Jedism: Latest Up and Coming Religion?

This is the religion better known as the Jedi Church. You read that right--like Luke, Obi-Wan, and Yoda were in Star Wars. I came across this interesting fact by reading an article in The Sun and The Daily Mail that reported the founder of the Jedi Church in England was thrown out of Tesco (supermarket chain in Europe) because he refused to remove his hood.

I almost didn't believe that this could be true, but it is. The Daily Mail article reports that the Jedi Church has an estimated 500,000 followers worldwide. That number doesn't put it on par with Baptists, Catholics, Muslims, Hindus, etc. but it is still a pretty significant number.

I stumbled upon something truly interesting as I browsed the website of the Jedi Church. Attempting to answer the question--Is the Jedi religion fiction?--the website boasts:

Is the Jedi religion fiction? Many religions claim to be the one and only true religion, thus necessitating that all other religions are fictitious. In addition, although many religions claim to speak the word of God, but the truth is they are only the written word of prophets or followers of the religion. There is no way to prove or deny that what was written was the word of God. Several other religions openly admit that their text is not the word of God, and that it is only a prescribed behavior or a philosophy of life (e.g. Buddhism, Scientology). Most non fiction is a discussion of science and life, of things that can be observed, quantified and readily challenged for its truth and authenticity. But not religion. Any religion put to scrutiny is merely words on paper, with no ability to confirm its authenticity. The Jedi church makes no denial that its name and terminology originates from a fictitious past, but the concepts and ideals that are identified by Jedi followers are known for their innate truth. The sun existed before it was given a name, and it could be revered as a God, however, when the sun finally had a human name, it could be written about and communicated with others. The Jedi religion is just like the Sun, it existed before a popular movie gave it a name, and now that it has a name, people all over the world can share their experiences of the Jedi religion, here in the Jedi Church.

So in summary, no religion is truth. It is all just a matter of faith.

That answer is pretty amazing. Basically, the claim is that the Jedi religion has always existed; it was just given a name by George Lucas when he wrote Star Wars. Then if that were not enough, he finishes by making the statement that "no religion is truth." So the followers of the Jedi Church have faith in a falsehood? I don't think a person of any faith truly believes that their religion is false. If they truly believed their religion was false, then why practice it at all? Imagine that I told you if you caught a certain species of fish then you would find a $100 bill in its mouth. More than that, imagine that I also told you that fish cannot produce money in their mouths. Are you really going to put forth the effort to go catch any fish, much less a certain species? I know I wouldn’t.

I think it is readily apparent that the Jedi faith didn't exist before George Lucas and Star Wars, but I just couldn't pass up the opportunity when I read those articles.

2 Response to "Jedism: Latest Up and Coming Religion?"

  • Anonymous Says:

    LOL, the Jedi religion has existed the same way all the other religions have existed. Made up of bits and pieces of other religions. Just like christianity was cobbled together from other older religions.


  • Mr. Hyde Says:

    Anonymous,

    How did you come to believe that "Christianity was cobbled together for other older religions"?