Eight police officers serving with Scotland's largest force listed their official religion as Jedi in voluntary diversity forms, it has emerged. Strathclyde Police said the officers and two of its civilian staff claimed to follow the faith, which features in the Star Wars movies. The details were obtained in a Freedom of Information request by Jane's Police Review. Strathclyde was the only force in the UK to admit it had Jedi officers. In the Star Wars films, Jedi Knights such as Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda use the Force to battle the evil Darth Vader, who has strayed to the dark side. Jane's Police Review editor Chris Herbert, who requested the information, said: "The Force appears to be strong in Strathclyde Police with their Jedi police officers and staff. "Far from living a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, some members of the noble Jedi order have now chosen Glasgow and its surrounding streets as their home." Provided voluntarily A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police confirmed: "At the time of the request, 10 (eight police officers and two police staff) had recorded their religion as Jedi." She added that the force monitored "six strands of diversity" - age, disability, gender, race, religion and belief, and sexual orientation. The force said the information was provided voluntarily and securely stored. About 390,000 people listed their religion as Jedi in the 2001 Census for England and Wales. In Scotland the figure was a reported 14,000. The Office for National Statistics did not recognise it as a separate category, and incorporated followers of Jedi with atheists. Last year, brothers Barney and Daniel Jones founded the UK Church of the Jedi - which offered sermons on the Force, light sabre training, and meditation techniques. Strathclyde Police employs 8,200 police officers and 2,800 civilian staff.   This news follows on from recent census results that seem to point to Jedi being the fastest growing religion in the western world.In New Zealand, over 53,000 people reported Jedi as their current religion or religion of upbringing. Had New Zealand statistics recognised this choice, it would be the second largest religion in the whole of New Zealand (mind control techniques for sheep perhaps?)In england and Wales, 0.79% of the population chose Jedi as their religion, a number that prompted the usually sombre Office of National Statistics to issue a press release stating '390,000 Jedis there are' Scotland had a total of 14,052 Jedis, but to date is the only country to have serving police officers declare themselves Jedi. Meanwhile the Australians, p*ssed on crap lager and determined to be different from the Kiwis,  started a campaign for people to declare themselves 'pastafarian'; followers of the 'The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster' (you couldnt make this **** up) , a parody religion originally started in Kansas to protest against movesd to teach intelligent design.   The central belief is that there is an invisible and undetectable Flying Spaghetti Monster, who created the entire universe "after drinking heavily." The Monster's intoxication was supposedly the cause for a flawed Earth. All "evidence" for evolution was planted by the Flying Spaghetti Monster, in an effort to test Pastafarians' faith — a form of the Omphalos hypothesis. When scientific measurements, such as radiocarbon dating, are made, the Flying Spaghetti Monster "is there changing the results with His Noodly Appendage." The Pastafarian belief of heaven stresses that it contains a beer volcano and a stripper factory. Hell is similar, except that the beer is stale, and the strippers have STDs Based on those beliefs, no wonder the Aussies went for it, though the strippers with stds being hell probably means that Aus is hell on earth. Thinks Ciaran will join this religion purely on the promise of a beer volcano in heaven!!!  

Did you just say "May the farce be with you"?

...and just what's wrong with believing in beer volcanoes....???

And when they've breakfasted on baked beans it's a case of "may the fart be with you" :-)

The flying spaghetti monster controls us all.