but may or may not “believe” - just as there might be teachers who hate the job.
Sometimes I ask these questions and someone points out a word I should have easily found in a thesaurus. Other times, like this, it points up a specific hole in the language.
In my head, “churchgoer” encompasses anyone who actively attends religious services, no matter what they call their building. I think of church as a generic term for any building used for religious services. But then I am a naïve, white, middle-aged United Methodist choir member who just wishes we would all get along. I suppose someone else from a different religion or culture will come in and say they are hugely offended if the word “church” is used to reference their House of Worship, but I’ve never heard that expressed before. For the record, I don’t think of myself as a “person of faith” or particularly “religious”, and I am definitely NOT spiritual.
I think it says that, through history, following a religion is the default position.
Kittenblue, church specifically refers to the Christian faith, it’s not generic at all.
I was raised Jewish, and we don’t go to churches. If you said I did I wouldn’t be offended, I’d simply say you were incorrect. This isn’t a question of political correctness, it’s a matter of accuracy.
Not many possibles left in common usage: adherent, devotee…
Spiritual.