  We present a detailed study of the bar fraction in the CfA sample of Seyfert
galaxies, and in a carefully selected control sample of non-active galaxies, to
investigate the relation between the presence of bars and of nuclear activity.
To avoid the problems related to bar classification in the RC3, e.g.,
subjectivity, low resolution and contamination by dust, we have developed an
objective bar classification method, which we conservatively apply to our new
sub-arcsecond resolution near-infrared imaging data set (Peletier et al. 1999).
We are able to use stringent criteria based on radial profiles of ellipticity
and major axis position angle to determine the presence of a bar and its axial
ratio. Concentrating on non-interacting galaxies in our sample for which
morphological information can be obtained, we find that Seyfert hosts are
barred more often (79% +/- 7.5%) than the non-active galaxies in our control
sample (59% +/- 9%), a result which is at the 2.5 sigma significance level. The
fraction of non-axisymmetric hosts becomes even larger when interacting
galaxies are taken into account. We discuss the implications of this result for
the fueling of central activity by large-scale bars. This paper improves on
previous work by means of imaging at higher spatial resolution and by the use
of a set of stringent criteria for bar presence, and confirms that the use of
NIR is superior to optical imaging for detection of bars in disk galaxies.
