Being official Jedi

Hello Totjo-members,

is jedi your official religious denomination (in documents like ID-Card, sry, I m german and dont know if it must be displayed in it like in our german ID-cards) or are you people members of totjo and keep your jediism secret.


I ask this, because some people in the forum here say they are for exmaple catholic and think its in line with jediism, and that sounds like they want to become a jedi, but keep another religion as the primary one. Like they wanna go bi-religious or something.

PS: Due to my german origin, can I write in german in the forums? Is this community multilingual?


german translation:

Hallo Totjo-Members,

steht in eurem Personalausweisen unter Konfession auch wirklich "Jedi"?
Oder seid ihr offiziell noch "Jude" oder "Christ"...?

Really? You guys have your religion displayed on your identification card? It's not that I'm judging, but I do find that intriguing.

In the United States Military we can display our religion, but Jediism is not one that is recognized to get on your dogtags- so many of us have to bypass the system and have our own dogtags made. That said, in the U.S. altogether, your religion is something personal to you, and does not have to be advertised unless you choose to do so.

Temple of the Jedi Order, however, is the closest thing that any church can be recognized as a church (American law is sort of funky like that, lol, but ToTJO is recognized as a religious non-profit organization) by the government. . And I -believe- we also have recognition in the United Kingdom.

As to the German question, I'll leave that one up to someone else to answer.

http://www.templeofthejediorder.org/mytotjo/groups/viewgroup/25-deutschsprachige-jedi

We have people, like me, purely Jedi...

And others who use it in conjunction to their "old" religion...

I will just leave it as that...

I'm sorry, lol, I did miss another question....

The USA, does not require a individual to disclose their religion...

It is something not to.openly discussed, because folks get heated... Politics are another subject not too touched upon...

Alethea, Manny members here have said their official tags have "Jedi" on them...

Maybe do a search?

Pretty much illegal to be a Jedi here. If you put it on your census info sheet you get a fine and get listed as a "non religion". It isn't valid on most forms, either.

about Jedi dogtags, I remember seeing an article years ago about a soldier who managed to get his tags or papers to say Jedi.

Jestor wrote: Alethea, Many members here have said their official tags have "Jedi" on them...

Maybe do a search?

Alethea would be speaking from personal experience. Especially as one who made an active effort to spread Jediism within the United States Military during her enlistment.
Also when I was going through the enlistment process with the U.S. Army they told me I could not get Jedi (or Jediism) on my dog tags and that on the paperwork it would be listed under like Non-denominational or something (I forget exactly, but not Jedi). But my recruiter told me I could simply go get personalized dog tags made with all the information and simply put Jedi where my religion would be and that would still be "official" - as in not really, but no one is going to bust your nuggets over it. *shrugs* That was my singular experience on the subject. Can never trust those recruiters though.

Google translate Reply (to OP):
TotJO ist sowohl für die Jedi-Religion und für diejenigen, die Jedi zu folgen als Zusatz. Es ist eine offene Gemeinschaft. Nach Jedi als Ihre persönliche Religion wird empfohlen, aber nicht erforderlich. Ich folge es als eine Philosophie, eine Lebensform, keine Religion. Aber das ist mir persönlich. Ich bin nicht katholisch entweder though. Ich bin Agnostiker. So kann man wählen, was am besten passt mit ihren Überzeugungen und Ideale, so lange sie von den Jedi-Idealen zu leben.
Entschuldigung. Google zu übersetzen. So kann das schwer zu lesen. Ich entschuldige mich.

I'm from Germany, too, and in my passport there is no point that says religion or confession.
"Officially" I belong to the evangelic church and pay the taxes accordingly. I don't keep it a secret, that I'm a Jedi but I also don't shout it out to everyone I meet.

As far as I know Jediism is no recognized religion in Germany, with those few members from Germany (if you only count the TOTJO ones) it wouldn't even make a cult

And yes, you can write in German in the forums but you'll get less answers
Willkommen im Tempel.

computerbrain wrote: I ask this, because some people in the forum here say they are for exmaple catholic and think its in line with jediism, and that sounds like they want to become a jedi, but keep another religion as the primary one. Like they wanna go bi-religious or something.

There are a lot of syncretic (the technical term in English for being "bi-religious" or more) Jedi here for the same reason that there has been an upswing in syncretic Buddhists or syncretic paganism in recent decades. These reasons include things like a belief that Jediism is more a philosophy than a religion (as with many syncretic Buddhists I've met), so it isn't incompatible with their "home" faith. Others believe certain portions of Jediism help explain the world around them (like many Christo-pagan syncretists believe that Christian ritual is a form of magick, or vice versa), without negating their other beliefs.

There's nothing wrong, or mock-worthy about syncretism if it's something that's arrived at through careful study, though, meditation, or guidance. If it's entered into lightly, the belief systems may war with one another inside your heart, ultimately leaving you spiritually "homeless", but if it comes through knowledge and seeking, syncretism can actually be stronger than single-faith belief systems.

Alethea Thompson wrote: Temple of the Jedi Order, however, is the closest thing that any church can be recognized as a church (American law is sort of funky like that, lol, but ToTJO is recognized as a religious non-profit organization) by the government.

