Temple of the Jedi Order not a religion, British Authorities rule

British Charity Authorities on Monday said that the Temple of the Jedi Order is not a religion.

The statement came after years of tongue-in-cheek efforts by fans of the Star Wars faith to have it recognised alongside other religions.

The application for Jediism to be registered as a charitable incorporated organisation was rejected by the Charity Commission, which regulates charitable organisations in England and Wales.

“The commission concluded that Jediism, as promoted by the Temple of the Jedi Order, is not a religion and does not promote moral or ethical improvement, for the purposes of charity law in England and Wales and so rejected the application,’’ it said in a statement.

Members of the faith say they aim to “advance the religion of Jediism, for the public benefit worldwide, in accordance with the Jedi Doctrine,” which they claim is based not only on the Star Wars film series, but also on recognised religions and other philosophical doctrines.

In 2011, 177,000 Britons gave their religion as “Jedi’’ in a nationwide census, making the fictional faith the seventh-largest faith in Britain.

Ten years earlier as many as 390,000 people had claimed to be part of Britain’s Jedi community.

(dpa/NAN)