As in most western countries, women in Switzerland are more engaged than men in both traditional religion and alternative spirituality. With data from the MOSAiCH09 study, we investigate the gender differences using both quantitative survey analysis, and qualitative interviews. We find that lower female workforce participation accounts for most of the gender gap in institutional religiosity. This can be attributed to a combination of time constraints, identity construction around work and traditional gender roles. As for alternative spirituality, the gender gap is only found among the middle aged. Originally attributing this to a period effect, the qualitative interviews indicate a life-cycle effect, as women use alternative medicine to care for their family. On the surface, structural gender roles seem to accounts for all the differences, but the interviews also reveal subtle distinctions in how men and women think about religion.