#behold - the reason i haven't posted in three weeks

[yeoldenews]

A Guide to Historically Accurate Regency-Era Names

I recently received a message from a historical romance writer asking if I knew any good resources for finding historically accurate Regency-era names for their characters.

Not knowing any off the top of my head, I dug around online a bit and found there really isn’t much out there. The vast majority of search results were Buzzfeed-style listicles which range from accurate-adjacent to really, really, really bad.

I did find a few blog posts with fairly decent name lists, but noticed that even these have very little indication as to each name’s relative popularity as those statistical breakdowns really don't exist.

I began writing up a response with this information, but then I (being a research addict who was currently snowed in after a blizzard) thought hey - if there aren’t any good resources out there why not make one myself?

As I lacked any compiled data to work from, I had to do my own data wrangling on this project. Due to this fact, I limited the scope to what I thought would be the most useful for writers who focus on this era, namely - people of a marriageable age living in the wealthiest areas of London.

So with this in mind - I went through period records and compiled the names of 25,000 couples who were married in the City of Westminster (which includes Mayfair, St. James and Hyde Park) between 1804 to 1821.

So let’s see what all that data tells us…

To begin - I think it’s hard for us in the modern world with our wide and varied abundance of first names to conceive of just how POPULAR popular names of the past were.

If you were to take a modern sample of 25-year-old (born in 1998) American women, the most common name would be Emily with 1.35% of the total population. If you were to add the next four most popular names (Hannah, Samantha, Sarah and Ashley) these top five names would bring you to 5.5% of the total population. (source: Social Security Administration)

If you were to do the same survey in Regency London - the most common name would be Mary with 19.2% of the population. Add the next four most popular names (Elizabeth, Ann, Sarah and Jane) and with just 5 names you would have covered 62% of all women.

To hit 62% of the population in the modern survey it would take the top 400 names.

The top five Regency men’s names (John, William, Thomas, James and George) have nearly identical statistics as the women’s names.

I struggled for the better part of a week with how to present my findings, as a big list in alphabetical order really fails to get across the popularity factor and also isn’t the most tumblr-compatible format. And then my YouTube homepage recommended a random video of someone ranking all the books they’d read last year - and so I present…

The Regency Name Popularity Tier List

The Tiers

S+ - 10% of the population or greater. There is no modern equivalent to this level of popularity. 52% of the population had one of these 7 names.

S - 2-10%. There is still no modern equivalent to this level of popularity. Names in this percentage range in the past have included Mary and William in the 1880s and Jennifer in the late 1970s (topped out at 4%).

A - 1-2%. The top five modern names usually fall in this range. Kids with these names would probably include their last initial in class to avoid confusion. (1998 examples: Emily, Sarah, Ashley, Michael, Christopher, Brandon.)

B - .3-1%. Very common names. Would fall in the top 50 modern names. You would most likely know at least 1 person with these names. (1998 examples: Jessica, Megan, Allison, Justin, Ryan, Eric)

C - .17-.3%. Common names. Would fall in the modern top 100. You would probably know someone with these names, or at least know of them. (1998 examples: Chloe, Grace, Vanessa, Sean, Spencer, Seth)

D - .06-.17%. Less common names. In the modern top 250. You may not personally know someone with these names, but you’re aware of them. (1998 examples: Faith, Cassidy, Summer, Griffin, Dustin, Colby)

E - .02-.06%. Uncommon names. You’re aware these are names, but they are not common. Unusual enough they may be remarked upon. (1998 examples: Calista, Skye, Precious, Fabian, Justice, Lorenzo)

F - .01-.02%. Rare names. You may have heard of these names, but you probably don’t know anyone with one. Extremely unusual, and would likely be remarked upon. (1998 examples: Emerald, Lourdes, Serenity, Dario, Tavian, Adonis)

G - Very rare names. There are only a handful of people with these names in the entire country. You’ve never met anyone with this name.

H - Virtually non-existent. Names that theoretically could have existed in the Regency period (their original source pre-dates the early 19th century) but I found fewer than five (and often no) period examples of them being used in Regency England. (Example names taken from romance novels and online Regency name lists.)

Just to once again reinforce how POPULAR popular names were before we get to the tier lists - statistically, in a ballroom of 100 people in Regency London: 80 would have names from tiers S+/S. An additional 15 people would have names from tiers A/B and C. 4 of the remaining 5 would have names from D/E. Only one would have a name from below tier E.

Women's Names

S+ Mary, Elizabeth, Ann, Sarah      

S - Jane, Mary Ann+, Hannah, Susannah, Margaret, Catherine, Martha, Charlotte, Maria

A - Frances, Harriet, Sophia, Eleanor, Rebecca

B - Alice, Amelia, Bridget~, Caroline, Eliza, Esther, Isabella, Louisa, Lucy, Lydia, Phoebe, Rachel, Susan

C - Ellen, Fanny*, Grace, Henrietta, Hester, Jemima, Matilda, Priscilla

D - Abigail, Agnes, Amy, Augusta, Barbara, Betsy*, Betty*, Cecilia, Christiana, Clarissa, Deborah, Diana, Dinah, Dorothy, Emily, Emma, Georgiana, Helen, Janet^, Joanna, Johanna, Judith, Julia, Kezia, Kitty*, Letitia, Nancy*, Ruth, Winifred>

E - Arabella, Celia, Charity, Clara, Cordelia, Dorcas, Eve, Georgina, Honor, Honora, Jennet^, Jessie*^, Joan, Joyce, Juliana, Juliet, Lavinia, Leah, Margery, Marian, Marianne, Marie, Mercy, Miriam, Naomi, Patience, Penelope, Philadelphia, Phillis, Prudence, Rhoda, Rosanna, Rose, Rosetta, Rosina, Sabina, Selina, Sylvia, Theodosia, Theresa

F - (selected) Alicia, Bethia, Euphemia, Frederica, Helena, Leonora, Mariana, Millicent, Mirah, Olivia, Philippa, Rosamund, Sybella, Tabitha, Temperance, Theophila, Thomasin, Tryphena, Ursula, Virtue, Wilhelmina

