Jedi Police

[Ken L]

I've just been reading on the BBC that eight police officers serving with Scotland's largest force and two civilian employees listed their official religion as Jedi in voluntary diversity forms.

Of course, it doesn't say how many of the 8,200 police officers and 2,800 civilian staff actually filled in the questionair but my experience of these things would indicate that it would probably have been such a low responce rate as to make the whole excersise a waste of time.

 

It seems pretty obvious that there arn't really 10 jedi employed by Strathclyde police so it's almost certain that these are simply "protest votes", which is sort of sad but also a wake-up call in view of the fact that the next census being only 23 months or so away.

Those that run the census are very likely to lump Jedi in along with all the other faith groups so every person who puts Jedi as their religion in 2011 will be tacitly supporting all of the demands of faith groups for special treatment of one kind or another.

 

Perhaps its time to start actively promoting the idea of people recording themselves as "Athiests" if they don't believe in a god because this is the only way to achieve freedom from religion and undermine its influence on legislation.

If you have a faith in the supernatural, then fine record that but if you don't, then recording your religion as Jedi or putting down CofE even though you have no faith is in effect a vote for the other side, a vote for faith schools and for pandering to the whims of every faith based loby group in the land.

Edited April 16, 2009 by Ken L

[Steve Walker]

Maybe the mistake was asking the police officers if they believed in The Force?

[Ken L]

Oops. Just re-read the article and spotted hat I'd missed the bit that says

The Office for National Statistics did not recognise it as a separate category, and incorporated followers of Jedi with the atheists.

Nonetheless, with there now being a "UK Church of the Jedi", I wouldn't be suprised to see the self proclaimed Jedi lumped in with other religions in 2001.

[Newt]

the self proclaimed Jedi lumped in with other religions in 2001.

 

2001???

[Elton]

I'd be a Jedi if you got a free light sabre!

[Clifftop]

I'd be a Jedi if you got a free light sabre!

 

or a free tyre

 

Cheers Fred

[chesters1]

we need more boxes :

19 major world religions which are subdivided into a total of 270 large religious groups, and many smaller ones. 34,000 separate Christian groups have been identified in the world.

 

so a box for each please

[snakey1]

Oops. Just re-read the article and spotted hat I'd missed the bit that says

 

Nonetheless, with there now being a "UK Church of the Jedi", I wouldn't be suprised to see the self proclaimed Jedi lumped in with other religions in 2001.

Unfortunately jedism(or whatever you want to call it) isn't a recognised religion in the UK(even if several hundred thousand put it down as their religion in the last national census) so it isn't surprising it got lumped with the athiests as in the govenments eyes it doesn't exist.

[gozzer]

Unfortunately jedism(or whatever you want to call it) isn't a recognised religion in the UK(even if several hundred thousand put it down as their religion in the last national census) so it isn't surprising it got lumped with the athiests as in the govenments eyes it doesn't exist.

 

Mmm, none believers they are.

 

Better job using the force they could do.

 

Obi Wan John.

Edited April 17, 2009 by gozzer

[Vagabond]

Better job using the force they could do.

 

 

Those words reminded me of a pattern - where had I seen such constructions before ?

 

Before Star Wars that is (although SW was long, long ago)

 

Bernard Venables must have been a Jedi !!

 

Read some of his stuff - backward run the sentences of him, especially after to Ireland journeyed he had.