Jediism

By 2001 there had been four ‘Star Wars’ films made in the USA and a worldwide fanbase was well established. In the UK’s census of that year there was a new question on religion and over 400,000 people wrote “Jedi” or “Jedi Knight” under ‘Other’. This took pop-culture to a whole new level, although some Jediists claimed that the film franchise had merely highlighted a pre-existing spiritual pathway.

As well as the Jedi Code, there are 16 Teachings, 21 Maxims and 33 Jedi Teachings To Live By, all of which are wholesome and relevant to the modern world. Sermons are given online by Jedi Masters, but some groups meet to practise their lightsaber techniques.

The attention-grabbing census statistic tickled the British sense of humour and was the result of an email sent to fans, declaring that if at least 10,000 of them put “Jedi” on their forms, the authorities would be obliged to recognise Jediism as a legitimate religion. Although it was not, in fact, recognised in that way, the census administrators did allocate it code 896 for the next census in 2011, in which less than half of the original followers still kept the faith. Furthermore, the Temple of the Jedi Order was refused charitable status in 2016.

(Image: Webster2703 at needpix.com / Public domain)