Scotland may allow Jedi to perform marriage ceremonies

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.
The Jedi religion has spread beyond the boundaries of Europe. Recently, a group calling itself the Golden Gate Knights began teaching a light saber choreography class in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Scottish government plans to hold a public consultation on the bill and, of course, not all traditionally religious groups are happy about creating a new category for ceremonies that are by their very nature, arguably, a religious practice.
"There are loads of people in a diverse society like this for whom belief can mean virtually anything—the Flat Earth Society and Jedi Knights Society—who knows?” the Rev. Iver Martin told the BBC.
"I am not saying that we don't give place to that kind of personal belief, but when you start making allowances for marriages to be performed within those categories, then you are all over the place."
For their part, the Jedi say the very nature of their beliefs would prevent them from tarnishing any other religious institutions.
“We believe in Peace, Justice, Love, Learning and using our abilities for Good so it's unlikely that our way conflicts with your beliefs and traditions,” reads a statement on the group’s website.
Nonetheless, the Scottish government spokeswoman said a more rigorous screening process would be implemented to prevent any organization from diluting the traditions of marriage in the country.
"We are proposing the introduction of tests which a religious or belief body would have to meet before they could be authorized to solemnize marriage," she said.

Metazoxan wrote:I'm all for religious freedom but this is going a bit too far IMO. Star Wars isn't real and shouldn't be recognized as a formal religion in the first place. It seems like an extremely unhealthy obsession with the fandom and really shouldn't be encouraged. It's like the japanese guy marrying a videogame character. There are just some freedoms that are unhealthy to pursue and should be stopped.

You want to abort a child? Well whether I agree with the idea or not it is your freedom to decide what is right for yourself. Same with Gay marriage. But the same line of thinking shouldn't apply to EVERYTHING! Now if a group of people just want to make a fakey religion then I guess that is fine. But if you are giving them marriage power then you are recognizing it as a more real religion and IT'S STAR WARS!

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Metazoxan wrote:I'm all for religious freedom but this is going a bit too far IMO. Star Wars isn't real and shouldn't be recognized as a formal religion in the first place. It seems like an extremely unhealthy obsession with the fandom and really shouldn't be encouraged. It's like the japanese guy marrying a videogame character. There are just some freedoms that are unhealthy to pursue and should be stopped.

You want to abort a child? Well whether I agree with the idea or not it is your freedom to decide what is right for yourself. Same with Gay marriage. But the same line of thinking shouldn't apply to EVERYTHING! Now if a group of people just want to make a fakey religion then I guess that is fine. But if you are giving them marriage power then you are recognizing it as a more real religion and IT'S STAR WARS! It just isn't right to mix reality and fantasy to this level.

It is good they are at least doing a screening to make sure not just any nut bag can act like he is a qualified priest, paster, or whatever but Jedi should not pass this test IMO. Leave Star Wars to Nerdy convention that everyone makes jokes at.

Colme wrote:

Metazoxan wrote:I'm all for religious freedom but this is going a bit too far IMO. Star Wars isn't real and shouldn't be recognized as a formal religion in the first place. It seems like an extremely unhealthy obsession with the fandom and really shouldn't be encouraged. It's like the japanese guy marrying a videogame character. There are just some freedoms that are unhealthy to pursue and should be stopped.

You want to abort a child? Well whether I agree with the idea or not it is your freedom to decide what is right for yourself. Same with Gay marriage. But the same line of thinking shouldn't apply to EVERYTHING! Now if a group of people just want to make a fakey religion then I guess that is fine. But if you are giving them marriage power then you are recognizing it as a more real religion and IT'S STAR WARS!

I don't understand what you're attempting to get at, honestly. Civil unions already exist everywhere, and under the law in most places they're synonymous with marriage. "Marriage" has very little to do with religion anymore except among the fairly religious, it's mostly an relatively antiquated ritual that has attached itself to modern things that are actually relevant like spousal-benefits.

How is modern marriage not already an obsession with the Christian fandom?

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MiniSiets wrote:To be honest I don't understand why they wouldn't have this right already. Marriage is hardly exclusive to religion and even if Jediism wasn't recognized officially I don't see why that should matter. Besides I'd much rather have a Jedi priest wed me than a boring traditional one. How badass would that be with the lightsabers angled over your head? Also I want Twi'lek dancers. And R2D2 delivering the ring. SHUT UP IT WOULD BE AWESOME.

bedheadred wrote:This rocks my socks.

It is not fair to judge someone's beliefs as not being as "real" as an established religion. Every established religion had to start somewhere. We can all read in the Bible the early roots of Christianity and how it was not widely accepted.

DemonEyesJoe wrote:

bedheadred wrote:This rocks my socks.

It is not fair to judge someone's beliefs as not being as "real" as an established religion. Every established religion had to start somewhere. We can all read in the Bible the early roots of Christianity and how it was not widely accepted.

that, and, just like starwars, the bible is pure fiction

DemonEyesJoe wrote:

that, and, just like starwars, the bible is pure fiction

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