I’m A Jedi Knight… Honestly

Afficionados of viral emails will recognise the Jedi Knight one currently doing the rounds as having originated last year in New Zealand. But for those of you so deeply friendless that you haven't received it yet, the gist goes as follows: anyone receiving a form for the upcoming UK Census 2001 who isn't religious should put down 'Jedi' in the section marked religion - the point being that it apparently takes 10,000 sad souls to create an officially recognised religion. When Empire Online called up the UK Census Office to see what their take on it was, we were met with a wearied response - 'Yes we've been inundated with calls about it,' said Press Officer Chris Watts, who went on to explain how the religious section of the Census will work. The religious question on the Census form will feature tick boxes for the main religions and then a final box where you can enter another religion as 'other'. 'The form is then scanned and we have a list of religions the computer would recognise which is based on 100 world religions - it shouldn't come as any surprise that Jedi Knight isn't listed. If someone were to write that in - it would just be given the code of 'other'. So sorry to disappoint Star Wars fans - and let this be an end to this particular email. We leave the last word on the subject to the Census Director for England and Wales, Graham Jones; - 'Be counted in properly and may the force be with you.'