Slashdot Mirror
Jedi Knight Now (Not) Officially a Religion
osiris writes: "The Register is reporting that being a Jedi Knight is now an official religion in the UK after the 2001 census conducted earlier this year. The final number of 'Jedi Knights' has not been confirmed yet as only about 95% of the census forms have been returned. As you could probably imagine, the Home Office is none too pleased. Apparently though, you can't get fined for lying about your religion in the census." Actually, according to the story, this gives the Jedi way no more official status than Plumbing would have if everyone put that down.
An explanation of the lucas Light/Dark, compassion/Greed pseudo-religion can be found here
Lucas has been quoted in interviews, most notably the interviews included in the last boxed set before special edition, as being serious about the interpretation of the force as a religion. It's an attractive and very pragmatic alternative to any conventional worship. Lucas's religion has two sides: Light which represents compassion and humanity, and Dark which represents Greed and avarice.
This system fits well with Aetheists like me because it gives the moral comfort of "good vs. evil" ethics without the need to believe in a "higher" being. It makes sense to skeptics that these forces exist, but in the minds and actions of men and not by the whim of a diety.
After Epsiode one this became even more attractive to Darwinists. We learned that the force (in Lucas's world) is caused not by the supernatural, but by a scientifically proven biological symbiosis with this little mitichlorian dudes. Truly a cool and fantastic idea. Now if only the religious right would let us genetically engineer some . . .
What I found funnier was that Satanism is right next door to another Slashdot favororite; Scientology is right in there at 332. Personally I'd have put Satanism at 666, but we're talking pencil pushers here...
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
There must be some mistake - everyone knows Satanism is 666!
Is this list available on the Net somewhere? Please post a URL! I would find this interesting!
My journal has hot