Fans use The Force against censor

By SIMON JOHANSON Wednesday 27 June 2001 Census warning on 'Jedi' campaign

Star Wars fans who want to formalise "Jedi Knight" as a religion have taken their campaign direct to the census bureau.

Australian followers of "The Force" circulated an email earlier this year urging readers to mark Jedi as their religion in the upcoming census this August.

Their campaign for official recognition spread to New Zealand where it had a small impact on population surveys.

Australian census officials initially threatened fines for individuals incorrectly filling out forms, but Jedi followers say after discussions with the Australian Bureau of Statistics they will lodge a formal submission to be considered a religion.

A spokesman for Jedifaith.com said the group had explained to the bureau the serious nature of their faith, denying it was a practical joke or an affront to the legitimacy of the census.

"We have submitted a written proposal to have the Jedi Faith entered into the, already substantial, Religions Database. If this is approved, the Jedi figures (on the census forms) will be recorded," he said.

If the submission is accepted and enough fans mark Jedi on the census forms, then it will become a formal religion, its followers claim.

"The battle against religious discrimination has been won but the Jedi still need to stand up and be counted," Jedifaith said.

The original Jedi email, widely circulated worldwide, told readers: "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."

Preliminary data from New Zealand's April nationwide census showed the email campaign had little impact on the figures.