Some South Africans are hoping to introduce a new religion during census month, like their British counterparts
David Shapshak
All it took was one e-mail and a new religion has been born. Jedi Knight is now on the list of religions for the 2001 United Kingdom census.
What seemingly started as a prank has made serious inroads into what is considered a dour, serious and essential government survey – like the current census under way in South Africa.
An e-mail did the rounds in South Africa several times this year, asking readers to fill in “Jedi” when asked their religion. It appears to be the same one that circulated in the UK as well as in New Zealand, and most likely originated in Australia, as the e-mail’s August 7 date coincided with the census Down Under.
The e-mail reads: “For those who don’t know, a census is where the government collates general information about its residents (number of people living in your house, religion, etc).
“If there are enough people who put down a religion that isn’t mentioned on the census form it becomes a fully recognised and legal religion. It usually takes about 10 000 people to nomi-nate the same religion. It is for this reason that it has been suggested that anyone who does not have a dominant religion put ‘Jedi’ as their religion.”
Seemingly enough people have done just that in the UK and it was given its own code after the census. However, officials from the Office of National Statistics were quick to explain that just because Jedi Knight was awarded its own code, it did not confer it the status of official recognition.
“We are not defining what a religion or a faith might be. We are recognising what some may have entered on their census form and ensuring that our coding framework will cater for it,” a representative reportedly said.
Jedis are the mythical warrior knights depicted in the Star Wars blockbuster films, and have spawned millions of childhood dreams of saving the universe from the evil emperor, himself a Jedi who turned to “the dark side”. Jedis are poetic, samurai-like figures who are keenly in touch with “The Force” – the films’ unseen, all-powerful cosmic energy that translates into something like karma with a kick.
While the series of films revealed a primal battle between good and evil in the Jedis themselves, they also demonstrated how good can prevail.
Luke Skywalker, the films’ protagonist, is a young Jedi who must face up to the emperor’s masochistical right-hand man, Darth Vader. Ultimately Luke discovers Vader is his father and must not only face him, but turn him back from the dark side.
Another Jedi, the 800-year-old master Yoda who trained Luke and coached him in the Jedi mysticism, has his own large and dedicated following. His back-to-front statements of wisdom have been found in many aspects of life. Users of the Palm handheld computer platform can download a little programme that dispenses them, alongside a line drawing of the diminutive master.
One Australian “Jedi” wrote in an e-mail: “Star Wars gave us our spirituality. It is the basic text that, when learning the Bible, Torah or whatever, we referenced to for a concept of a deeper self. Obi-Wan taught me mysticism, not St John of the Cross.”
As huge as the films have been, they have also spawned billions of dollars worth of merchandising, from figurines to pillow covers.
This is not the first time science fiction fans have lobbied for recognition of a fictitious culture. American fans of that other sci-fi classic, the cult TV series Star Trek, have for years been punting the language of the Klingons, the series’ aggressive warrior enemies.
They have developed dictionaries and language speech classes for the garbled-sounding tongue, much like French speakers in other countries. You can even download a Klingon-talking clock, which announces the time each minute or whenever you press the “time” button.
The recent Hollywood film Galaxy Quest spoofed the credence which the sci-fi genre generates in its fanatical following. A bunch of non-hoper old actors of a Star Trek-like TV series are called on by real aliens, who intercepted the TV broadcasts and believe them to be “historical documents”, to defeat an evil oppressor. The day is saved by a bunch of teenagers who have memorised all of the outlandish stunts in certain episodes and the improbable physics of their ship.
Ultimately, what the Jedi e-mail confirms is the marketing potential of a viral e-mail campaign. South African advertisers and marketers have woken up to this, and various quirky, well-conceived e-mails have done the rounds – amusing friends and propagating that particular brand.
But the viral potential of e-mail has reached a milestone: creating a new religion on a census.