Ticking 'Jedi' on national census makes us seem more religious than we are, say atheist campaigners

The Force is particularly strong in Australia, it seems.

The official 2011 census found 65,486 people ticked Jedi when asked for their religion. That is only slightly less than the number of Sikhs in Australia, which stands at 72,000 according to the same census. And it is significantly more than the population of Seventh Day Adventists or Salvation Army and many Orthodox churches.

While for most Jedis in Australia, their self-professed faith will have been a joke, it is no laughing matter for atheists.

Kylie Sturgess, president of the Atheist Foundation of Australia, is leading the 'Don't Mark Yourself as Jedi' campaign ahead of the next national census on August 9. She told the Brisbane Times that if people fill in the "other" box for religion with an answer such as Jedi, they are counted as "not defined" rather than "no religion".

She said this skews the result and makes Australia appear more religious than it actually is.

"People shouldn't waste their answer," she said.

"Answering the religion question thoughtfully and honestly matters because it benefits all Australians when decisions on how to spend taxpayer dollars are made on sound data that accurately reflects modern-day Australia."

The campaign has spread online with memes and posters that say: "If old religious men in robes do not represent you don't mask yourself as 'Jedi'."

In 2011, just over 22 per cent of Australians marked themselves as "no religion" and 61 per cent declared themselves Christian. But this year's census will be the first time "no religion" is at the top of the list of religious options, not the bottom.