â??Star Warsâ? fans are among the most obsessive cultural devotees out there. Weâ??ve suffered through revisions to our original scriptures and the introduction of new texts that make our initial dedication seem silly. Some puckish fans have even made it a matter of official Census record that their religion is â??Jedi.â? And, as Chris Taylor writes in his delightful â??How Star Wars Conquered the Universe,â? â??Francis Ford Coppola suggested to [â??Star Warsâ?? creator George] Lucas that the two of them actually start a religion using the Force as its scripture. Lucas feared for his friendâ??s sanity.â?
But for all that faith is a metaphor for the level of dedication â??Star Warsâ? fans bring to the franchise, itâ??s worth looking beyond that idea (which contains a kernel of contempt for anyone who loves pop culture that much) to the bigger question of how â??Star Warsâ? treats religion.
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