G - (selected) Adelaide, Alethia, Angelina, Cassandra, Cherry, Constance, Delilah, Dorinda, Drusilla, Eva, Happy, Jessica, Josephine, Laura, Minerva, Octavia, Parthenia, Theodora, Violet, Zipporah

H - Alberta, Alexandra, Amber, Ashley, Calliope, Calpurnia, Chloe, Cressida, Cynthia, Daisy, Daphne, Elaine, Eloise, Estella, Lilian, Lilias, Francesca, Gabriella, Genevieve, Gwendoline, Hermione, Hyacinth, Inez, Iris, Kathleen, Madeline, Maude, Melody, Portia, Seabright, Seraphina, Sienna, Verity

Men's Names

S+ John, William, Thomas

S - James, George, Joseph, Richard, Robert, Charles, Henry, Edward, Samuel

A - Benjamin, (Mother’s/Grandmother’s maiden name used as first name)#

B - Alexander^, Andrew, Daniel, David>, Edmund, Francis, Frederick, Isaac, Matthew, Michael, Patrick~, Peter, Philip, Stephen, Timothy

C - Abraham, Anthony, Christopher, Hugh>, Jeremiah, Jonathan, Nathaniel, Walter

D - Adam, Arthur, Bartholomew, Cornelius, Dennis, Evan>, Jacob, Job, Josiah, Joshua, Lawrence, Lewis, Luke, Mark, Martin, Moses, Nicholas, Owen>, Paul, Ralph, Simon

E - Aaron, Alfred, Allen, Ambrose, Amos, Archibald, Augustin, Augustus, Barnard, Barney, Bernard, Bryan, Caleb, Christian, Clement, Colin, Duncan^, Ebenezer, Edwin, Emanuel, Felix, Gabriel, Gerard, Gilbert, Giles, Griffith, Harry*, Herbert, Humphrey, Israel, Jabez, Jesse, Joel, Jonas, Lancelot, Matthias, Maurice, Miles, Oliver, Rees, Reuben, Roger, Rowland, Solomon, Theophilus, Valentine, Zachariah

F - (selected) Abel, Barnabus, Benedict, Connor, Elijah, Ernest, Gideon, Godfrey, Gregory, Hector, Horace, Horatio, Isaiah, Jasper, Levi, Marmaduke, Noah, Percival, Shadrach, Vincent

G - (selected) Albion, Darius, Christmas, Cleophas, Enoch, Ethelbert, Gavin, Griffin, Hercules, Hugo, Innocent, Justin, Maximilian, Methuselah, Peregrine, Phineas, Roland, Sebastian, Sylvester, Theodore, Titus, Zephaniah

H - Albinus, Americus, Cassian, Dominic, Eric, Milo, Rollo, Trevor, Tristan, Waldo, Xavier

# Men were sometimes given a family surname (most often their mother's or grandmother's maiden name) as their first name - the most famous example of this being Fitzwilliam Darcy. If you were to combine all surname-based first names as a single 'name' this is where the practice would rank.

*Rank as a given name, not a nickname

+If you count Mary Ann as a separate name from Mary - Mary would remain in S+ even without the Mary Anns included

~Primarily used by people of Irish descent

^Primarily used by people of Scottish descent

>Primarily used by people of Welsh descent

I was going to continue on and write about why Regency-era first names were so uniform, discuss historically accurate surnames, nicknames, and include a little guide to finding 'unique' names that are still historically accurate - but this post is already very, very long, so that will have to wait for a later date.

If anyone has any questions/comments/clarifications in the meantime feel free to message me.

Methodology notes: All data is from marriage records covering six parishes in the City of Westminster between 1804 and 1821. The total sample size was 50,950 individuals.

I chose marriage records rather than births/baptisms as I wanted to focus on individuals who were adults during the Regency era rather than newborns. I think many people make the mistake when researching historical names by using baby name data for the year their story takes place rather than 20 to 30 years prior, and I wanted to avoid that. If you are writing a story that takes place in 1930 you don’t want to research the top names for 1930, you need to be looking at 1910 or earlier if you are naming adult characters.

I combined (for my own sanity) names that are pronounced identically but have minor spelling differences: i.e. the data for Catherine also includes Catharines and Katherines, Susannah includes Susannas, Phoebe includes Phebes, etc.

The compound 'Mother's/Grandmother's maiden name used as first name' designation is an educated guesstimate based on what I recognized as known surnames, as I do not hate myself enough to go through 25,000+ individuals and confirm their mother's maiden names. So if the tally includes any individuals who just happened to be named Fitzroy/Hastings/Townsend/etc. because their parents liked the sound of it and not due to any familial relations - my bad.

I did a small comparative survey of 5,000 individuals in several rural communities in Rutland and Staffordshire (chosen because they had the cleanest data I could find and I was lazy) to see if there were any significant differences between urban and rural naming practices and found the results to be very similar. The most noticeable difference I observed was that the S+ tier names were even MORE popular in rural areas than in London. In Rutland between 1810 and 1820 Elizabeths comprised 21.4% of all brides vs. 15.3% in the London survey. All other S+ names also saw increases of between 1% and 6%. I also observed that the rural communities I surveyed saw a small, but noticeable and fairly consistent, increase in the use of names with Biblical origins.

Sources of the records I used for my survey: 

Ancestry.com. England & Wales Marriages, 1538-1988 [database on-line].

Ancestry.com. Westminster, London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1935 [database on-line].

