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"Jedi" Religion Most Popular Alternative Faith In England
Census numbers show that 176,632 people in England and Wales ask themselves, "What would Yoda do?" Although the number of people who list their religion as "Jedi" has dropped by more than 50% in the past 10 years, It remains the most popular "alternative" faith in England. From the article: "The new figures reveal that the lightsabre-wielding disciples are only behind Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism and Buddhism in the popularity stakes, excluding non-religious people and people who did not answer."
Regardless of your actual faith, why wouldn't you choose this option?
I see nothing wrong with this. Now, if they get control of the republican Senate, then there might be a problem...
All Hail Discordia!
No, the number one "made up" religion is Christianity.
Yes, and even then, they dropped by 50%.
It's me, or the redaction looks quite Monty Python-esque?
-The most popular religion is Jedi cult.
-Hummm... no; Christianity is.
-Well, the Jedi cult is the most popular after Christianity.
-Hummm... no; Islam is.
-Well, the Jedi cult is the most popular after Christianity and Islam.
-Hummm... no; Hinduism is.
-Well, the Jedi cult is the most popular after Christianity and Islam and Sikhism.
-Hummm... no; Judaism is.
-Well, the Jedi cult is the most popular after Christianity and Islam and Sikhism and Judaism.
-Hummm... no; Buddhism is.
-Well, the Jedi cult is the most popular after Christianity and Islam and Sikhism and Judaism and Buddhism.
-Hummm... yes.
-A-HA!
Giant?! Heretic! True believers only believe in the FLYING Spaghetti Monster!
We must engage in battle, for I will not let this blasphemy stand!
That's nonsense. It's the flying spaghetti monster. You heathen.
who said I was talking about pastafarian religion, cannot I have my own silly thing? Spaghetti cannot fly, but it can be made giant!
Tomorrow is another day...
Why can't we just agree that the universe is ruled by some kind of pasta and coexist peacefully.
Who invited the Unitarian?
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
Why can't we just agree that the universe is ruled by some kind of pasta and coexist peacefully.
...because, silly twit, the purpose of religion is to start violent arguments and wars.
Anyone violently disagree? Good! You are a true believer...
I rather pray for Jesus Christ Second Impact.
Evangelion NERV Church in India
That is probably the main reason for the decline in Jedi followers.
Tomorrow is another day...
Mass murderers, child molesters and republicans also blend in.
Just sayin'
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Made my day..
Where are modpoints when you need them?
Virgin birth: Check
Holy Ghosts: Check
Passover: Many people Pass Over re-watching Ep 1 due to Jar Jar Binks: Check
All religions are "made up". Only difference is, with modern religions we still know that they were created by humans, whereas "old" religions seem to be "just there", so for most people it's easier to believe these religions were not man-made.
One of those "real" religions, all of which are 100% factually based on the words of an invisible sky giant?
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
I worship gaffer tape. It has a light side and a dark side, just like the Force, and it binds the Galaxy together. Difference being, it's real, tangible, and doesn't require faith because its physicality is a reassuring proof of its ubiquity.
Operation Guillotine is in effect.
Why list republicans? They are just a subset of the first two groups...
Jedi and Wiccans?
Huh.
Science is all about firing a drunk pig out of a cannon just to see what happens.
At the risk of starting an unholy war, I'm shocked and encouraged to see that fruit worshippers are outnumbered by fluorescent tube wobblers. Well done UK!
Whack job zealots? This is the UK. Most people quietly giggled at this, then went and did something more interesting, like Christmas shopping or the pub.
The only people who'll pretend to be outraged by this will be the Daily Mail, and we'll all giggle at them when someone makes a joke about them on Have I Got News For You.
Syllable : It's an Operating System
How many pretend to be Christian, I wonder? Probably more than pretend to be Jedi.
[Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
Why would they be mentally ill? It's a meta-joke about organised religion, thousands of people chare it and participate in it. It shows that their humanity is leavened with a lovely dose of wit.
For many, even being asked about their religion is seen as an act of oppression. This is their reaction.
