And hey!/How 'bout that nutty Star Wars bar/Can you forget all the creatures in there?

As a follow-up to last week's post about some people who have decided to declare themselves superheroes, here's a BBC report about some people who have decided to declare themselves Jedi:

Hairdresser Barney [Jones] became interested in the Jedi faith after 390,000 other Star Wars fans across England and Wales declared it as their religion on the 2001 census.

An internet campaign was fought to see Jedi officially included in the list and although this did not happen, collators included a special code to register the Jedis.

He said: "As children we always watched the Star Wars films anyway. We noticed that there were a couple of sites on the internet, Jedi church sites.

"We printed off a couple of sermons and did a sermon in our house for a couple of friends one night."

Barney and his musician brother Daniel, from Holyhead, help run four websites devoted to the development of the "faith".

They plan to go to the official opening of a Surrey-based branch or "chapter" of the UK Church of the Jedi in April, and hope to hire an Anglesey venue for their own services.

For some social context, here's a story I wrote back in 2003. Its cast of pop pagans includes fans who worship the gods of Middle Earth, a group of occultists who tried to channel the Amazing Spider-Man, and "a spiritual practice centered around Fred Mertz, Ethel's husband on I Love Lucy."

Every successful church eventually schisms. If the British Jedi don't splinter over the inevitable canon debates, you can expect them to be ripped apart by the eternal nerd argument: Which Star Wars movie is the best?*

* This one, of course:

Comments

the chad | January 22, 2008, 10:26am | #

The video makes me sad. Poor Vader, must've lost his empire pension in the ewok/coke scandal, who knows what else he resorted to to pay the bills

Lamar | January 22, 2008, 10:29am | #

Hippie spiritualism + atheism = The Force. I'm assuming, of course, that nobody thinks they can raise an x-wing fighter out of a bog or use The Force to guide missiles to their intended target.

Sulla | January 22, 2008, 10:42am | #

But do they have enough midichlorians (sp?) to qualify?

jimmydageek | January 22, 2008, 10:42am | #

Dudeism is the only real religion.

Episiarch | January 22, 2008, 10:51am | #

I used to bullseye wamp rats in my T-15 back home and they aren't much bigger than that.

stephen the goldberger | January 22, 2008, 10:52am | #

How the hell is Blondie considered a good band? That video is embarassing for all involved.

Lamar | January 22, 2008, 10:52am | #

wamp rats = sluts down at the bowling alley? Help me out here....

B-$ | January 22, 2008, 10:53am | #

As long as you're going with religions invented by bad sci-fi writers, stick with the original.

Episiarch | January 22, 2008, 10:55am | #

Lamar, do you actually not recognize that line or are you just being funny?

Lamar | January 22, 2008, 10:57am | #

Just being funny, Wedge.

Taktix® | January 22, 2008, 10:57am | #

Your sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes, or given you clairvoyance enough to find the Rebels' hidden fort...

Lamar | January 22, 2008, 10:59am | #

Trying to understand the religious metaphor....And I think it's a T-16, but I could be wrong.

Episiarch | January 22, 2008, 10:59am | #

OK, you freaked me out for a second there, Red Leader.

Wilkes&Freedom | January 22, 2008, 11:01am | #

Lame shit. Not that there's any dearth of it. But why that particular piece of lameness? Hello, you are the new lunatic fringe. Reason schmeason.

Lamar | January 22, 2008, 11:03am | #

Good shot, Janson!

Warty | January 22, 2008, 11:07am | #

The best Star Wars movie is clearly the Christmas special. Spluh.

Pro Libertate | January 22, 2008, 11:14am | #

Warty,

We posted some video of the Star Wars Christmas Special if you need to see it. It burnses our eyesss, yessss it doessss.

Phillip J. Birmingham | January 22, 2008, 11:18am | #

OK, you freaked me out for a second there, Red Leader.

Cut the chatter, Red Five.

Taktix® | January 22, 2008, 11:20am | #

Lame shit. Not that there's any dearth of it. But why that particular piece of lameness? Hello, you are the new lunatic fringe. Reason schmeason.

DRINK!

Warty | January 22, 2008, 11:28am | #

Pro Lib:

Oh Jesus, Jefferson Starship?!?!?!? I hate my parents for bringing me into a world that could produce such an abomination. Fuckin' A.

Rick Barton | January 22, 2008, 11:28am | #

I dig the Tonnika sisters. Anyone got a decent image? Those that I'm finding are too little.

Porkins | January 22, 2008, 11:29am | #

Stay on target!

Rick Barton | January 22, 2008, 11:36am | #

I have 3 Blondie DVD/VHS-more than for any other group.

Rhywun | January 22, 2008, 11:37am | #

The best Star Wars movie is clearly the Christmas special. Spluh.

Pukeatronic!

Taktix® | January 22, 2008, 11:41am | #

Rick Barton,

I found THIS when trying to find out who the Tonnika sisters were, and all I have to say is:

WTF?

