Growing up, I adore Star Wars and have always been a huge fan of the franchise since I was a child. It was very interesting to discover that many individuals actually consider the Force from the franchise to be a religion which was something I would never think could be possible. In the franchise, the Force was a mystical energy field that is created by life and it has the ability to hold the galaxy together and if one were to exploit that power, it gives the Jedi or the Sith overwhelming spiritual abilities like being able to levitate objects, tricking minds, and foresight. In lesson 4.5, we are introduced to ideologies of Jediism, which was stated in one of the articles that the writer and director George Lucas’s concept of the Force were drawn mainly from the religions of Buddhism, Taoism, Kabbalah, and also the Code of Chivalry from the honor code of the knights. Because of the influences from legally constituted religions and philosophies, Jediism is considered an invented religion from the entertainment industry not like Christianity with its history dating back to Hebrew origins.
Furthermore, we are introduced to Satanism and can see that Satanism is not about worshipping the devil, in fact, it has nothing to do with the supernatural and focuses on the scientific rationality that is reality. Most Satanists don’t even worship Satan (or any form of the devil) and they’re actually atheists and are the voices of reason and humanism. Much similar to Jediism, Satanism was innovated based on others’ ideologies and has made an impact.
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