What term other than "the faithful" would you suggest to refer to people who belong to some religion or participate in a religious event?

The pope greets “the faithful” on Easter…“the faithful” gather in solemn ritual commemorating something…or today’s headline: “In Masterpiece Cakeshop, Justice Kennedy Strikes a Blow for the Dignity of the Faithful.”

This question is not about the cake or the case or the court. It’s about the word.

Is our vocabulary so impoverished that there is no other term for people who practice or at least appear at a gathering for some religious purpose?

First of all, there’s no saying that all those thousands in the huge photos are faithful to anything. They might be curious tourists or skeptics or there just to bear witness to something. If you were in the crowd, would you be happy to be labeled as a “faithful”?

Second, “faithful” isn’t even a noun. It’s an adjective—a substantive adjective, in this case. Don’t we have a noun that would do?

“Crowd” is too loose, and “congregation” is too coherent.

And third, it’s just tiresome to see the same term used over and over again in the same piece. The writers really seem to be unable to think of something else. Can we?