This document discusses religion in Star Trek and Star Wars, Buddhism, and how Star Wars incorporates Buddhist concepts and mythology. It covers how Roddenberry and Lucas were influenced by Protestantism, and how Star Trek portrayed an enlightened secular future while Star Wars featured "The Force" as a universal principle and the Jedi Order as an institutional religion. It summarizes some key Buddhist concepts like the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path that are reflected in Star Wars through the Force and Jedi teachings and practices like meditation. The document also discusses how Star Wars fandom took on religious aspects for some followers who identified as Jedi on censuses.

2. Outline
• Religion in Star Trek and Star
Wars
• Understanding Western
Buddhism
• Mythology of Star Wars
• Buddhist Concepts in Star Wars
• Star Wars Fandom

3. Religion in Star Trek and Star Wars
• Roddenberry and Lucas raised
Protestant
– Lucas shaped by near-fatal car crash
– Roddenberry shaped by Father
• Star Trek
– Enlightened Secular Humanist
Worldview
– Utopian Future
– Science over miracles
• Star Wars
– Not future, but distant past
– Technology part of every day life
– “The Force” a universal principle
– Jedi Order as institutional religion

4. Buddhism
• Basics of Buddhism
– Siddhartha Gautama
– Four Noble Truths
– Eight Fold Path
• Zen Buddhism
– Bodhidharma
– Ch’an / Zen
– Buddha-Nature
– Zazen “sitting meditation”
– Koans “paradoxical riddles”
– Enlightenment as satori

5. Western Buddhism
• 10th and 11th Century Catholic Saints Barlaam and
Josaphat
– Christian story of Gautama
• Thirteenth Century
– Crusades contacted with Asian countries
– Jesuits began missionizing
– Protestant Merchants
• Enlightenment (17th and 18th Century)
– Intellectuals breaking free from Catholic Church
– Seek rational analysis for empirical data
– Religion understood as culturally relative
– Rationale to study of other religions like Buddhism
– Collection, translation and study of Buddhist texts
• 18th and 19th Century
– Buddhist studies continued to secure colonial rule
and add to body of knowledge

6. Western Buddhism Cont’d
• 20th Century
– Study of Buddhology in 1965
University of Wisconsin
• Buddhism co-opted by
composers, psychologists,
writers
• Buddhism was a means to heal
the rift between science and
religion
• Buddhism could be stripped of
its cultural layers
• Understood as a “scientific
religion”
• Buddhist missionizing uses
rationalism as central message

7. Mythology of Star Wars
• Lucas incorporates Campbell’s “The
Hero’s Journey”
• Hero, Luke, passes threshold
• Protective Figure, Old Ben, helps Luke
• Luke leaves for adventure
• Luke’s destiny is to become a Jedi
Knight
• Encounters threshold guardians, sand
people, stormtroopers, aliens
• Belly of the Whale, Heroes enter into
Death Star
• Meeting with the Goddess, rescuing
Princess Leia and Vader striking down
Obi Wan
• Hero reaches apotheosis, Luke
escapes with the plans to the Death
Star
• Crossed the Threshold, Luke destroys
the Death Star

8. Buddhist Concepts in Star Wars
• The Force as Ch’i (Chinese) or Ki
(Japanese) which is life energy
– Incorporated into Japanese Sword
fighting (Kendo) which was strongly
influenced by Zen Buddhism
• Ch’i possess both positive (Yang) and
negative (Yin) aspects found in Jedi
and Sith
• Yoda disguised as hermit
– Japanese tradition foxes disguise
themselves as Buddhist nuns to lure
people away
• Meditation Practices
– Core practice in Zen Buddhism as
Zazen Meditation Qui Gon Jinn and
Yoda shown as meditating
• Koans
– Yoda’s speech and teaching is
reminiscent to paradoxical riddles

9. Star Wars Fandom
• 70,000 Australians and 390,000
Britons recorded themselves as
Jedi on census
• Steady decline in Australian
religion
• Changing religious landscape
due to diversity of beliefs
• Despite the numbers
governments did not make
Jediism an official religion
– Did not have a belief in the
supernatural, thing or principle
– No acceptance of canons of
conduct to give effect to belief

10. Star Wars Fandom Cont’d
• However, “The Force”
could be understood
as Principle of Belief
• “The Jedi Oath” could
be an acceptance of a
canon
• Based upon these
two criteria, Jediism
could be a religion

11. Star Wars Fandom Cont’d
• NRM are symptom of shift
from collective-expressive
(Church) to individually-
expressive
• Modern society is not
irreligious or anti-religious
but belief is under less
control by religious
organizations
• People are making religious
choice based on mediated
information that fits their
requirements

12. Jediism
• The Jedi Code transcends racial, class,
gender boundaries and promotes
universal values
• Jedi are guardians of peace and justice
throughout the world
• Jedi defend and protect and do not
attack others
• Jedi respect life in all forms
• Jedi seek to improve themselves
through knowledge and wisdom
• Jediism and the Bible correlate with
each other