People have too much time on their hands...

Fluffy | January 22, 2008, 11:41am | #

What about the Church of the Fonz?

Peter Griffin's endorsement is good enough for me.

Warren | January 22, 2008, 11:45am | #

I adhere to the one true faith. I am The Cult of One.

Pro Libertate | January 22, 2008, 11:50am | #

Warty,

It would've been okay if they'd played "White Rabbit", which would've added a surreal "What does this have to do with Star Wars" moment. But that's not what happened.

Still, if I were George Lucas, I would've cast Bea Arthur as either Maude or as Jar Jar Binks in the prequels. No, wait, actually, there wouldn't have been a Jar Jar Binks character at all if I were George Lucas. Maude it is, then. Maybe as Anakin's mother?

J sub D | January 22, 2008, 11:51am | #

With so many of the world's "great religions" based on fiction (except yours, of course), why is one more considered news?

thoreau | January 22, 2008, 11:53am | #

Serious prediction: The schism will happen when somebody finds a way to profit from the Jedi religion, and somebody else wants a piece of the action.

Rick Barton | January 22, 2008, 12:01pm | #

Taktix®,

Cool-The energy and enthusiasm of Star Wars fandom seems boundless!

Taktix® | January 22, 2008, 12:11pm | #

With so many of the world's "great religions" based on fiction (except yours, of course), why is one more considered news?

Because light-sabers and force lightning are waaaaay cooler than stale crackers and cheap wine.

Just sayin'

Ken Shultz | January 22, 2008, 12:29pm | #

I fail to see what any of this has to do with Ron Paul.

Brian Sorgatz | January 22, 2008, 12:29pm | #

Guess what? There were discreet Jedi even before George Lucas started making those movies. This image of a Playboy Club bunny from 1971 shows a lightsaber at her hip.

Pro Libertate | January 22, 2008, 12:48pm | #

Ken,

You mean Darth Paul?

Ken Shultz | January 22, 2008, 12:53pm | #

Whew! Yeah, Darth Paul...

I thought every thread around was about Ron Paul now, and I thought maybe something was going over my head, but I couldn't find the Ron Paul angle anywhere!

...not that that's stopped his supporters from jacking threads before.

So yeah, it's all about the Darth Paul rEVOLution! ...thanks, I feel better now.

horsewithnonick | January 22, 2008, 12:53pm | #

Parody is dead.

JLM | January 22, 2008, 12:58pm | #

This is the best Star Wars movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7p96aiE32k

BakedPenguin | January 22, 2008, 1:33pm | #

Darth Paul? I thought he was against expanding the empire.

Romney & Huck, otoh, find your lack of faith disturbing. And Giuliani will look just like Palpatine in about ten years.

Pro Libertate | January 22, 2008, 1:41pm | #

BP,

Empire? What empire? Darth Paul is working with a certain unknown senator to bring down the republic. It's too corrupt and bureaucratic and includes too many aliens.

Before this gets taken seriously, I voted for Ron Paul yesterday (early voting is permitted, nay, encouraged in Florida).

BakedPenguin | January 22, 2008, 2:12pm | #

Thanks Pro Libertate - my timeline was all screwed up.

Pro Libertate | January 22, 2008, 2:18pm | #

BP,

Happens to the best of us. Look at all of the impossible-to-explain continuity errors Lucas made in the prequels! And he's a billionaire.

Jim Bob | January 22, 2008, 2:48pm | #

Pfft. You can't just decide you're a Jedi, you know. If that were the case everybody would have a purple lightsaber.

Pro Libertate | January 22, 2008, 2:50pm | #

If I wielded a light saber, I'd choose "clear" as my color.

Lamar | January 22, 2008, 3:03pm | #

"If I wielded a light saber, I'd choose 'clear' as my color."

Yeah? Well, I'd choose make-your-light saber-not-clear as my color.

Pro Libertate | January 22, 2008, 3:08pm | #

Lamar,

Hey! That's not a color! You're just stymied by my invisible blade of death!

Lamar | January 22, 2008, 3:42pm | #

Yep. And then I'd construct a laser gun from junk from Skycraft in Winter Park that has laser bullets that juke-out your light saber at the last second and kill everybody with the force and bounty hunters.

invadesoda | January 22, 2008, 5:47pm | #

Didn't Scientology start out similarly?

Franklin Harris | January 22, 2008, 9:52pm | #

I started a religion based on the TV show House. It has three central tenants.

1. You're an idiot.
2. It's never lupus.
3. Everybody lies.

Chewbacca | January 22, 2008, 11:09pm | #

AAAARRRRRRRAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Franklin Harris | January 23, 2008, 1:09am | #

"tenants" should be tenets.

Working on a severe lack of sleep today.

Franklin Harris | January 23, 2008, 1:12am | #

If I wielded a light saber, I'd choose "clear" as my color.

Do E-meters detect midichlorians?