The Church of Jedi

Posted by Alex in Religion on January 24, 2008 at 3:18 am


In the 2001 census, nearly 400,000 people in the UK said that their religion was "jedi." Years later, Star Wars enthusiasts (and brothers) Barney and Daniel Jones decided to make it a reality:

And now Barney and musician Daniel, 21 – or Master Morda Hehol, self-appointed UK "church" leader – are getting their new "religion" off the ground.

"It’s serious," said Barney. "We will have teachings based on Yoda – the 900-year-old grand master – as well as readings, essays submitted, meditation and relaxation, visualisation and discuss healthy eating.

"The Jedi religion is about life improvement, inner peace and changing your lifestyle so you have a more fulfilling existence. "It’s based on the films but we have brought things into it because the films are a bit more sci-fi. But we have developed on the film’s teachings, introducing teachings we believe the Jedi Knights would seek. We used to watch the films over and over again and it came about from that."

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23 comments to "The Church of Jedi"

  1. Chris W
    January 24th, 2008 at 5:39 am

    Becoming a self appointed jedi master is also a great way to avoid tax in England too. Since religious elders/ministers don't pay council tax on their homes, and with jedi now being a legally recognised religion in the UK.

  2. Tech
    January 24th, 2008 at 6:24 am

    That's really odd. Some people don't know the difference between television and reality.

  3. dodgyd55
    January 24th, 2008 at 6:57 am

    more of a religion than scientology

  4. badgirl
    January 24th, 2008 at 8:59 am

    That's the beauty of freewill. You can fantasize your own philosophy/religion and then do it. Doesn't matter if it's true or not.
    Just go your way and do it no matter how stupid it is.
    Hope they have a good time while it lasts because it won't last.

  5. webrunner
    January 24th, 2008 at 8:59 am

    Great, just what we need, another useless religion.

  6. andro
    January 24th, 2008 at 9:26 am

    ...like christianity

  7. Sid Morrison
    January 24th, 2008 at 9:33 am

    Hail Xenu!

  8. badgirl
    January 24th, 2008 at 10:49 am

    Christianity? Were it not for Christ and Christianity, the western world would not exist. Technology would not exist. Democracy would have remained dead with the Greeks. We'd all be spear-chuckers and all women would be walking 10 paces behind their neanderthal hubbies. You'd better thank God above that Christianity DID happen "andork".
    The only folks who are threatened by it are immoral sickos who find an sophist argument for all their demented ideas.

  9. Chris W
    January 24th, 2008 at 11:34 am

    well said badgirl!!

  10. Drew
    January 24th, 2008 at 11:57 am

    Great point badgirl. And without Christianity we wouldn't have had the crusades. Ummm.....well, we also wouldn't have had the Salem Witch Trials. Let me try again....umm, George Bush.

    By the way, how and when did Christians come up with technology? Isn't that like Gore claiming he invented the internet?

    Hail the Flying Speghetti Monster
    Be humble before his noodly appendiges.

  11. Kraka
    January 24th, 2008 at 1:25 pm

    Fucking Geeks, DIE ALREADY!

    What will all of you when REAL WAR breaks out? That's right, you lot will scamper and panic in the streets like a bunch of fucking zombies. What a waste of humanity you lot are. Really. What use are ya? EH?

  12. Orjans Morjan
    January 24th, 2008 at 1:59 pm

    @kraka
    What are you babbling about?
    We should all be war mongering baboons?.. that's a waste of humanity if anything.

  13. otterly
    January 24th, 2008 at 2:56 pm

    Replacing Jesus for Yoda? Somebody's going to hell over this one.

  14. Drew
    January 24th, 2008 at 3:44 pm

    Actually, there is no mention of hell in Jedi. So, I guess replacing Jesus with Yoda wouldn't send you to hell.

    And Kraka. I am a war veteran you moron. How does not believing in Christianity have anything to do with my Patriotism? I fought for the right to believe whatever I want to believe. Go Speghetti!

  15. G
    January 24th, 2008 at 4:35 pm

    Now I'm hungry. Religion makes me think of the free donuts after service when I was little. Now "spaghetti". Oooh. With garlic bread. Best if eaten with pirates...

    Best way to lose friends quickly is to talk about religion and politics.

    Can't we all just settle this over a pint?

  16. andro
    January 24th, 2008 at 7:10 pm

    to not believe in the religion doesn't mean I don't believe in faith.... gotta love it when people need to defend their ideas at a pin-drop!

    oooh has anyone heard about the Invisible Pink Unicorn movement?

  17. ted
    January 24th, 2008 at 7:55 pm

    But how is "believing in faith" different from "believing in religion"?

    It's not the ordinary adherents to a particular religion that cause the most damage in the world. It's the fanatics and the people who are willing to risk everything to prove some silly point. Like which way to break an egg.

    And Kraka's just a troll. Just ignore 'im.

  18. oliver
    January 24th, 2008 at 8:05 pm

    Wow..that's....well, exactly as silly as scientology.

  19. aware
    January 24th, 2008 at 9:45 pm

    healthy eating? seemed like a random item for the list of good jedi dogma.

  20. Nagasumi Ikuto
    January 24th, 2008 at 11:39 pm

    Hey Drew, if there was no Christianity, chances are YOU wouldn't exist to make pointless comments.

  21. andro
    January 25th, 2008 at 8:26 am

    heya ted, im with ya there, but i think believing in faith, investing some part of your conciousness into an unknown, is better than placing it in a commodified and impersonal establishment,

    anyway, just my random musings,
    and i totally agree that healthy eating is a stretch in jedi beliefs...

  22. ted
    January 25th, 2008 at 8:58 am

    Healthy eating a stretch?

    Not really, considering that many religions have strict dietary requirements, possibly created for sanitary and health reasons, as well as spiritual.

    One thought: do you ever see any Jedis eat anything in the Star Wars movies?

  23. TogetherinParis
    January 27th, 2008 at 1:04 am

    Hi,
    I invented the Force. The star wars films are based upon a novella, The Star War, published in 1963. The dark side of the force was invented/suggested by Strobe Talbot, Clinton's undersecretary of state in July or August of 1972. Yoda comes from Yo! Duh! Ron Kirk (later twice mayor of Dallas, Texas where we were but not his home town) pinned it on me. In the earliest unfinished painting of OB1 Kenobe, kept for a time at the Smithsonian, my face appears.
    Jedi comes from Jed Clampitt--a character of American television. One Jed, two Jedi--Latin you see?


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