Jedi Churches

After further research and a few clicks on a search engine I came across a multitude of websites which seemed to offer the "official" Church of Jedism, all seeming to promote not only the religion itself but also offering means of guidance, support and even online chat for Jedi's. This is a common idea among online religions, for which the user can feel highly involved and to an extent i would argue that these online religious websites rely almost entirely on this user interface and participation in order for the website to be successful.

That is to say... not only in the obvious sense in that if the website did not have any members there would be no use for it but also that the more experienced members of the website will be able to offer a welcome and perhaps guide the new "younglings" (a term used to mean people {usually children} who are in the early stages of Jedi Training) into the faith.

The two which i found to be most useful, and perhaps the most active websites were: http://www.churchofjediism.org.uk/home.html and http://www.jedichurch.org/.

The churchofjediism.org.uk offered perhaps the most information even giving the believer the opportunity to download Jedi books, the first volume of the Book of Jedism is free (and can be downloaded here www.churchofjediism.org.uk/training.html#bjv1), subsequent volumes cost £5 per volume but obviously offer much more detail about the religion and also how the practices and also offer a workable ethical system of Jedism. Through a mere flicking through of these volumes it is clear to see that this religion is something which many people take very seriously, the first one for example focuses on terminology which Jedi's will encounter and also covers the basic principles of the beliefs in the Force, and Distant universe's and also the different energies of the world.

The jedichurch.org website offers a more limited preview of the religion itself through the limited information that it gives, however as you will see this information could still be quite useful. However the main thing that interested me about this website is not only offering a better facility for online communication between members but they also offer different products which members might want to look at buying if they are committed to the religion... how fashionable do the people look wearing the Jedi Robes and Red Jedi Boots? surely they are going to be a fashion statement in the near future... However saying that, i think it is evident that this particular website is intended to be more humorous and almost tongue in cheek and seems to offer merchandise more than the religion itself.

Therefore i am only able to conclude in a warning to not only myself but to all: everything on the Internet is not always intended in the way that it first seems, and much of the content is highly satirical.

However, can this virtual environment of Jedi's really be useful in the "real world" for users? Can members of the Jedi Religion online put their beliefs into practice outside of the virtual world?

I would like to close this post with a video which i found (and hope you do to) not only amusing, but i think it also sums up what i meant earlier in this post about the caution one must take when researching any religion online, and also could potentially show what we could expect if we attended some of the attempts at a transition from the virtual online religion of Jedism to "real-life religion" as can be found up and down the country (the branches are located here http://www.churchofjediism.org.uk/chapters.html so why not hop into your millenium falcon, X-Wing, landspeeder or walker and check one out near you?) .

May the Force be with you all.

Jedi Religion

The concept and practicing of religion has been apparent throughout the history of human beings, and still to this day we are not able to define what constitues a religion and what does not. This thin line which has proved highly problematic not only for believers and followers, but also for scholars and some of the most learned people of all time. Every believer has their own set of convictions about their faith and will differ to another, so where does this leave us in the beginning of the 21st Century?

It has become aparent from the most recent worldwide census' data that there are new religions emerging which have never been considered, one most notable and increasingly popular religion is that of the Jedi Knight, from George Lucas' creation of the films in the 'Star Wars' series.

The reason for why i first became interested in this topic of cyber religion can be found within this video interview with Eamon Holmes on Sky News. It struck me how some people, who are as devout as the two being interviewed, can be so sure of something to adopt their beliefs in the real world too.

What started off as a fictional way of life which was adopted by people known as Jedi's has become a worldwide phenomenon. Within the United Kingdom alone, 390,000 people answered the voluntary religion question in 2001 census as "Jedi Knight", which equates to about 0.7% of the population. (http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/profiles/commentaries/ethnicity.asp#religion)

Although this does not seem to be a significant number in comparison to the traditional abrahamic religions, it was enough to make the religion of Jedi Knight a registered and recognised religion. Also you have to bare in mind that this was taken nearly 10 years ago, leaving much room for change.

Through the ever development of Cyberspace we are offered more ways in which we can communicate with each other, have a greater independence to research and share innovative ideas with others. This has undoubtedly led to the boom in the ability to understand whatever we wish, learn new things, and even create whole new realities where people become apart of. The increased usage of cyberspace has resulted in the creation of cyberspace communities in which people control avatars to communicate with each other... this is something which people use in order to express their individuality and to be who they want to be... a kind of escapism i suppose from the turmoil of modern day society.

What i intend to find out from this little project is the validity that this religion has? how it relates to other religions? is it just fiction or can their be some truth? how does the community created of Jedis communicate and how does the religion function? what are the fears and problems which can be created from a predominantly virtual religion? and to pretty much learn all i can about Jedi Knights in the modern day world and whether the following image is something which actually occurs... because maybe i'm attending the wrong kind of parks....

What can we expect from the next Census in 2011? Are more Jedi Knights going to reveal themselves? Are we to become a more U'Knight'ed Kingdom moving further away from the 'Old Republic' of traditional religion? Only time will tell.

I would like to end this post with another video i have found on youtube.com which delves a little further into the background of Jedism and perhaps paints a more introductory video for those wishing to learn about the religion.

May the Force be with You