In 2001, a widely distributed email urged people to indicate 'Jedi' (from theudmovie Star Wars) as their religious affiliation on the National Census to beudundertaken that year. The email, which may have originated from a prank,udstated that if large enough numbers of people declared an affiliation to Jedi, theudgovernment would be forced to include it as a religion in future censuses. Moreudthan 70,000 Australians and 390,000 Britons heeded the call to action andudrecorded Jedi as their religion in the 2001 census.udWhile the majority of people claiming affiliation to Jedism probably did so in audspirit of fun and/or rebellion, research suggests there are members of societyudwho take the 'religion' quite seriously.udThe introduction and establishment of new religious beliefs once reliant onudmigration or trade is now facilitated by a global sharing of ideas through massudmedia and communications technology. Using Jediism and the eventsudsurrounding the 2001 National Census in Australia, Britain and New Zealand asudexamples, this paper explores the legality of new religious movements and; theudquestion of whether the study of a religion based on popular culture can provideudrelevant discourse on late modern religious environments, attitudes, andudparticipation or if it should simply be dismissed as a passing fad.udThe results of this research will contribute to the body of knowledge relating toudchanges in religious affiliation in Australia.
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