Last night, a friend was reporting on a recent family gathering. The Muslim cousins were in from D.C., so she'd asked the wife's sister (Lutheran), her own mother (Episcopalian), and a neice (Catholic) to dinner at her (Jewish) home.

The discussion got me thinking about my own extended family's diversity. At Thanksgiving, as we gather around the table, we have Jews (both born and converted), Episcopalians, unaffiliateds and Atheists; we have three gays and one lesbian; we have a nephew-in-law from the Philappines and a son-in-law from England, as well as one son who has lived in several countries.

I think of my friend's family and my own as quintessentially American. How diverse is your family?

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