Jedi Cult Influence Grows
According to the 2001 Census, Jedi Knight is the fourth most popular religion in England.
The 2001 Census was the first census that asked people to identify their religion. In addition to a check-box list of major religions, the census form had a write-in space.
When the results were tallied, it was discovered that 7 out of every thousand people in England and Wales wrote “Jedi” in that space.
The reason for the sudden popularity of the Jedi cult can be traced to an internet campaign that—inaccurately—claimed the belief system made popular by the Star Wars films might receive official government recognition if enough people claimed it. To quote one of the emails, “Do it because you love Star Wars…or just to annoy people.”
Jedi Knights Around the World
The religion of Jedi Knight wasn’t limited to Great Britain. The census turned up more than 70,000 Jedis in Australia and 20,000 in Canada. But New Zealand had the highest percentage, at 1.5%. That’s more than 53,000 Jedis.
Religion by the Numbers
The 390,000 Jedis in England and Wales made The Force the fourth most popular religion (0.7% of the population of 52 million), but what were numbers 1 through 3?
Christianity was number one, with 72.0% of the population.
Muslims made up 3.1%.
Hindus made up another 1.1%.
And 14.8%, heathens who will soon be burning in hell for eternity (Hey! I’m joking, alright…), simply said they weren’t religious.
The Creator
George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars and Jedi Knights, was baptised and raised as a Methodist. Lucas expanded his religious views through studying Eastern religious traditions. In an interview with Bill Moyers, he expounds on The Force:
I would hesitate to call the Force God. It’s designed primarily to make young people think about the mystery. Not to say, “Here’s the answer.” It’s to say, Think about this for a second. Is there a God? What does God look like? What does God sound like? What does God feel like? How do we relate to God? Just getting young people to think at that level is what I’ve been trying to do in the films. What eventual manifestation that takes place in terms of how they describe their God, what form their faith takes, is not the point of the movie.
Read more Amazing, Orgasmic, and Fantastic Facts: Amasnic Fact Off Archive.
Read More: Jedi, Star Wars, census, George Lucas
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