This is sort of tricksy, actually, because if you say you're a church in the US, you're a church. If you apply for 501(c)(3) status, you're a religious non-profit organization. Many churches do both, though there are some movements that suggest it's unnecessary, as 26 U.S. Code § 508(c)(1)(a) states that "churches, their integrated auxiliaries, and conventions or associations of churches" are "mandatory exemptions" from 508(a) and 508(b). I'm not a lawyer, so I'm not sure of the implications there, but I'm sure you can have that interpreted by someone who knows law.

Adhara wrote: "Officially" I belong to the evangelic church and pay the taxes accordingly.

Taxes based on your church affiliation?

Opie Macleod wrote:

Jestor wrote: Alethea, Many members here have said their official tags have "Jedi" on them...

Maybe do a search?

Alethea would be speaking from personal experience. Especially as one who made an active effort to spread Jediism within the United States Military during her enlistment.
Also when I was going through the enlistment process with the U.S. Army they told me I could not get Jedi (or Jediism) on my dog tags and that on the paperwork it would be listed under like Non-denominational or something (I forget exactly, but not Jedi). But my recruiter told me I could simply go get personalized dog tags made with all the information and simply put Jedi where my religion would be and that would still be "official" - as in not really, but no one is going to bust your nuggets over it. *shrugs* That was my singular experience on the subject. Can never trust those recruiters though.

Thank you sir, I realize that...

http://www.templeofthejediorder.org/forum/Jediism/105200-jedi-dog-tags?limitstart=0&start=10

In the linked thread Kamizu says hers are issued from the military, her UDM or something...

My phone isn't liking the second page of the search results, so, I couldn't reference more...

But, I seem to recall others, but I could be wrong, and perhaps they went and got them personalized...

Something she can investigate on this trip through...:lol:...

Jediism isn't recognised as a religion in Germany or the UK. Both governments have to officially classify something as a religion before it becomes one (scientology is illegal in Germany because of this - considered a scam and cultish I believe). You can have a religious charity I believe that calls itself 'whatever church' and we used to have one in the UK. The UK corporation (charity) was owned and run by the Texas one, and after some paperwork mishap we dissolved the UK company (because it wasn't doing anything).

Jediism is a religion because I choose to call it my religion, you can do the same. The government might not agree but that's their prejudice not your's

You can always put it down if you like but it will probably be considered 'other' rather than anything official.

On my military paperwork I'm listed as "Other", but my dogtags were government made, ordered through my squadron's Unit Deployment Manager (UDM) and they list "Jediism"

I claim Jediism on my tags because my full/detailed religious beliefs wouldn't fit So I use Jediism as the big umbrella to put the rest under. They have a hard enough time fitting my name, much less "Christian, Shamanism, Jedi and Change" haha. I've incorporated ideas and beliefs from other religions into my personal faith. I wouldn't say that I'm "Bi-religious" (LOL love that) I'm just making my religion and beliefs work for me.

Rumor is "Jedi" was something you could put on your paperwork a little while back. But I hadn't looked for it until almost a year ago. But I don't hide my beliefs. I don't wander around verbally announcing that I'm a Jedi at every step either haha. But I've never seen anywhere else outside of the military that require you to state your religion. It pops up on the census too but it would be listed as "other" there as well.

steamboat28 wrote:

Adhara wrote: "Officially" I belong to the evangelic church and pay the taxes accordingly.

Taxes based on your church affiliation?

There is nothing that can't be taxed
Recognized churches have the right to collect taxes from their members.

Adhara wrote: Recognized churches have the right to collect taxes from their members.

Maybe it's my American upbringing, but I find this disturbing on multiple levels.

You can view it like a membership fee. In Germany mainly the evangelic and the catholic church collect taxes. I don't know how other religions handle it. They make a lot of money with it but they also have a lot of things to finance.
I can understand why they do it. It is German law, so if it is justified is another question. You can always secede from the church.

The church I grew up in did something similar. It was "known" that you "should" give a percentage of your pay check as offering to the church.

At least this is what I heard from my mom when I asked why she was writing a check. I never heard anything in the official channel

It's a different sort of thing here. I had this discussion the other day with a friend's wife who hates Christianity (despite knowing nothing at all about it), and had to explain to her that it's not mandatory here. It's highly implied that one should, but none of us have to^*.

^* not counting some notable exceptions, like Scientology.

Don't they have to reveal their finances in Germany? I know it's required by charities in England, the issue with the US (which I find very worrying and suspect) is that you don't have to reveal your finances as a charity.

A 'fee' of 10% is required for Latter Day Saints so I've been led to believe (I might be wrong). Monthly donations like these are the norm in Abrahamic religions at least.

Churches do a lot of work such as missionaries and charitable events etc which makes it entirely justified, the problem is that they don't have to reveal finances. I would be concerned if we (TotJO) began hiding our finances - it is against the spirit of honesty (not to mention accountability and transparency) in my opinion.

It's true. Many US charities misuse their funds because they do not have to reveal how much they give away, or who they pay off.

No, they don't have to reveal finances at least not all of it. I'm no expert in this topic but you could calculate the amount of money they get through the taxes. The exact usage of every cent is not known. They also have other "financial resources".

However that has nothing to do with the original question

Sometimes you can talk your S-1 (or equivalent) admins into getting you Jediism put on, but those that will are few and far between- in the Army. There was a guy in the Marine Corps that couldn't get his to do so either. So it's up to the person you talk to, if they follow regulations you will not get Jediism/Jedi on your tags, period. It's not official until they recognize Jediism officially.

And when I get back in, I may find myself reworking on the issue with the Chaplain Corps.