#history #regency #1800s #1810s #names #london #writing resources #regency romance #jane austen #bridgerton #bridgerton would be an exponentially better show if daphne's name was dorcas #behold - the reason i haven't posted in three weeks

[catgirl-pawbs]

ROSIE HOBBYING UPDATE

though,,, I've said it a few times in a few places but I'm super enamoured with the concept of having different names for different contexts though I've been bad at actually doing it and the name I'd like to use in online spaces / for people I don't know irl is Ryuuka (I know I had another online alias/name before that i streamed under for 2yrs but due to Events I now hate being called that so all 3 of u that know it that name is dead to me now please forget) so I suppose instead I should write

✨🎀RYUUKA HOBBYING UPDATE🎀✨

LONG POST INCOMING sorry if I take up ur whole dash

so I tried to search my blog for the "hobbying" tag to see what I have and have not posted recently but lo and behold,

tumblr is truly the functional of webbedsites, I KNOW ITS THERE I PUT IT THERE now please show me !

except it won't if course because it sucks.

so anyway I'm gonna start typing about things and hope I get everything I haven't posted and nothing I have.

something like three weeks ago, I finally got to play a match of Warhammer 40k with my older brother! this had been in the making in a way since 2014(-ish I don't remember), when this same brother introduced myself and my other brother to the concept of Warhammer and all three of us bought models. sadly both brothers quickly discovered the "building and painting" portion of the hobby and promptly dropped out, one of them giving his T'au models to me because I LOVED THIS SHIT.

anyway I think I posted about all this before and that Match In Question wherein I took 500pts of Grey Knights (Brother-Captain, Terminator Squad, Strike Squad) against my brother's 500pts Imperial Guard (Commissar, Guardsmen regiment, 3x Mortar Crew models, Sentinel, Leman Russ)or something like that I didn't read his list. Unfortunately this battle ended with my noble Grey Knights getting summarily decimated and right tabled by the mighty power of the autocannon-equipped Leman Russ if that bastard Russ wasn't already dead I'd kill him myself

again I'm fairly sure I've posted about this before so I'll stop there and not add images.

also before I continue (to explain why points counts might seem weird to other 40kplayers) I should note that I have been and will continue to be playing Fifth Edition Warhammer 40k, because those are the books that I have. New books are hellishly expensive and I cannot for the life of me figure out how to reasonably use wahapedia so anyone who is going to tell me to play a more recent edition please kindly do one of the following;

1.) shush.

2.) buy me the books urself since you can afford it

3.) go get intimate with a cactus.

Now! about a week ago, a little less, I got to play ANOTHER match of 40k! a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. this time with a friend who has an adjacent interest in similar sort of games and who helped me build the felt-and-aquariumplant terrain pieces Im certain I posted pictures of before though I can't go check >:|

This match was again 500pts and featured both my lovely new terrain and the following armies;

TYRANIDS. >Tyranid Prime (boneswords, devourer) >3xRaveners (rending claws) >5x Ymgarl Genestealers >10xHormagaunts (adrenaline glands) >10xTermagaunts (devourers)

GREY KNIGHTS. >Brother-Captain (mastercrafted storm bolter, mastercrafted nemesis force sword) >5xTerminator (mastercrafted storm bolter [justicar], mastercrafted nemesis force sword [justicar]) >5xStrike Squad (nemesis force halberds [all], mastercrafted storm bolter [justicar])

it was great! took about 4 hours because I hadn't memorized everything yet and my friend/opponent was new to 5th but we had a good time despite getting real exhausted by the end of it there are too damn many numbers to remember

I'm still super happy with how the new terrain looks!! sure it's very Amateur Hour and doesn't look ~realistic~ but I love it and am very proud of it!

Unfortunately in this match, the Grey Knights not played by me this time again tasted bitter defeat. I begin to think that list I made just sucks. or that the army needs a larger point total to make a functional list. further experimentation needed.

First blood was taken by the Knights shooting down a few(2) Hormagaunts, which was repeated in the next turn gunning down another 5 of them. the remaining gaunts took shelter for their lives behind a small copse of trees, though the Knights' Terminators quickly closed to finish their prey.

the Nids took revenge in the Genestealers flanking and stealing the jeans off the Strike Squad, without a single loss.

Finally came the crushing melee of the Raveners charging the Terminators and Captain from the cover of the ruins, slowly inflicting death (with great difficulty and losing one of their number due to those incredible 2+saves), eventually being joined by the Tyranid Prime and Genestealers in finishing off the stragglers.

the Termagants... yeah. those guys were there. they mostly just hung around. fired off 40?-ish shots and inflicted a total of 1 wound. good job guys. worth every point, truly.

Unfortunately because I failed to teach the game and remember the rules properly, this match was unbalanced, as the Terminators were not making 2 melee attacks per turn as they should've and I'd forgot to roll for the Nids instinctive behaviour rules (though the only difference that would've really made was the already useless gants running for cover if they failed)

It was a good learning experience and we had fun though!! surely we'll have a better and more heated match next time! ฅ⁠^⁠•⁠ﻌ⁠•⁠^⁠ฅ

that kaomoji looks kinda haunted,,

In other news! yesterday I finally took the time to get my printer in Operational Condition again! this means that, after being more than a month with only one arm, my Knight Armiger Warglaive proxy (model courtesy of u/johnbearross on reddit) is finally fully operational! catgirl very extremely excited about this one

additionally, though I do need to print another warglaive and two helverins still, I've started on printing the bigger boy, a Questoris Knight Paladin proxy (model credits the same), something I've been excited to do for forever and the next step towards the biggest finalest goal; the Imperator Titan

base and left leg printed (6h each), right leg in production (another 6h) (also I know the quality is bad because of the flash but my kitchen's lighting is awful and I promise without it looks worse) (don't mind the bag of rice in the bg, girl's gotta eat)

FINALLY, the most recent development in Ryuuka's Hobbying;

MY BOYS??!??! MY BEAUTIFUL LOVELY SPECTACULAR BOYS????? THEY ARRIVED TODAY!!

bit of a story on this one, but first; I know that I told one of my dear friends like 6months ago that the next time I bought gunpla of get one for u too and we sat down and picked one out for u and everything and I didn't forget I swear but I shouldn't've even bought these boys since I have a lot of debt going on, the only reason I did is that on god man I need a distraction project or the depression is gonna Get To Me (not that it doesn't already but,) so like. When I actually have spare money instead of spending money I don't have I WILL get u that gunpla and we will build them together I didn't and am not gonna forget.

