Australians urged not to pledge ‘Jedi’ as their religion in Census

Any thoughts ? I think if Jediism is not your religion you should not pledge it as such , you dont pledge to be Jewish if you are not i think , but what are your thoughts ?

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I read this article last night and considered posting it as well, but I decided to sleep on it first and give it some time to sink in.

After thinking about it again this morning, it seems like a fundamental misunderstanding of Jediism on the part of the Atheist organization. While we all readily admit there are some who don't take the Path seriously or are just fans of the fiction that go a little too far with it, I think it is unfair of this group to assume that everyone who calls themselves "Jedi" fall into these categories. This is an opportunity for education. I don't think people should be identifying as "Jedi" on the census if they are not, but I also do not see the harm coming from it that the Atheist group does.

I was relieved and also proud to see so many positive reactions to Jediism as a whole and our Temple in particular in the comment sections of the various articles and Facebook posts about this. The general consensus seemed to be that this Atheist group should either "live and let live" and not worry about Jedi, or that they should actually research our community before writing it off as some kind of prank.

I was also excited to see so many current and former military pointing out that "Jedi" is now an acceptable faith to put on dog tags. Despite the history of "Jedi" being used erroneously on census forms as a joke, the tides seem to be shifting toward more serious consideration of the faith.

I'll be curious to see where this conversation goes next.

" your throwing off our count man! "
Hard not to get offended.

carlos.martinez3 wrote: " your throwing off our count man! "
Hard not to get offended.

I understand , but the thing is , we are a religion , as are other religions , one should not claim to be a Jedi if one does not believe in the Force , i mean treat it as a Joke to boost up the count ..that i find disrespectfull

Senan wrote: I read this article last night and considered posting it as well, but I decided to sleep on it first and give it some time to sink in.

After thinking about it again this morning, it seems like a fundamental misunderstanding of Jediism on the part of the Atheist organization. While we all readily admit there are some who don't take the Path seriously or are just fans of the fiction that go a little too far with it, I think it is unfair of this group to assume that everyone who calls themselves "Jedi" fall into these categories. This is an opportunity for education. I don't think people should be identifying as "Jedi" on the census if they are not, but I also do not see the harm coming from it that the Atheist group does.

I was relieved and also proud to see so many positive reactions to Jediism as a whole and our Temple in particular in the comment sections of the various articles and Facebook posts about this. The general consensus seemed to be that this Atheist group should either "live and let live" and not worry about Jedi, or that they should actually research our community before writing it off as some kind of prank.

I was also excited to see so many current and former military pointing out that "Jedi" is now an acceptable faith to put on dog tags. Despite the history of "Jedi" being used erroneously on census forms as a joke, the tides seem to be shifting toward more serious consideration of the faith.

I'll be curious to see where this conversation goes next.

I agree with you Senan , i dont agree with the Atheists stance of treating this religion as a joke , because its becoming more and more clear that we are not And that we are a Force to be reckoned with

I think the message is fair, but they could have been more careful to note that if you're not a member of a Jedi temple/church/community, don't mark that as your religion. I mean, if it's your religion, why not put it down? If it's not, don't. It's not rocket science.

Leah Starspectre wrote: I think the message is fair, but they could have been more careful to note that if you're not a member of a Jedi temple/church/community, don't mark that as your religion. I mean, if it's your religion, why not put it down? If it's not, don't. It's not rocket science.

Loll thats what i thought , although the atheists are convinced we are not a real religion that is their choice , you cannot tell people to put down anything and some or a lot of australian Jedi are actually people who resist putting down religion and being registred as such .. it was a form of protest as i remember it , its not even the governments bussiness to know what religion you are imo , but if you are not a Jedi , then dont claim to be one

I agree with you Marta, I think you shouldn't put Jedi as your religion if you aren't a Jedi. I can see where the people urging others not to choose Jedi are coming from too. If you are non-religious you probably shouldn't be putting Jedi or anything else as your religion. I don't like that they're calling Jediism a "joke religion," but most people probably don't understand that Jediism is a real religion. I also understand the urge to answer the census question incorrectly though. The government has no real business asking what religion people are so I understand why people would choose a religion that they don't really identify with just to stick it to the government.

What this really should be is "Don't lie on the census." I get why they spoke out against Jedi specifically since so many people did it, but the real issue isn't that they're saying Jedi, it's that they aren't being honest. If that many people had put Pastafarian then that's what the article would be about. Though it might not have gotten as much attention.

70,000 isn't a joke nor does that sound like a typo.... that's ALOT...

