15,000 Czechs Declare “Jedi” as Their Faith, in Census [View all]

[progressoid]

A half century under Soviet occupation and politically correct anti-religious indoctrination in its schools has left one of the most historically Christian nations in Europe divided — with half of the population claiming to be atheists or unsure what they believe.

And 15,070 claim “the Force” is with them — they are practicing Jedi knights.

In the March 2011 census of the Czech Republic’s 10 million citizens, 15,070 clicked off a box on the form claiming to be the fictional mystic warriors of filmmaker George Lucas’ six-film series Star Wars. Another 707,649 said they believe in God but do not belong to any church.

However, it’s the Jedi knights that have officials scratching their heads.

“Fifteen thousand adherents, which is the size of a small town, is not a negligible social phenomenon,” Stanislav Drapal, deputy head of the statistical office, told reporters. In Prague, 3,977 — or 0.31 per cent of the capital’s population — said they follow the faith taught in the film by the Sesame Street-inspired puppet, Yoda, who teaches Luke Skywalker to levitate his space craft.

Read more: http://blog.beliefnet.com/news/2011/12/15000-czechs-tell-census-theyre-jedi-knights.php#ixzz1rN1zgjqc








Sorry if this has been posted already. I just ran across it.