Posted on 03/20/2013 3:07:31 AM PDT by markomalley
The Force is strong with the Jedi in Scotland. The Free Church of Scotland is pushing a bill that would grant those who have literally made "Star Wars" a religion the power to perform marriage ceremonies.
The BBC reports that the Marriage and Civil Partnership Bill would apply to other nonreligious groups such as the Flat Earth Society and the Jedi Knights Society, aka Temple of the Jedi Order.
And while it may sound like a joke to most, the Jedi religion is quite popular in some parts of Europe. In England, it is the second-most popular “alternative religion,” with more than 175,000 people listing themselves as Jedi in the 2012 nationwide census.
"Our current consultation covers not only the introduction of same-sex marriage but also the detail of important protections in relation to religious bodies and celebrants, freedom of speech and education,” a Scottish government spokeswoman said.
"At the moment, marriage ceremonies by bodies such as humanists have been classed as religious, even though the beliefs of such organizations are nonreligious."
The move might be seen as a tad ironic, even among "Star Wars" enthusiasts, seeing as the actual Jedi in the "Star Wars" saga are typically not allowed to marry.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
L. Ron Hubbard wrote the science fiction Scientology.
If the planet is still here in another 50 or so years ... just watch those Capitalistic Scots turn a SciFi story into multiple gabillions of dollars with followers from Hellywood being the prime contributors.
I understand that Wookies give the most moving sermons on such occasions.
Perhaps they can talk about the marriage being the first time they've ever been proud of... (you did say wookies, right?)
Paging Marshall Applewhite...
“I understand that Wookies give the most moving sermons on such occasions.”
I’ve heard michelle obama speak — she isn’t that good.
I might move there and start a religion of bikini supermodels!!!
Luke’s Uncle Owen was a good capitalist, but Luke didn’t want to sell moisture, he wanted to volunteer for the imperial academy. Obiwan Kenobi and Yoda weren’t capitalists. They were hermits who lived in caves. Jabba the Hutt was a capitalist.
Ya, but ... my comment is about the Scots, not the demographics of Star Wars ... (though you really DO go a little deeper than I'd've expected)
(CAUTION; language and mental imagery>
I don’t care who you are, that’s funny.
Star Trek weddings officiated by Klingons have been popular in Vegas for years.
The Jedi “religion” is actually more coherent than Scientology, as a knock off of Buddhism. And one could easily say the Knights are monks who cannot marry, but those of a lesser order can.
I never realized a scifi concept could/would take such a firm root.
The stupid is strong with this one.
What is it with adults wanting to live in a fantasy world of space knights with toy light swords! Time to grow up!
Yabut ... can I be fixed ?
Just a detail, but the "Flat Earth Society" bit of erratum in this article, implying that this is a view once held by the Christian church, is a myth.
And one easily disproved. The Latin word for the Earth which was used by both the Romans and the Catholic Church from its very beginning was Orbis Terrarum, meaning "Globe of the World."
The Catholic Church never had a "Flat Earth" doctrine because 1) its not a religious matter and 2) they always knew it was round.
Jeffery Burton Russell wrote a book called "Inventing the Flat Earth" based on his historical research showing that there is no mention, even, of people believing the Earth was flat till the 19th century, at which time anti-religious writers and satirists claimed that the Medieval Church believed the Earth was flat to discredit Catholicism. Sadly, people believe 19th century propagandists (and spoofs!) despite the fact that evidence is overwhelmingly against them.
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