Okay so the deal with these boys is that I was talking to a friend recently about how I really like the appearance of Mass Production Mobile Suits over the special Gundam suits (unpopular opinion but I hate gundam suits' horns/crests, I think they look so so silly), in particular I love the look of the DaggerL and the Rgm-79 GM, but I really don't like the GM's helmet, I feel that it dramatically detracts from my man's vibes since the GM is made of angular and square segments and then the helmet is ROUND and also the visor is really large and open, giving it something of a 'friendly' (anthropromorphizing, I know) look that really doesn't suit the rest of it's design. In the same moment I was lamenting this design contradiction, a guncannon came on screen, which has a helmet with a narrower visor, and a- well I guess it's called a visor too but the shade thing some helmets have like a built-in imitation ballcap thing and anyway the Guncannon's head design gives it a much more 'serious' look that I feel would fit great on the GM, and the GM's more open and round design would fit right in with the Guncannon's rounded limbs and fuckoff huge shoulder-mounted cannon barrels.

So immediately in that conversation I had something of an epiphany of this and decided that I HAVE TO make a headswap of those guys and NOW IM DOING IT except what I need right now is a project so we're taking it a couple steps further

I'm gonna trim these guys all out of the runners, file the nubs, label all the parts with masking tape and little baggies, swap the head parts, then going one colour/runner at a time, prime them black, paint them, panel line them, sticker them, top coat them, and ONLY THEN will I finally start assembling them

I've never painted a gunpla before but the best way to start is a headfirst dive into conkcrete babey let's get it

also I want to try weathering on my GM, nevermind that I've never tried it before and have no idea how, and each kit will be getting a different topcoat; glossy for the Guncannon because I want my boy to look like fun lil candy apple lad, and matte for my GM because I want it to be a semi-realistic Setpiece build.

also been thinking about utilizing the power of masking tape mid-painting process to add stripes of red to GM's arm&leg armour, but currently unsure if I want to follow through with the idea.

kay I think that's everything that's a lotta words I've been typing for forever it's 3am im not checking for typos I'm gonna sleep now goodnight gamers, nyan~

#hobbying #warhammer40k #gunpla #this took me over two hours to type up and shouldve been like four posts but fuck it y'all get it all in one #hope someone enjoys reading my nonsense #didnt have a pinned post so this gets pinned for a little while to force more people to see it you're welcome :>

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Ryan Burge

Published: 26 Jan, 2024

One of the most challenging aspects of this job appears simple to those who haven't done it before: crafting survey questions. It’s such an impossible task, especially when you are trying to develop new measures that haven’t been used before in other surveys. To put this in some context, I met with a team of three graduate assistants every other week for an hour for the entire Fall semester just to get a survey in shape to be rolled out to a select group of early reviewers. Sending out that first draft is nerve-wracking because you know that many aspects won't work and will need adjustments or removal. It's akin to typing into a Google Doc, and a collaborator logs in, leaving you feeling vulnerable.

Over Christmas break, I had sent the test link out to some folks that I really trust and I know that they will provide some excellent feedback. I was not disappointed. Our research team met earlier this week to review the feedback and make some changes; we all agreed that this moved us closer to a finished product.

But there’s one comment that I received that I have been thinking about a lot. There's a section of the survey that inquires about spirituality and spiritual practices. Most reviewers had the same critique: they wished for a clear definition of spirituality within the survey. I get that impulse. I really do. But, I don’t think I’m going to be able to do that for a simple reason: 

I don’t know that our team could write a definition of spirituality that most people would agree with. It’s very much “in the eye of the beholder.” 

However, I may actually understand spirituality a bit better now thanks to some recent data posted on the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) that was funded by the Fetzer Institute. The National Religion and Spirituality Survey, conducted in late 2022 with a total sample size of 3,651, provided valuable insights into how people perceive the words 'religious' and 'spiritual’.

I know it’s a cliche when I write this, but in this case it’s true: I honestly understand the world a little bit better after doing this data work. It absolutely sharpens my understanding of the religious/spiritual world and how the average person relates to both those concepts. 

There was a question battery at the beginning of the survey that listed a whole bunch of terms (13 in total) and folks were asked if that word described spirituality to them. Then they were given the same list of terms and asked if those described religion to them. It offers a peek behind the curtain of how these words are understood in the general population. 

The general consensus that emerges is that people tend to associate many words with spirituality, but fewer terms describe religion. For example, eight of these terms clearly describe spirituality more than they describe religion: clarity, inspiration, love, peace, purpose, transcendence, transformation, and wonder. And in many cases the percentage difference between religion and spirituality is pretty large. It’s thirteen points for peace (68% vs 53%). It’s eight points for love (55% vs 47%) and seven points for inspiration and clarity. The most chosen terms here are peace, love, and inspiration. 

In contrast, there are only a few terms clearly associated with religion: belonging (35% vs. 29%), structure (32% vs. 22%), and values (51% vs. 47%). Eight for spirituality and three for religion. The words that are most likely to be associated with religion are peace, values, and love. Only 17% of folks say that transformation and wonder describe religion, just 12% say that transcendence is a part of religion. I feel like there’s an entire dissertation to be written about that. 

But how do religion and spirituality work together? Folks were asked, “How spiritual are you?” and then were asked, “How religious are you?” They were given four response options ranging from “not at all” to “very.” What I think is fascinating is the result when you put those two questions into a heat map. 

Just 9% of the population identified as both very religious and very spiritual. The most common response was that they were both moderately spiritual and moderately religious, with 23% in that category. In contrast, 12% of the sample said that they were not at all religious and not at all spiritual. Clearly the diagonal line across the middle of the heat map was where most people found themselves - these four squares represent 56% of the sample. 

Only .2% of folks said that they were very religious but not at all spiritual. In contrast, 3.2% were very spiritual but not at all religious. One throughline that I see is that there are lots of people who are not religious but somewhat spiritual, but the opposite is much less prevalent. Almost everyone who says that they are religious also says that they are moderately or very spiritual. It’s almost like spirituality doesn’t need religion but spirituality is an essential part of religion.  

One question I had when I started looking through these questions was: are young people more likely to embrace spirituality and reject religion? And are older folks more attracted to religion and less to spirituality? There’s a decent sample size here so I can answer these questions. 

