On May 25th, 1977, George Lucas released his first of a series of movies,
Star Wars IV: A New Hope. It captured the hearts and minds of millions. A tale of good and evil, politics and power struggles, and a group of people willing to risk all, rebelling against the loss of freedom..all set "in a galaxy far, far away". It was followed by two others in
three year intervals. The last three of the second trilogy were released in 1999, again at three year intervals.
In the first movie, we are introduced to a young man named Luke Skywalker. He's just an ordinary boy, who becomes embroiled in a struggle against evil involving an entire galaxy. In the process of helping an old man save a captured princess, Luke learns of Jedi Knights, and throughout the first trilogy, becomes one himself, and eventually (with the help of many others) saves the galaxy. The second trilogy takes us back to the tale of Luke's father, Anakin Skywalker, and his struggle with the Dark Side. Anakin lost the struggle and became the Dark Knight, Darth Vader. The movies were an astounding success and spawned a huge secondary industries in toys, books and games. Darth Vader, Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker were the most popular Halloween costumes for years. Lightsabers were one of the most popular toys in the 1980s
But most of all, many were fascinated by the Jedi Knights. I mean...who wouldn't be! Sheesh, those guys could mess with people's minds, move things with telekinesis, wore hooded robes AND they got to fight with light sabers! I mean how cool is that?!
But much as some wish, there is no such thing as Jedi Knights in our galaxy...or is there?
Hmm..lets take a peek behind that orange Sith tattoo.
In 2001, a huge e-mail campaign hoax asked people to list Jedi as their primary religion on the UK Census. And many did, feeling that the government had no need to know something they considered private...their religion. In Australia, 70,000 people (0.37%) declared themselves Jedi or Jedi Knights on their census. In Canada, 21,000 people suddenly became Jedi Knights. In New Zealand, 53,000 people declared they were Jedi's, and in England and Wales almost 400,000 people declared they were adherents to the Order of Jedi Knights. Worldwide almost 600,000 people were sudden converts. This led to something called the Jedi census phenomenon. I remember many years ago filling in the question about my religion on my census form with "Jedi". It was rather funny at the time.
But the joke was on us. Jediism has actually became a real religion!! So many felt that becoming a Jedi Knight was an obtainable and noble objective, an online religion sprang up adhering to the beliefs and creed of the Jedi Order. In 2008, Daniel and Barney Jones founded the International Church of Jediism, as they felt that since the UK consensus recognized Jedi as a religion, there were more Jedi than Scientologists in the UK. The Jedi's know that the Jedi's in Star Wars are fictional characters in a movie, but have decided that they like the idea of a religion based on the Force
Central to all Jedi beliefs is the existence of the Force, an impersonal energy flowing throughout the universe. The Force may be equated to other religions' and cultures' beliefs such as the Indian prana, the Chinese qi, the Daoist dao, and the Christian Holy Spirit.
A
Code:
There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force.
And a
Creed
Jedi are the guardians of peace in the Galaxy.
Jedi use their powers to defend and protect, never to attack others.
Jedi respect all life, in any form.
Jedi serve others rather than rule over them, for the good of the Galaxy.
Jedi seek to improve themselves through knowledge and training.
There's even a
book!
And a website The Order of the Jedi, if you're so inclined to join.
Funny Facts:
In 2009, Daniel Jones was tossed out of a supermarket in Bangor, North Wales, for refusing to remove his hood. The owner states:
He hasn't been banned. Jedis are very welcome to shop in our stores although we would ask them to remove their hoods. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and Luke Skywalker all appeared hoodless without ever going over to the Dark Side and we are only aware of the Emperor as one who never removed his hood.
In 2013, The free Church of Scotland worried that a proposed bill, The Marriage and Partnership Bill, would:
lead to Star Wars Jedi marrying couples'. Patrick Day-Childs, of the Church of Jediism, and Rev Michael Kitchen, of Temple of the Jedi Order, both defended the right of Jedi to perform marriage ceremonies.
Interestingly enough, Jedi Knights are now allowed to marry couples in the US.
In England and Wales 390,127 people (almost 0.8%) stated their religion as Jedi on their 2001 Census forms, surpassing Sikhism, Judaism, and Buddhism, and making it the fourth largest reported religion in the country.
In Scotland, 14,052 people stated that Jedi was their current religion (14,014 "Jedi", 24 "Jedi Order" and 14 Sith") and 2,733 stated that it was their religion of upbringing (2,682 "Jedi", 36 "Jedi Order" and 15 "The Dark Side) in the 2001 census.
bolding mine
On 16 November 2006, two Jedi delivered a protest letter to UN officials in recognition of the International Day for Tolerance. They requested that it be renamed the "UN Interstellar Day of Tolerance" and cited the 2001 Census showing 390,000 Jedi in England and Wales.
Mmmm hmm...that's right!!! You too, can become a Jedi Knight (and yes..you can have a light saber if you want)
http://altreligion.about.com/...
http://altreligion.about.com/...
https://en.wikipedia.org/...