390,000 Jedi in Britain

February 13, 2003 7:02 AM

390,000 Jedi in Britain In a recent census 390,000 U.K. residents declared their faith in the Star Wars religion following an e-mail campaign that claimed 10,000 declared Jedites would make Jedi a 'legal and official religion.' So what happens now? Who will build the first Jedi church? (I reckon this says more about British attitutudes to form filling than attitutudes to religion).
posted by rolo (22 comments total)

Apologies for the lack of spell check. Make that attitudes!
posted by rolo at 7:07 AM on February 13, 2003

Return of the Jedi.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 7:21 AM on February 13, 2003

Can I build a church for all of us atheists...?
posted by davidmsc at 7:34 AM on February 13, 2003

Empire. Imperial solders in 4, 5, 6 were pretty much all british actors, right?
posted by tomplus2 at 7:35 AM on February 13, 2003

I reckon this says more about British attitutudes to form filling than attitutudes to religion.

I doubt it. Recent studies show about half of the population claming no religious affiliation at all.
posted by Armitage Shanks at 7:41 AM on February 13, 2003

Can I build a church for all of us atheists...?

You've already got the priests.
posted by goethean at 8:10 AM on February 13, 2003

From the article, lest anyone thinks it actually worked:

> A campaign on the internet claimed -
> wrongly - that Jedi, the belief system at
> the heart of the Star Wars films, would receive official
> government recognition as a religion if enough people
> quoted it on their Census forms.

I quite like this bit too:

> It was least popular in Easington, on the north-east
> coast of England between Sunderland and Hartlepool,
> where it was quoted by only 0.16 per cent of
> respondents. Sedgefield, Knowsley, Blaenau Gwent,
> Merthyr Tydfil and Wear Valley all show less than 0.2 per
> cent of respondents quoting 'Jedi'.

Miserable Welsh bastards. :)
posted by vbfg at 8:27 AM on February 13, 2003

Im one of the 390,000. :)
posted by bhell13 at 8:31 AM on February 13, 2003

Okay, bhell13, if you're a jedi use the jedi mind trick on me and make me post a message.

Holy cow...he is a jedi...
posted by sexymofo at 9:03 AM on February 13, 2003

390,000 eh? Someone should tell Sony that it's not that hard.
posted by Foosnark at 9:10 AM on February 13, 2003

Add a "me too" for the cause. I seem to remember them threatening severe repercussions for anyone not treating the form with suitable respect. They almost seem to treat it as some kind of joke.
posted by zygoticmynci at 9:15 AM on February 13, 2003

Can I build a church for all of us atheists...?


Down here in Texas, we already have one.
posted by bradth27 at 10:38 AM on February 13, 2003

There's also a church for apathetic agnostics.
posted by homunculus at 10:53 AM on February 13, 2003

Well I, for one, welcome our new Jedi overlords.
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 11:24 AM on February 13, 2003

Well, it's new and interesting isn't it, the way that this would never have happened before everyone had email, hey? You couldn't have done this with flyers par example.
posted by mokey at 12:36 PM on February 13, 2003

Wow... 10,000 Jedi. Only one clone, though.

Must suck to be her.
posted by insomnia_lj at 3:14 PM on February 13, 2003

They had all left religion after losing their faith, but they still wanted a "Sunday morning experience" where they could enjoy the fellowship and sense of belonging that comes with church attendance.

What about football? John Madden could be the supreme being and offer wise advice, such as: "Bang, pow, pow, bang!" or "Speed kills!" or "Pat, he flattened him like a pancake."

In other news: I'd join the Jedi religion so long as I could be a dark Jedi or sith lord. I mean, saving the universe is lame, I'd rather just kick some rebel ass or work freelance for cash.
posted by Bag Man at 3:34 PM on February 13, 2003

Bag Man, I thought about the Sith route but you only get one colour of lightsabre [red] where as a Jedi you get to choose your colour which is much cooler! :)
posted by bhell13 at 4:42 PM on February 13, 2003

Here is one UK rapper that is a member of the club.
posted by boost ventilator at 5:23 PM on February 13, 2003

Just heard on LBC news that "Jedi" has been recognised as an official religion in the UK. So far I've not been able to substantiate the report, via other sources .. but wouldn't be so funny !
posted by keno at 5:52 PM on February 13, 2003

eek.. mental note: don't post to mefi when drunk

"but wouldn't *it* be so funny !"
posted by keno at 5:55 PM on February 13, 2003

There's also a church for apathetic agnostics.

Damn it! I wrote "agnostic apatheist" (don't know, don't care) on my form, hoping I was the only one. Now I find out I've signed up to some bunch of nutters who are actually serious about it. I suppose I should go and click that link, to find out what my religious beliefs really are, but to be honest ...
posted by walrus at 7:29 AM on February 14, 2003