Geezzz. We sound like we grew up in the same home. We ought to have a drink together sometime. I bet you would totally get how I am fine with waiting until the next death before I see my siblings again. So many family secrets, so little time.......Trust me, once your last parent is dead, you have your excuse to not see them again until a family funeral. Until my father died, I only saw my siblings when there was a shared visit or event with them involving my father.

You sound like #4.

@TomMcGiverin On second thought, I think you're right.

@QuidamOutrepont Of course I'm right. Almost all of my friends are social workers. I listen to them and it rubs off as far as sizing up people's situations.

You have some similarities to mine. Sounds like #3 would fit you.

@TomMcGiverin I did choose #3

@LizBeth Then why does everyone feel a need to comment and explain???

@TomMcGiverin Maybe because it would be rare for a family situation to 'exactly' fit into the choices presented. I chose 3 becasue it was the 'closest', but it is not entirely accurate. I could have picked 1 as it is true some of the time (I just avoid the topic of religion as much as possible when I am around my family). I could have picked 2 since my siblings and I are so different. But 1, 2, and 3 don't really apply because I am not 'estranged' from my family even though I have do boundaries with them.

Perhaps you have just hit upon a subject that others find interesting?

Perhaps people like to convey who they are through the conversations in the comments. (I would not have knownn that you and I have a similar family dynamic, had I not explained and had you not replied.

@TomMcGiverin Just don't read the comments then. Many of us are interested in other members as human beings--I also like reading the comments to see how others deal with family estrangement, but that's just me.

So vote both #1 and 2.

Vote #4.

@TomMcGiverin I did...?

@thinktwice Nothing personal, Louise, it just seems like the vast majority of these comments are gratuitous and simply voting would have been enough. I didn't expect it to turn into a column of Dear Abby with each reader needing to weigh in with their own detailed explanation. Maybe that's why few people bother doing polls on here.

@TomMcGiverin It is called a forum for a reason... We are a verbose group...

@thinktwice Understatement there. I was looking more for a vote to get a tally, not a forum...As David Byrne of Talking Heads, one of my fav bands used to sing " When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed. Say something once, why say it again?".

@adaptable1958 sounds like you really know your family well so as to deal with each one in a slightly different way..

You are very lucky. I personally know some people who are from close, functional families, but they are by no means the vast majority of people I have known. Therefore, when I see the women's profiles on Match that seem to indicate that the vast majority of women in my dating pool are from close, functional families, I am justifiably skeptical of their honesty and/or accurateness.

Personally, I am estranged from my family due to #2,3, and 5, with a bit of #1 with my older sister. I allowed multiple votes/choices for each participant, so I voted #2,3, and 5, since it fits my situation the best.

My parents were agnostic. Daddy was a scientist and skeptic, and my mother just refers to herself as "not religious, but also not an atheist." My only brother is somewhere in that same ballpark, although his wife and son are fundamentalist Christians. My children are atheists, but not due to any indoctrination. My grandparents, who were given free reign to see to my religious upbringing by parents who thought that would be harmless (that is its own whole topic,) were Fundamentalist Christians who took every word in the Bible literally. This was a mixed "blessing" for me. I was emotionally strong enough to withstand the trauma and confusion created by those early teachings, but just barely. They left a scar. On the other hand, that narrow, biased sliver of Biblical exposure prompted a thirst for theology in general. The force-feeding at such a young age, combined with my own strength of will, natural skepticism, and the free thought encouraged at home worked my favor intellectually and emotionally. It could just as easily screwed me up royally. Fall of the dice?

Then you would seem to fall into #3, dysfunctional family. I had no intention of trying to cover every possible category of situation or every possible reason for estrangement. I was basing my reason choices for estrangement on comments I have seen in previous threads on this subject. Chill out people, this is not a research study where every possible variable must be included, it's a simple straw poll. I could have added several more options on it, but I'm not interested in covering every possible situation, I just want a general idea what's going on out there with Agnostic members and their families, IN GENERAL. That means breaking it down into general groups. Pick one that best fits you or else post how you are different from what I listed, whatever you need to do to feel heard, by me or the group, depending on your motive.........

#4.

#4?

#4?

@TomMcGiverin That’s what I voted for

#4?

#4.

#3.