Among the youngest adults, slightly less than half claimed to be moderately or very spiritual, while the share for religion was about ten percentage points lower. These trends remained relatively stable from ages 18 to 40, with a persistent ten-point gap. But then both lines began to slowly drift upwards among those in their forties and fifties. The share who say that they are moderately/very spiritual moves up to about 50% around 50 years old. There’s also an upward movement among those who say the same about religion.

But then the lines basically flatten off again - from 55 years old all the way to 75 years old. Even among the oldest Americans, spirituality is embraced more than religion. Among those who are 70 years old about two-thirds say that they are moderately/very spiritual and around 55% say they are moderately/very religious. So, spirituality is clearly more popular across the board. And it’s really fascinating how that gap is basically the same size across the entire age spectrum. 

I wanted to end this piece by analyzing a series of questions about whether spirituality or religion has any bearing on how people act in the real world. For instance, folks were asked how much they agreed with this statement, “My <Religion or Spirituality> Impacts My Political Views.” Response options ranged from strongly disagree to strongly agree. 

Just 13% of people strongly agreed that religion impacted their political views, while it was 16% for spirituality. Thirty-eight percent agreed that spirituality influenced their political views, compared to 30% for religion. Folks were 21 points more likely to strongly disagree with the statement “religion impacts my political views” than strongly agree. That’s not a small difference. For the spirituality question the difference was only ten points (26% vs 16%). 

But, how about their political activity like protesting, attending campaign events, etc? The same kind of gaps emerge here, too. 

The most common response for the statement, 'My Religion Impacts My Political Activity,' was strongly disagree at 37%, with only 10% strongly agreeing. In total, people were twice as likely to disagree as to agree (47% vs 24%). Spirituality fares just a bit better. Nearly a third of the sample agreed that their spirituality impacted their political activity while 37% disagreed. But big chunks of the sample neither agreed nor disagreed with each statement. It just doesn’t feel like religion or spirituality are motivating folks to get engaged in the political process. 

I wanted to show you all one more question that used this format, but this time it was the impact of spirituality or religion on civic engagement which is activities like volunteering their time for a nonprofit or donating to charity. 

Again, a similar pattern emerges, with spirituality driving civic engagement more than religion. In terms of religion, 28% said it drove their civic engagement, while for spirituality, it was 34%. A third of the sample strongly disagreed that religion drove their volunteerism, it was only 25% who said the same thing about their spirituality. Across the board, it’s spirituality that seems to be doing more work than religion. 

There’s a belief out there that spirituality tends to be more selfish than religion. For instance, things like meditation and yoga are more individualistic practices. Meanwhile, religious practices (especially corporate worship) are outwardly focused toward engaging not only with the rest of the religious body but also the community at large. 

But in a great paper published in 2022, Jaime Kucinskas and Evan Stewart tested this hypothesis and what they found largely comports with what I just showed you in the last three graphs. Spirituality is not necessarily selfish. Instead, they argue for what they call, “substituting spirituality.” They describe it this way, “spiritual practice (works) as a substitute for religious engagement among groups alienated from religious institutions, with the former capable of fostering similar proclivities for political action as the latter.” 

I think almost everyone in the United States has heard the term Religious Right, but that seems to be anachronistic given the changing spiritual landscape of the 21st century. It’s not religion that drives political engagement, it’s spirituality. 

==

An obvious question needs to be, "what is the point of religion, then?"

#Ryan Burge #religion #spiritual #spirituality #spiritual not religious #atheism #religion is a mental illness

[hoochieblues]

@aria-i-adagio tagged me for this a while ago (tysm!) and it has been languishing in my drafts. So… woe and behold?

three ships: ooh. My Dragon Age brainrot could fill all three, but let's go mage!Handers, plus Hannigram as this was the year of that glorious rabbithole, and… I'm inclined to say the Dracula polycule (Harker also starts with H, you know) given that Tumblr Book Club is still in full swing and putting me in my gothic feels.

first ever ship: Good question. Small me had multiple Feels upon reading LOTR for the first time, which I now understand as Hobbit Polycule and Tall Boyfriends, with a side order of Gosh, WWI-era Masculine Ideals Were Quite Homoerotic Weren't They? Honorable mention for - and it may be niche but I'm sure there are like three other people who remember it - Horatio/Archie (old timey ITV Hornblower adaptation anyone?). I haven't thought about that in years but ask me a question and you will get some sort of answer. Apparently.

last song: uh… Lay All Your Love On Me by Pale Honey, according to the shuffle gods. I can only assume an ABBA cover is mandatory at some point in the career of every Swedish band. Probably the law.

last movie: When this post entered my drafts folder it was Visiting Hours (1982) which I had low expectations for but actually liked and would recommend as a movie containing a pretty neat critique of its genre (a self-identified 'feminist' slasher). If I was going to make those video essays I keep saying I'd like to, I'd write an hour's script making cross-references to Network (1976) and Maniac (1980) for those reasons. If someone provided me with enough vodka tonics and Twizzlers, maybe I'd even do a side-by-side takedown with the famously also 'feminist' Slumber Party Massacre II, though goodness knows we'd all regret it. Anyway, since then the most recent is El Conde (2023), which should probably also merit a hypothetical video essay. Not necessarily for the same reasons, but oh my it's worth seeing if you want to get hit in the face with a 2x4 of darkly comic political commentary.

currently reading: I am only just slowly climbing out of short deadline hell and cannot concentrate on my TBR pile but - when I get back to it - it's time to reread Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes. 'tis the season, and I'm looking forward to it.

currently watching: Deutsche Oper am Rhein - Tchaikovsky's The Maid of Orleans, which I'm liking as a production even though musically or plotwise I wouldn't say it's a fave. Then again, tf do I know about music. Also: foster dogs wrestling. One is trying to choke the other out (affectionately). I'm commentating in the style of Jim Ross: 'as god is my witness she's broken in haaaaaalf!' etc. etc.

currently eating/drinking: Grumpy Mule coffee, a brand name I am currently relating to on a spiritual level. It's not bad.

currently craving: crispy tofu with a jalapeno peach dipping sauce. Peanut noodles. Mushroom tortellini. Apparently I haven't eaten yet. Also, the excuse to make some overly involved ridiculous patisserie thing like Paris-Brest because a) I haven't made or eaten overly froofy desserts in ages, and b) I wanna get stupid with it and make earl grey/cardamom infused namelaka for proof of concept reasons. I've been thinking about this idea for a week now. Send help.