This is one of those counts in the world that is large enough to say..." Census people...law makers... govmnt...needs to update and regroup and catch up. That's what it seems to me... took offence and got over it. There IS something going on there....a bit hidden and bigger it seems....hmmmm must meditate! Thanks Marta!

People can be pretty superficial. We're also primates. Give a monkey a typewriter and paper then tell it not to make a mess, see what happens.

How many people would push the big red button if they were told not too? How many would if they were notified that dire consequences would result, just to see what would happen?

We expect people to think and behave the same way we do, and as a result, we get disappointed. The real question is, why does this not sit well us?

carlos.martinez3 wrote: This is one of those counts in the world that is large enough to say..." Census people...law makers... govmnt...needs to update and regroup and catch up. That's what it seems to me... took offence and got over it. There IS something going on there....a bit hidden and bigger it seems....hmmmm must meditate! Thanks Marta!

It will be fine , we will catch up as a religion, nothing to get our knickers in a twist about haha, its just not nice when people call my religion a joke

Right? If they only knew the freedom and joy... smh I would totally volunteer to fill a missionary status down under any day... for the Temples sake of course. Jk but not really... what if they just needed... a word.. or... a push forward? Just an old Jedi s heart on his sleeve there...

If anyone, no matter you secondary (or first) religious beliefs, codes, morals, habitual living, and circumstance.....[b]can[/b] be a Jedi with no universal laws, doctrines, and standards. Then how is there such a thing as someone who "Dosn't take the Jedi Path seriously."

It is ANYONES.....Free right.....to call themselves a Jedi, because....EVERYONE.....Can be a Jedi.

Therefor. If a Non religious, Non follower of any of the online "Jedi Groups" - wants to choose "Jedi" on the Census. Edit: Simply because they want to do so. They should have that right

Just my thoughts.

Trisskar wrote: If anyone, no matter you secondary (or first) religious beliefs, codes, morals, habitual living, and circumstance.....[b]can[/b] be a Jedi with no universal laws, doctrines, and standards. Then how is there such a thing as someone who "Dosn't take the Jedi Path seriously."

It is ANYONES.....Free right.....to call themselves a Jedi, because....EVERYONE.....Can be a Jedi.

Therefor. If a Non religious, Non follower of any of the online "Jedi Groups" - wants to choose "Jedi" on the Census. They should have that right to do so.

Just my thoughts.

Owkeeh , but this Poster says that Jediism is a "Joke" religion , so they dont take Jedi at all serious , and i never said someone had to be a part of a "community " as such , there are a lot of christians who never go to church but still live "the live" according to Yeshua , but all i said was , if you are not a Jedi and dont believe in the Force than dont put that as your religion , but then again , i cannot tell people what to do can i , just make a suggestion :dry:

MartaLina wrote: Owkeeh , but this Poster says that Jediism is a "Joke" religion so they dont take Jedi at all serious

Correct. But since Jediism in itself allows anyone and everyone to be a Jedi......Who cares if others call us a Joke? They have that right, and they have the right to be Jedi because.....Anyone can be.

i never said someone had to be a part of a "community "

I never said that you said as much I was speaking in general......

all i said was , if you are not a Jedi and dont believe in the Force than dont put that as your religion , but then again , i cannot tell people what to do can i , just make a suggestion :dry:

There are no universal laws or rules to being a Jedi. So if someone DOES NOT believe in the force (In fact there are many Jediists who dont) and do not practice it (Practice what exactly? There are no universal things to practice that makes you a Jedi) then anyone, anywhere, for anything....Can claim to be a Jedi.

And if on a Census putting "Jedi" is how they wish to answer something the government has not right to be asking in the first place....All power to them.

And if on a Census putting "Jedi" is how they wish to answer something the government has not right to be asking in the first place....All power to them.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Man... If you're a Jedi, who is religious as a Jedi, then write it down...
If not, don't.

If it IS just a joke and you're writing it down as a substitute for atheism or agnosticism, and you aren't a Jedi, don't joke and call yourself one on the census.

New Zealanders were urged the same at the last census. But they at least offered an explanation along with it. When they do the counts no matter what religion you pick you're counted as "religious". The initial push back (from the kiwis at least. I'm not sure if the Aussies did it for the same reasons) was that we didn't think we should have to disclose whether or not we had a faith of any kind and that it was not only invasive but also irrelevant.

So putting Jedi kind of defeated the point. Except that some of us put Jedi as a serious answer. And said so on our forms.