Now this deserves to be modded up to five. I have often encountered self-professed Christians who have no idea of the actual teaching of Christ, or even the basic principles of Christianity. And then there are the people who call themselves Christians, but have not been to church in years.
Just because you are paranoid does not mean that no-one is out to get you.
In a century or two, people will have forgotten the light-hearted unbelieving nature of this, and the Jedi will be true believers.
Every time I see this story come up, I look for one phrase- 'Freedom of Conscience'. If Humans spent thousands of years, and millions of lives fighting for a fundamental Human Right, I might expect some to remember this fact when events directly relating to the subject come up.
Freedom of Conscience means that your spiritual beliefs belong to you, the individual, and may never be defined by the State. You are free to believe in what you wish, observe your spiritual beliefs in any way you deem fit, and change those beliefs as often as you like. (And for the dribbling cretins that hang around Slashdot, this does not mean freedom from lawful punishment if one's actions in the name of one's spiritual beliefs infringes the laws of the land).
Anglo Saxon nations (UK, USA, Canada, NZ, Australia) have Freedom of Conscience as a Human Right for all their citizens, even when freedom of expression is not a right. You spiritual beliefs may not be tested, defined or forceably characterised by the State.
For those dimbulbs on Slashdot, this means it is IMPOSSIBLE to illegally answer a question about your religion on a UK or USA census, by definition.
Why do so few people understand the right of 'Freedom of Conscience'? Because this right threatens organised religion. If the people that belong to organised churches get it into their head that their understanding of their own spiritual existence trumps the 'teachings' of the church, that church will rapidly lose power.
It is no accident that when Census time comes around, sites like this are spammed with nonsense about the 'illegality' of answering the 'religious' questions whosoever the respondent may wish. The spam is purposeful, deliberate, pro-organised religion propaganda that plays on people's ignorance of their rights.
It should be noted that most non-Anglo-Saxon nations do not have the right of freedom of conscience. Even many first world European nations lack this. Instead, at best, you get the right to join one of a number of State authorised organised religions, or sometimes to be an official non-member of any. The battle for people to have the right of 'Freedom of Conscience' was fought and won in the UK, and fought and lost in nations like Germany. In Germany, the State can officially rule Scientology 'illegal', something that could never happen in the UK or USA.
Those that play on people's ignorance of 'Freedom of Conscience' and spam garbage about how 'Jedi' respondents have broken the law and should be prosecuted, are actually attempting to persuade citizens of Britain and the USA to accept the situation found in backwards nations like Germany or Indonesia. Their tactic is to use ignorance of fundamental Human Rights to eventually wither those rights into non-existence. They are the religious bigots that love the power wielded by organised religion, and hate the power potentially wielded by the free-thinking individual.
Freedom of conscience will die in the UK, just as freedom of expression has (Brits have been successfully prosecuted in the last few years for simply expressing anti-war sentiments in public). The method of killing rights here is to give useful pressure groups ever more power over members of their communities. This tactic is overseen by organisations like 'Common Purpose'. It is the old tactic of divide-and-conquer by 'tribal loyalty' , where no matter who you are, you are forced to belong and submit to a given tribe, the leaders of which all share 'common purpose' with the leaders of the other tribes.
In the meantime, while they still can, the sensible thinking part of the UK populace will express their love of freedom through acts like ticking 'Jedi'. For each individual, in is a small and tiny voice in the gathering storm saying "I am not a number, I am a free Man".
I have been in this discussion before on slashdot, and I think there is one thing that helps to clear the differences in understanding that tends to go unsaid. (disclaimer - I am agnostic)
Your statement that an atheist does not believe is accurate. However that is the theory of the term. In application, many (not all) atheists demonstrate themselves to have just as much faith as theists, in that they believe there to be no deity. While they are believing there to be no god, they are still nonetheless believing in something. Conversely, someone who is agnostic states they do not know there to be - or not be - a deity.
Hence to many people, both those who are and those who are not, atheism is a religion. Atheism in its current incarnation most often involves the belief in there not being a deity.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.