The "head of the Jedi faith" in Australia, Peter Lee, cites strong census numbers and a thriving online community as evidence of a practising Jedi population in Australia.

The Lithgow-based Star Wars fan said that in 2001 more than 70,000 Australians marked themselves as Jedi in that year's census.

Initially taken as a flippant response, the figure would go on to remain relatively stable, with 64,390 Australians marking Jedi as their religion in 2011, up from 58,053 in 2006.

Concerned about wider data implications, the Australian Bureau of Statistics removed any Jedi answers in the 2016 census and pooled them under "not defined".

This raised questions around the definition of a belief system and freedom of practice.

"You can never get that question wrong. If a person decides that their wheelie bin is their God, then we have absolutely no right to deny him, or to question it," Mr Lee said, as Star Wars fans around the world marked May the 4th.

"I'm saying for me, I believe in The Force. It's real, I've felt it. I've used it in my life, I've used it to heal myself and others."

Mr Lee became the spokesperson for the faction after the 2001 census and has since spearheaded the movement.

"I declared myself Jedi during the 2001 census because I saw something happening and I wanted to be a part of it. I saw that people were starting to say 'We're allowed to believe in what we want to believe in'.

Group struggles for traction

"In every census since and every May 4th since I'm the most public person who stands up and says I'm a Jedi and I have no problem talking about it."

When declaring the 2016 census outcomes, the ABS confirmed that, as a non-recognised religion, all Jedi answers would be removed.

Mr Lee says online bullying is common on the group's Facebook page and needs to be monitored. ( ABC Central West: Micaela Hambrett )

The Atheist Foundation of Australia also campaigned against those considering marking themselves Jedi as their effective non-answers would skew the data.

Policy, future infrastructure and fund allocation are, to some extent, informed by census results.

But Mr Lee believes the fact the number of people identifying as Jedi in the censuses prior to 2016 remained stable, is cause enough to open a serious discussion on the addition of a new religion.

"I am calling precedent on this one. We don't have a membership base of 50,000 Australians. But what we do have an ongoing consistency in the last three censuses where there's a consistent 50,000 Australians who identify themselves as being Jedi. So therefore, we have 50,000 Jedi in Australia and as the Jedi faith," Mr Lee said.

Fearing ridicule, Jedis are typically reluctant to declare themselves Jedi in public, a factor Mr Lee contributes to the group struggling for traction in society.

"We have a great deal of trouble getting people to gather together and to publicly stand there and say I'm a Jedi. And that could be because of the level of bullying in society.

"At least once a week we have to ban someone from off our Facebook group for coming on and being a smartarse about 'Where's your light sabre?' or 'You guys believe in Yoda, how silly is that?' Blocked. Easy. We'll talk to anyone who is asking a serious question."

A known entity

A sign advertises light sabre training outside Peter Lee's house. ( ABC Central West: Micaela Hambrett )

The tenets of the Jedi faith are more familiar than many people might think.

Jedi's practice meditation to maintain calmness and believe all animals, all plants, all people and all things share a life force or energy.

George Lucas based his Jedi on the Samurai and a class of warrior monks.

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The Force is based on Asian mysticism and the concept of the life force, such as Japan's Ki, India's Prana or China's Chi.

"Two thirds of the world's population believe in The Force. They just have a different name for it," Mr Lee said.

It is a reference he has exploited in the name of education.

"As a martial artist, I teach people about the life force energy that we call 'Chi' in Kung Fu. But I found it much easier to call it The Force. And my students had a much quicker understanding, because Star Wars is actually part of our culture."

An epic saga

The enduring appeal of Star Wars can be found in its use of the Epic Saga story formula; a story style that uses moral tales to illustrate right and wrong.

"George Lucas didn't just come up with a story out of the blue. It is based on the moral tales of ancient history, a modern Gilgamesh or Bhagavad Gita, both of which are long religious stories," Mr Lee said.

"It's a formula. We as a species, it's embedded in our DNA. It's accepted by us as The Story."

The Jedi Faith Australia logo on display in Mr Lee's front window. ( ABC Central West: Micaela Hambrett )

This May the 4th, Mr Lee was keen to issue a statement on behalf of the Jedi faith in Australia, to all Jedi and non-Jedi members, in the spirit of the day.

"As Jedi, we strive to live our lives in harmony with the life force energy of the universe,'' he said.

"We strive to live harmony with all beings, with nature itself. We seek to make peace within ourselves. This Star Wars Day we ask all people to strive towards making peace within. Because once we have peace within, once we have inner peace, we will find it easier to make peace in our families, our actions and our world."