Scotland May Allow Jedi Weddings

JediMarriage

If you go to Scotland to get married, you might be able to get Yoda to do the job for you:

The Force is strong with the Jedi in Scotland. The Free Church of Scotland is pushing a bill that wouldgrant 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 theGolden Gate Knights began teaching a light saber choreography class in the San Francisco Bay Area.

(…)

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.

May the force be with them.

Photo via Yahoo

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Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. Rob in CT says:

    See! See what we’ve done! First we let the gays marry. Now come the Jedi. Soon, cats and dogs will be living together and we all know mass hysteria comes next.

    😉

  2. CSK says:

    And for the reception, you can reserve that bar and its house band.

  3. rodney dill says:

    May the spouse be with you.

  4. CSK says:

    @rodney dill:

    Or the farce…

  5. Gustopher says:

    But Jedi aren’t allowed to get married!

    If they do, then at the first signs of domestic trouble, they turn to the dark side, kill a bunch of children, and then start off on a long career of evil tempered only by staggering incompetence.

    Don’t these Scotts ever go to the movies?

  6. Franklin says:

    @Gustopher: I don’t think they’re all named Scott …

  7. rodney dill says:

    …but for transgendered women, they’d need to allow X-Men weddings.

  8. rodney dill says:

    I suspect a lot of these weddings would be booked for the 4th of May.

  9. CSK says:

    Will the Princess Leia earmuff hairdo be de rigueur for brides?

  10. Moosebreath says:

    Do the ushers ask the guests if they should be escorted to the light side or the dark side?

  11. Surreal American says:

    The bride, you may kiss.

  12. Robert Bell says:

    @CSK: I thought they were danish pastries, not earmuffs

  13. JKB says:

    @Rob in CT: Soon, cats and dogs will be living together

    Uhm, have you never seen Youtube? Cats and dogs are living together, sleeping together and generally going against nature, or is it nurture, I can’t tell.

    But really, all this over a government conspiracy to catapult a family into galactic dominance?