I am really late with this so, if you would like to consider yourself tagged please do so. There's not a one of you I wouldn't like to know better <3

#tag games #all about me #really though #el conde is worth it. it's uh. not subtle in any sense of the word #but it does have the most wrenchingly horrifying margaret thatcher you'll see on film #outside of archive footage obviously

[jrpneblog]

Lowe and behold

Whether Ryan Lowe has stumbled on his best team by accident or not there is no doubt that North End will win more games than they lose for the rest of this season with the team that started the game at Cardiff on Saturday. Injuries to Potts and Browne put a dampener on the day but the three points we secured puts North End back in the play off betting when all seemed lost a month ago. North End didn`t start well in the Principality and gave away the ball way too much in the early stages but from the opening goal on the half hour mark there looked like there was only ever going to be one team to win this encounter. When Whiteman made it two with five minutes to go to the break it was all over and although the home side flattered once or twice in the second half North End eased home with as comfortable an away win as you will see in the Championship.

Ryan Lowe kept the same side that beat Ipswich last week and with good reason after recent performances. Having said that we didn't start the game well and Cardiff had a couple of half chances early on. We gave the ball away far too much and our passing wasnt generally up to standard. It was a bit dour for the first half hour until Frokjaer put Riis away down the left only for him to cut inside, beat two defenders and fire home in front of the North End faithful. It was the boot up the backside we needed and to be fair we never looked back from that moment on. Nine minutes later a sweet move down the left eventually saw Frokjaer unselfishly cross for Whiteman to sweep home and double North End`s lead. It was all Preston and the boys played as if the shackles had been released although a few on the terraces were still concerned about the late goal concessions.

No changes at the break for North End as Millar had an early chance to make it three but Alnwick saved at the near post. North End's best chance of the second half came on the hour mark when Frokjaer again put Riis through but his shot was well saved by the keeper diving too his left. With twenty minutes to go North End suffered a blow when Potts limped off to be replaced by McCann with the Scot slotting in at Right Wing Back in place of Potts. Ten minutes later North End were dealt a further injury blow when Browne limped off to be replaced by Ledson. Just what effect these two injuries will have will only become clear in the coming weeks, I guess. North End were comfortably in control at this point and saw out the game with no real scares at all to secure our first win in the Welsh capital for seven years.

So the North End revival continues as we sit just two points behind Sunderland who are in sixth position. I sincerely hope Ryan Lowe can turn round all the ill feeling at the club, some of which was brought on by himself with some off the field comments. I doubt many criticised Lowe more than me as I felt personally offended by things he had said particularly regarding fans. However football is all about winning games on the pitch and while I haven't forgiven Lowe, yet, I must give him and his staff and, of course, the players all the credit that is due to them for at least putting this good run together. The final judgement will only be made on May 5th but here we are in the middle of February with North End safe from relegation and with an increasing chance of being involved in the play off shout. There is a long way to go and many games to come but another month like the last month and we might be daring to dream again. Well done boys and well done Ryan Lowe.

.

CARDIFF CITY 0-2 PRESTON

.

WOODMAN 7

STOREY7 LINDSAY 7 HUGHES 7

POTTS 7 BROWNE 8 WHITEMAN 7 MILLAR 7

FROKJAER 8

RIIS 8 KEANE 7

.

SUBS

McCANN 7

OSMAJIC 6

BRADY 6

WOODBURN 6

LEDSON 6

.

MOTM: Mads Frokjaer

Attendance 18,763

Preston Fans 562 (3.00%).

1 note

[umnvatra]

take me with you [zhongli]

fem! reader, fluff.

word count: 2.2k words

warning: contains spoilers of 1.1 story quest, "A New Star Approaches".

notes: wanted to post something before Zhongli's banner officially gets released in game! To my fellow travelers who are pulling for him, goodluck. Ad astra abyssosque. May the archons be with you. I haven't written in a long, long time so i apologize if the fic seems rushed or smth shdjdjsjdj

The winds on the harbor are as gentle as ever, brushing his hair lightly as he stood waiting. For some reason as always, he couldn't stop his heart from beating fast in his chest, anticipation eating away at him. It gave him the urge to pace back and forth, but he held himself back. It's been awhile since he's felt an emotion this strong before.

The feeling of awaiting someone's return.

Unconsciously, he held a hand up to his chest, where he could feel his own heart beating wildly. Calm, he thought to himself. Well, he supposes that it couldn't be helped. He missed you so, so much after all.

He knew he could not come with you on your adventures. As much as it pained him to part with you, he had a job at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and you had a quest to fulfill. However, on your time away from him, he could not stop feeling anxious, worried, and most of all, melancholic. Your presence was something that he got used to, to the point where going on everyday without you made him feel as if something was amiss with his day.

When the silhouette of The Crux appeared on the distance, he felt his heart beat faster and he finds that he couldn't stop himself from smiling. Finally...

Without thinking, he immediately steps down into the docks of the harbor, awaiting for the ship to set anchor in Liyue.

The sight of you and Paimon's floating figure appears on top of the ship, with Beidou following shortly after. He could see you waving at him enthusiastically from afar, making his smile widen more than it's supposed to. It's silly, of course. How Zhongli himself acted so differently around you.

When the ship drew nearer, it seemed that you couldn't contain your excitement anymore as you immediately climbed the sides of the ship and jumped, your glider spreading its wings as if they were your own. Zhongli couldn't help but chuckle at the surprised exclaim that came out of Beidou and Paimon at your actions, but it didn't seem like you cared. After all, you had your eyes on him. The pixie immediately followed after you dejectedly as the captain couldn't help but break into an exasperated smile.

