Culture and Religion- does Jediism need culture?

Earlier I was watching the Catholic channel (why, you ask? Nothing else on, it's better than watching White Trash TV, aka My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding. What. The Deuce.) and there was a convert couple on. So, I watched for a little, and they got me thinking about why people convert or are attracted to various religions. I think that a big component of it has to do with culture.

Culture is the behaviors, beliefs, and customs of a certain group of people.

My hypothesis is the culture surrounding a religion is often a greater attracting factor than the doctrine of the religion itself. The "uniform" (kippahs in Judaism, hijab in Islam, dastaar/turban in Sikhism), holidays, the food associated with religion, architecture, rituals, history, emphasis on family or certain family dynamics- all contribute to how the religion is seen, and so how appealing the religion is.

We can see how culture is often a greater attracting factor than doctrine by how enthusiastic people are to participate in the culture of their religion, or how quickly some people may be to reject certain doctrines of their religion.

As an example, one of my ex-roommates is a convert to Catholicism, and she LOVES praying the rosary and attending mass (in her words, the atmosphere is serenity itself), but is quick to try to dismiss certain core Catholic teachings such as Papal infallibility in regards to theology, and the inability of non-Christians to go to heaven.

I think Jediism has a culture too, but a very small one, limited mostly to the culture of the Jedi in Star Wars fiction. IRL Jediism is composed of doctrine and a few holidays that I (please correct me if I'm wrong) don't think much emphasis is placed on celebrating.

So, do you think a real world Jedi "culture" should be developed? Why or why not?

Do you think creating a culture around Jediism would make more people interested in Jediism? And do you think people coming to Jediism due to it's culture would be good because more people would eventually be exposed to it's doctrine, or that it would be bad because people aren't coming to Jediism for the "right" reasons. Or any other reasons you can think of for why coming to Jediism due to culture would be good/bad.

Is it possible to create a diverse Jedi culture, much like how Islam has done (Muslim culture is very different in Turkey, than it is in Saudi Arabia or Indonesia)? Or, do you believe that is not feasible due to the small nature of Jediism and it's young age? It's not a culture if every individual creates their own culture- a culture, by definition, must be beliefs and practices shared by a group.

Interested in hearing your thoughts!

Are culture and ritual intertwining words here?
I'm only trying to understand more fully so I can form a well thought out answer.

No, ritual is a part of culture. So culture is an umbrella term for everything that creates a group history and identity- it's the beliefs and practices (rituals) of a group, among other things.

Hypatia wrote: So, do you think a real world Jedi "culture" should be developed? Why or why not?

As long as its the culture of the path, and not of the people (if that makes sense!?), and because of that I wouldn't have a problem with people being attracted by its culture alone.

I like that it already exists pour hommage to the source material in various extents, but I'd prefer it to be only where relevance is to the Jedi realist path. This gives it at least some context in almost every person on the planet!

I think Jediism is so very inclusive that it probably really wouldn't matter what the reason was for joining (generally speaking). The culture alone though does not make someone a Jedi, which perhaps would mean walking the path the doctrine talks about.

Hypatia wrote: Do you think creating a culture around Jediism would make more people interested in Jediism? Is it possible to create a diverse Jedi culture,?

It might demonstrate a coherence which some people can interpret as strength, but others might interpret as limiting dogma. I like to think the culture of Jediism is humanities spiritual history and there is nothing more diverse then that!!

If Jediism really needs a culture it will evolve in time. With every new person who comes here, new ideas and imaginations come up. But everything needs time to evolve and everything is changing. I think we develop a "culture" every day a bit more.
People join out of various reasons. Some like the Jedi from Star Wars, some seek only a path that suits them. As long as they are happy and satisfied with the result of following this path, the reason doesn't matter that much.

To compare Jediism with Juddaism or Islam is not very sensical, most cultures have developed over thousands of years, it is not impossible but as of yet there is not a vast amount of Jeddism literature, of beautiful temples and pieces of artwork, of food. Culture is an extremely broad thing too, and as only a small number of people follow Jeddism and even then those people do not live amongst each other but across the globe, it is hard to see how in the near future it can really develop culturally. The only way it can really happen is over time and with increased membership.

If you look at the USA (sozums to you Yanks, I'm not trying to have a go) they do not have much culturally, in fact they possibly have nothing at all. I'm sure many people here will dispute that, but although in terms of finance and standard of living the USA is probably the best country in the world, because it is so new and made up of such a diverse range of ethnic groups who have their own cultures, it is hard to say what is really part of the American culture, apart from maybe hamburgers and all those sports that only they play..

Mace I think you misunderstand the meaning of the word culture... And regarding the US, they're the first cultural power in the world. European movies get a remake just for the US market. Nigerian and indian movies are only watched by nigerians and indians. American movies? trillion dollar industry they sell their shit all over the world. Mcdonals? all over the world. Coca-cola? all over the world.

Xfactor, big brother and all that crap people seem to love for reasons i cannot comprehend are part of our culture.

If the Jedi had culture then it would be drifting towards star wars i think. like wearing robes and having a lightsaber. Jediism doesn't need culture as the members have their own culture.

Adhara: If Jediism really needs a culture it will evolve in time. With every new person who comes here, new ideas and imaginations come up. But everything needs time to evolve and everything is changing. I think we develop a "culture" every day a bit more.

I like that perspective- it's true, culture doesn't spontaneously pop into existence.

shadowmere: If the Jedi had culture then it would be drifting towards star wars i think. like wearing robes and having a lightsaber. Jediism doesn't need culture as the members have their own culture.

To an extent I'll have to disagree with you- I think it's perfectly plausible that we could create a real life Jedi culture that is predominately independent of Jedi Star Wars culture. As for a Jedi culture being redundant because members have their own culture- I think one of the beautiful things about life is innovation, and change. It's healthy for people to change or meld cultures, create new ones, or to let their current culture evolve. It keeps life vibrant

Here's an example of the evolving Jedi culture:
http://www.templeofthejediorder.org/forum/Jediism/62196-Jedi-Altar