Jediism (or Jedism
) is a philosophy, and in some cases
tongue-in-cheek
The idiom tongue-in-cheek refers to a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner.
History
The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walter Scott ...
joke religion,
mainly based on the depiction of the
Jedi
Jedi (), Jedi Knights, or collectively the Jedi Order are the main heroic protagonists of many works of the '' Star Wars'' franchise. Working symbiotically alongside the Old Galactic Republic, and later supporting the Rebel Alliance, the Jedi O ...
characters in ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' media. Jediism attracted public attention in 2001 when a number of people
recorded their religion as "Jedi" on national censuses.
Jediism is inspired by certain elements of ''Star Wars'', namely the fictional religion of the Jedi. Early websites dedicated to bringing up a belief system from the ''Star Wars'' films were "The Jedi Religion and regulations" and "Jediism". These websites cited the Jedi code, consisting of 21 maxims, as the starting point for a "real Jedi" belief system.
The real-world Jediism movement has no leader or central structure.
Beliefs
Although followers of Jediism acknowledge the influence of ''Star Wars'' on their religion, by following the moral and spiritual codes demonstrated by the fictional Jedi, they also insist their path is different from that of the fictional characters and that Jediism does not focus on the myth and fiction found in ''Star Wars''.
While there is some variation in teaching, the Jedi of the Temple of the Jedi Order follows the "16 teachings" based on the presentation of the fictional Jedi, such as "Jedi are mindful of the negative emotions which lead to the Dark Side" and "Jedi are guardians of peace and justice".
Adherents also follow "21 maxims".
Census phenomenon
Jediism received press coverage following a worldwide email campaign in 2001 urging people to write "Jedi" as their answer to the religion classification question in their country's census, resulting in the
Jedi census phenomenon
In some national population censuses which include a question on religious identity, media report numerous respondents giving their religion as Jedi (or "Jedi Knight") after the quasi-religious order in the ''Star Wars'' science fiction franch ...
. The majority of such respondents are assumed to have claimed the faith as a joke.
Legal recognition
United States
In 2005, the Temple of the Jedi Order was registered in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. It was granted
IRS
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...
tax exemption in 2015. In May 2005, an article on the growth of Jedi religion by Catholic author
Jon M. Sweeney
Jon M. Sweeney (born July 18, 1967) is an author of popular history, spirituality, biography, poetry, fiction for young readers, and memoir. His most frequent subjects are Catholic, particularly St. Francis of Assisi, about whom Sweeney has writte ...
was the most read article on the website Explorefaith.org that year.
United Kingdom
During the drafting of the UK
Racial and Religious Hatred Act, an amendment was proposed that excluded Jedi Knights from any protection, along with
Satanist
Satanism is a group of ideological and philosophical beliefs based on Satan. Contemporary religious practice of Satanism began with the founding of the atheistic Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States in 1966, although a few h ...
s and believers in
animal sacrifice
Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing and offering of one or more animals, usually as part of a religious ritual or to appease or maintain favour with a deity. Animal sacrifices were common throughout Europe and the Ancient Near East until the spr ...
. The amendment was subsequently withdrawn, the proposer explaining that it was "a bit of a joke" to illustrate a point that defining religious belief in legislation is difficult.
In 2007, 23-year-old Daniel Jones founded The Church of Jediism with his brother Barney, believing that the 2001 UK census recognised Jediism as a religion, and that there were "more Jedi than Scientologists in Britain".
In 2009, Jones was removed from a
Tesco
Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
supermarket in
Bangor, North Wales, for refusing to remove his hood on a religious basis. The owner justified Jones's ejection by saying, "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
Obi-Wan Kenobi () is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Within the Star Wars original trilogy, original trilogy, Obi-Wan is a Jedi Master as a supporting character and is portrayed by English actor Alec Guinn ...
,
Yoda
Yoda () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' universe, first appearing in the 1980 film ''The Empire Strikes Back''. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with the Force and is a leading member of the Jedi Order until ...
and
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the protagonist of the original film trilogy of the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Portrayed by Mark Hamill, Luke first appeared in ''Star Wars'' (1977), and he returned in ''The ...
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 expressed concern that a proposed
Marriage and Civil 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.
In December 2016, the
Charity Commission for England and Wales
, type = Non-ministerial government department
, seal =
, seal_caption =
, logo = Charity Commission for England and Wales logo.svg
, logo_caption =
, formed =
, preceding1 =
, d ...
rejected an application to grant
charitable organization
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good).
The legal definitio ...
status to The Temple of the Jedi Order, ruling that the group did not "promote moral or ethical improvement" for charity law purposes.
Turkey
In April 2015, the students of
Dokuz Eylül University
Dokuz Eylül University ( tr, Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi) (DEÜ) is a university in İzmir, Turkey. It was founded in 1982 and is organized in 15 faculties. DEU is the first university which applied the problem-based learning method in Turkey, ...
in
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
started a petition on
Change.org
Change.org is a worldwide nonprofit petition website, based in California, US, operated by the San Francisco-based company of the same name, which has over 400 million users and offers the public the ability to promote the petitions they care abo ...
demanding a Jedi temple be built on the campus. The petition was in response to a previous petition which had demanded a mosque on the campus of
Istanbul Technical University
Istanbul Technical University ( tr, İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, commonly referred to as ITU or The Technical University) is an international technical university located in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the world's third-oldest technical university ...
(İTÜ). The petition demanding the mosque reached 180,000 signatures, falling short of its 200,000 target, and invoked a response from
Mehmet Karaca
Mehmet Karaca was the rector of Istanbul Technical University (ITU). He was born in Istanbul on 17 September 1957. He is a member of the Department of Geology and the Eurasia Institute of Earth Sciences at İstanbul Technical University. He is als ...
, the
rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
of Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ), promising "a landmark mosque". Soon after, students from other universities started petitions demanding Jedi and Buddhist temples on their campuses.
See also
*
Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus
The Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus is a science fiction–themed Mardi Gras krewe, religious and parade organization, that also features fantasy and horror groups, among other fandoms. Based in New Orleans, Louisiana, as of the 2019 parade ...
*
List of religious ideas in science fiction
Science fiction will sometimes address the topic of religion. Often religious themes are used to convey a broader message, but others confront the subject head-on—contemplating, for example, how attitudes towards faith might shift in the wak ...
*
Dudeism
Dudeism is a religion, philosophy, or lifestyle inspired by "The Dude", the protagonist of the Coen Brothers' 1998 film ''The Big Lebowski''. Dudeism's stated primary objective is to promote a modern form of Chinese Taoism, outlined in ''Tao Te ...
References
External links
*
*
Inspiration: Star Wars: An Islamic perspective*
{{Irreligion
Jedi
New religious movements
Subcultures of religious movements
2001 in religion
Religion in science fiction