He came closer to the edge of the dock, spreading his arms out. He already knew your habits. And if so, he knew that at this moment, you wanted him to...

"Catch me!" You shouted, before retracting your glider. As you fell towards him, Zhongli had already readied himself for impact only to catch you on his arms in time. He struggles to regain balance for a little only to have laughter erupt from you both, your arms automatically wrapping around his neck.

After a month, you have finally returned from Inazuma.

"You lovebirds sure missed each other that much, huh?" Beidou teased, stepping out as The Crux anchored. She looked highly amused at you and Zhongli as she made her way towards you both. Zhongli gave her an appreciative smile in return.

"Beidou. Allow me to express my gratitude for escorting [Name] back safely to Liyue," he says, to which the woman playfully rolls her eyes.

"Oh, don't sweat it. Besides, it was fun to bring [Name] aboard the Crux," she says, casting a grin towards you. "She is... a strong spirit. I gotta say, i'm impressed, Zhongli. The electro archon had lifted the Vision Hunt Decree because of [Name] over here."

At that, Zhongli's eyes strayed back towards your face, who now gave him a shy smile. A feeling of pride bloomed in his chest, and he couldn't help but smile warmly down at you. "Indeed, she is."

"Well! I'll be going to get dinner for myself then. I heard that Xiangling will be cooking in Wanmin today. See you two lovebirds," Beidou said. Paimon lets out a sound of dissatisfaction as she places a hand on her stomach.

"Uuuuugh. Paimon is hungry too. I could really really use some food right now," she says, looking towards you for approval. Zhongli sets you down on the ground as you dusted yourself off.

"Right. I'm hungry too," you say before casting a glance at Zhongli. For some reason, you felt shy around him right now. He looked handsome and elegant as ever, and you looked a little disheveled from your trip from Inazuma. Anywho, his beauty is still enough to make you flustered. "Zhongli? Do you want to come with us?"

"Let it be my treat," he says, making you and Paimon look at each other hesitantly. Before any of you can question him, he brings out a wallet that, surprisingly, had mora in them. "I bought mora with me this time."

"Just so you know, i don't have all day," Beidou calls out, catching all three of your attention. You and Paimon look at each other excitedly before nodding.

You intertwine your fingers with Zhongli's, giving it a squeeze. He looks at you then, and couldn't help but notice the new bandages and scratches that were on your body. You smelled like sea salt and the earthy tones of wood, but he did not mind. In his eyes, you still looked as beautiful as ever. Especially when you smile at him so lovingly like that.

"Let's go," you said softly, tugging his arm.

In order to celebrate, Xiangling overdid herself by whipping up a deliciously cooked Adeptus Temptation for you and Zhongli, and Tianshu Meat for Beidou. Paimon gets the to share with you and Zhongli much to her dismay, as she absolutely does not like how both of you dote on each other and feed each other occasionally. The four of you dine together, laughing and conversing with each other with Xiangling constantly popping up to join in on the conversations too. It was quite a strange sight to behold, having the captain of The Crux dine with the consultant of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and the Traveler who aided in saving Liyue from Osial.

None of you cared though. Especially Zhongli, who was basking in the present, feeding you food and gazing at your face from time to time. Even with you here, his heart trembles with such longing.

When you're finished eating, Beidou ruffles your hair and laughs at the sight of your pout. "Unfortunately, i have to go and tend to some business now." She sighs. "Sport, take good care of yourself. And you too, parlor man. I'll see you two when i see ya," she says, clapping a hand on your shoulder. Both of you bid her goodbye and watch as she disappears amidst the throng of people in the harbor.

Zhongli takes your hand in his and smiles. "Should we go then, my dear? You look like you need some rest."

You flush at the nickname and nod, squeezing his hand again. Paimon sighs quietly behind you, a hand on her head. Oh bother, here you both go again.

And just like that, you all make it back to the guesthouse where Zhongli stayed in. As soon as the door closes behind him, he eyes each of the scars and fresh bandages on your form.

"...And that's Paimon's cue to leave," she says, looking unamused as she fades into trails of constellations. You let out a light laugh at her comment, making the tall gentleman near you relax visibly at the sound. Perhaps you should apologize to Paimon someday for making her the unintentional third wheel on your relationship.

"How was it?" Zhongli asks, clearly referring to Inazuma.

You squeezed his hand, excitement evident in your eyes as a large smile appeared on your face.

"You wouldn't believe it. Inazuma.. it was... crazy," you said.

He leads you towards the couch as you tell him animatedly about your adventures in Inazuma. Raiden, how her rule affected the people in Inazuma, the technology they had, and about a certain vagrant who turned out to be a Fatui harbinger. He carefully combs and unknots your messy hair with his own fingers, listening attentively to your stories. In his mind's eye, he could picture out your journey in trying, and surviving Inazuma. All the piece of history, the emotions of the shogun herself, and the power of the seemingly innocent Harbinger stood so clearly in his head. By the time you were recounting your battle with the fatui, your voice was already slightly hoarse from the amount of talking you've done.

Your adventures always sounded enjoyable and full of wonder to him. With your goal, you are slowly uncovering each and every mystery there was to find in Teyvat. Although you expressed some sadness about the gnosis of the electro archon, Zhongli kisses the crown of your head tenderly, his actions so genuine that it made you relax immediately.

"You've already done the best you could. I am sure the thought counts to Raiden," he says, drawing soothing circles on your palm. You turned towards him with a smile before suddenly enveloping him into a tight hug. He gets taken aback at first, but he slowly relaxes and hugs you back just as tight. He inhales your scent and holds you close, the emotions that he'd been holding off for so many weeks finally spilling over.

"I... missed you," he says into your hair, voice uncharacteristically vulnerable. You chuckle, the vibrations running through his chest and his stomach.

"I missed you too. You have no idea how much i.. couldn't stop thinking about you when i was in Inazuma," you said, your voice becoming low. "When i was trapped in there, i was afraid for a moment. I thought... i couldn't see you anymore. But then i repelled those thoughts away. I told myself that if i fought hard enough, i could see you again for sure."

