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Wednesday, July 28, 2004

BELIEF SYSTEMS - THE JEDI FAITH

While we are on belief system take a look, even the Australian Government in all its wisdom must obey belief system. Come on all you skeptics try and change this Australian Bureau of Statistics fact! Too hard....

Census of Population and Housing
The 2001 Census, Religion and the Jedi
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) recognises that people have a wide range of belief systems

If your belief system is "Jedi" then answer as such on the census form. But if you would normally answer Anglican or Jewish or Buddhist or something else to the question "what is your religion?" and for the census you answer "Jedi" then this may impact on social services provision if enough people do the same. READ

AND THIS:

May The Farce Be With You
Sydney Morning Herald - August 27 2002

More than 70,000 Australians identified their religion as Jedi, Jedi Knight or Jedi-related in last year's national census. The high number of Jedi-related religions was a response to an email published before the census calling on Star Wars fans to state Jedi as their religion.

"If there are enough people in the country, about 10,000, who put down the same religion, it becomes a fully recognised and legal religion," the email said.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics said Jedi or Jedi-related responses had been categorised as not defined for census output purposes.

"However, due to interest in this matter further analysis of census responses has been undertaken since the release of census data on 17 June to separately identify the number of Jedi-related responses," an ABS spokesman said.

He said 0.37 per cent, or 70,509 people, provided Jedi or a Jedi-related response on their census form.

"The optional religious question was included in the 2001 Census because, outside of government, religious organisations are the biggest provider of a range  of services to the community, such as education, hospitals, and aged care facilities," the spokesman said.

"For example, around 30 per cent of Australian children attend schools provided by religious organisations.

"Census information is important for planning these facilities."



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