The Jedi: A elite Religion?

As organized religion in our world today flourishes and grows to new cornors of the world, what if religion was only for the chosen few? The jedi religion consists of a elite few, which by birth are chosen by the count of midichorlains they obtain. The exclusion of the religion can be compared to the thought of Calvinism, the thought of the chosen few. The argument is not if this observation makes a religion stronger, this is simply a premise that can lead to further discussion.

Can a religion be more benefical to a society if it consists of elites in that particular field?

 

Technically, the Jedi are not a religion, they are a religious order. They are really monks, who have dedicated their lives to the service of the Force and the Republic. I think the movies suggest that belief in the Force was as widespread as any religion. People say "May the Force be with you..." constantly, even though they are not Jedi. Ackbar, for example, calls to the Force before Endor. It is possible that people believed in the Force, they just didn't spend their time studying it.

 

I have always wondered whether there were Force worshippers in the SW Galaxy. The Jedi are like religious warriors who can interact with the Force because of their midi-chlorians, but are there "regular" people who reverence the Force even though they cannot use it? All non-Jedi seem dismissive of the Force, or oblivious to it.

 

Tis a puzzling question, perhaps many worship the force, yet in another perspective feel that only the chosen few may obtain the true essence of the force.I am not sure however, that all systems were true to the order of the force. Many species such as the Kaminoians and the Rodians seem far distant to the force than that of others. One theory to explain this, may be regional beliefs or sheer ignorance. This is a troubling question indeed.

 

I'll bet there are plenty in the Star Wars universe (at least during the time of the Old Republic) that believe The Force exists but do not "practice" the religion per say. They may even "pray" to The Force at times like Admiral Ackbar. Just in the way that there are many who believe in God but that this is the extent of thier belief system.

And the Jedi ARE a religion. A religion is a group of people whom all adhere to a very similar set of rules or guidelines for "worship" based on thier interpretation of a percieved phenomenon. Obviously the Sith believe just as strongly in The Force but have a very different interpretaion as to it's will.

 

Good point about Ackbar. On the other hand, the thing about "sad devotion to that ancient religion" makes it sound like the Force is pretty irrelevant in the Imperial world, and probably in the Republic as well.. I doubt that they'd speak of it as an ancient religion if it only disappeared 18 years ago.

I think that people used to believe in the Force, but they generally stopped to believe in it, and just kept some catch-phrases like MTFBWY. Actually, I believe that in the old days, more people had a direct experience of the Force, but the practice of the Jedi to forbid marriage for Jedi has led to a demise in Force-sensitivity in the population of the Galaxy.

 

I think that people used to believe in the Force, but they generally stopped to believe in it, and just kept some catch-phrases like MTFBWY.

Yep. Sounds good. Sounds like now, really. Lots of religious phrases ("bless you" after a sneeze, for example), but much of the general public (at least in America) is quite non-religious.

 

In Western societies, religion is pretty dogmatic and also separate from secular world. You don't hear about the general belief in miracles like you used to centuries ago because the Western tradition is very scientific.

Yet in Asia there are at least a billion + people who believe in the concept of ki, a life force ("the Force"). They can't scientifically prove it but they believe in it. So what's to say that in the SW universe the same dichotomy couldn't exist there? Some people have a religion perspective, others a mystical perspective, others a scientific perspective.