He squeezes you. That was certainly a terrifying possibility. One that he only realized on his days apart from you. He almost berated himself from letting you go too easily. After all, he knew how dangerous Inazuma was.

But there was no need to worry anymore, as you returned to him safely. Alive. And healthy.

"I wouldn't want to imagine what would happen if you could not come out..." he confesses. At his words, you run your fingers through his hair in hopes of comforting him.

He wouldn't say that he'd let you go so easily again though.

"I would never let that happen. When i faced off with the harbinger, all i had to think about was my brother... and you," You said, making him break out into a smile again. Empowering. Your words always empowered him. No matter how simple.

"Where is your next destination?" He found himself asking, even though he already had an idea.

You break away from the hug, staring at his intense amber ones.

"I have to go to Sumeru next before the fatui can stir up problems again," you respond, your eyes set in determination. Zhongli nods his head in understanding. Of course the shogun directed you next to the Archon of Wisdom next. It was only natural.

"Then... could you take me with you?" He asks, voice almost sheepish. He looked expectant and openly searched your own reaction, but before you can even respond, he opens his mouth again and the words stumble out. "I find that without you here, i get rather... lonely. I feel that something is amiss— " he pauses, exhaling. Goodness, he wasn't good with expressing his emotions.

"...And i decided that i wanted to take on your journey with you. To fight alongside you, no matter what happens. I want to explore what Teyvat has to offer with you, even if it's dangerous, i- oof —"

He gets interrupted by you enveloping him into an incredibly tight hug that made him feel as if his bones were going to get crushed. Zhongli fidgets uncomfortably, not used to you hugging him this tight when you speak again.

"I thought you'd never ask," you murmur, smiling into his skin. For a long, long time, you'd been worried that you'd have to leave him always just to reach the rest of the regions. Of course you knew that being in a relationship while having a quest such as yours was going to be one full of hardship.

But everything is okay, especially when Zhongli carefully breaks the embrace and cups your face with his hands slowly.

He already made arrangements and talked with Hu Tao. She was willing enough to let him go of his position on the parlor. Leaving Liyue would possibly make him homesick, as he knows no other region like the back of his hand other than it, but he knew that he wanted to go with you no matter what, or where. And he was prepared to take on this journey with you.

It would be of no easy task. He knew an adventure could mean so many things. Joy, rage, curiosity, conflict...

And yet he wanted nothing more than to go with you. And possibly even come with you to your own world.

He leans in, capturing your lips in a slow, sensual kiss that would mark his gratitude.

From the entirety of Teyvat, up until the stars.

#genshin impact #genshin impact zhongli #zhongli #genshin impact fanfiction #i'm so so sorry for not making the reader gender neutral djdjdjdusjjskd my biggest fear is slipping up on the pronouns 😭😭 #and for clarification some of the inazuma parts are made up by me #this is for my fellow zhongli simps out there #this will be my catalyst as well #goodluck to us 🤡

[omories]

i know i haven't posted in a hot minute.

i accidentlly got overemotional when my mom insisted that i eat the other day, and after that she's been on me constantly making sure i eat three meals. which isn't even fucking healthy considering she buys us mcdonalds every other day and keeps making incredibly rich foods for other meals. i've been on a s/h kick because of it since it reminds me i have such little control in my life. i never really expected to post s/h stuff on this blog because when i started this i was actually over a year clean. but lo and behold i'm relapsing worse than i ever have even in middle school. and i'm so fucking embarrassed about it because i'm about to turn 20, and cutting is such a stereotypically teenage habit. but my thoughts lately are 50% occupied with my brain begging me to cut and 50% occupied with my brain telling me i look disgusting and will never be loved. it's kind of funny considering even though i feel a weird joy when i see the aftermath from s/h i'm also filled with a panic and misery that nobody will ever love me because of the scars. anyway i got put on bupropion last week because i spent multiple weeks miserable in bed and decided that enough was fucking enough. i'm not experiencing the whole ~appetite suppressant~ side effects unfortunately but it did make my tinnitus worse :). also also also! because i was so bad at self care for the past month, my new piercings got infected and i had to take them out and they've healed over now :)). everything's been so shit because of my own self sabotage that i was planning out my suicide again with full intention of going through with it, until i overheard a phone conversation my mom was having with a relative that reminded me how bad the aftermath would be. i usually don't think about it because what do i fucking care, i'll be dead, but i was forced to acknowledge it for just a moment which made me decide it wasn't worth it. i still can't decide if that's a good thing or not.

whatever whatever fuck around and find out i guess. uhhh what else. my sister came home today which is yayy friend and noooo fuck noooo please fuck off please. i know that the only reason she ate one meal a day when she was away from home was literally because she couldn't fucking afford food, but i can't help feeling insanely fucking jealous because boo hoo i live with my mother who constantly feeds me. also terrified she'll somehow figure out i've been cutting again because it'll be hard to hide since we literally share a bedroom.

honestly i don't care to change the whole sh thing and ed thing and constant suicidality thing because they don't make me look visibly dysfunctional to the public, since they're hidden. but i do care about having the energy to take care of myself and to get out of bed and complete tasks and just stop being cripplingly depressed. i want people to look at me and think i have myself together. is that fucked up? i only care about the way other people percieve me, how i see myself doesn't really matter because i'm delusional anyway. fuck. i don't know if this is even true. i never know if anything i feel is true. i'm faking everything all the time constantly and lying to everyone. ugh. ugh ugh ugh i wish i could just get in a fucking fatal accident or murder of some sort so that nobody will have to devastate themselves thinking about what they did wrong with me. i think what i'd like the most is to be cut open slowly and made to bleed out to death. i just want it to hurt. murder isn't that common, maybe a car accident where my limbs get torn off but the paramedics don't get there for ages. i want it to be slow and painful. it's what i deserve for ruining my own fucking life. i don't know. i don't even know what i'm saying. i'm gonna go study. i'm gonna try to be functional. if my medication can curb my depression maybe next year i'll see a psychologist and find out if i'm as fucked up as i feel.

#long ass fucking personal post #rambling! #for the sake of it.