May 4 marks Star Wars Day, a significant day for fans to celebrate the sci-fi franchise.

Originating from the pun "May the Fourth be with you", it began in 1977 and has since been embraced by Disney and by Lucasfilm, the production company founded by Star Wars creator George Lucas.

While the day is celebrated by fans of all stripes, some Star Wars enthusiasts once took their fandom a step further – by identifying as Jedi Knights on the national census.

In the early 2000s, the movement took off as both a cultural in-joke and a tongue-in-cheek nod to the spiritual weight fans saw in the Jedi philosophy. What started as a grassroots internet campaign soon turned into a surprisingly widespread response across the UK.

A forceful 390,100 people in England and Wales wrote in "Jedi" as their religion in the 2001 census, but this more than halved to 176,600 in the 2011 survey.

The most recent census for 2021 showed less than 1,600 people said they were Jedi Knights across the two nations – wiping out the Jedi Order.

Due to the dramatic decline and the cohort not meeting the minimum threshold, the Office for National Statistics did not publish figures for Jedi Knights in the latest survey.

The group is instead lumped into the "No Religion: no religion" subcategory alongside people who claimed "Heavy Metal" was their religion.

At a local level, 2011 Census data showed 297 people in South Hams wrote in Jedi as their religion.

Imitating the most optimistic national scenario – where 1,599 people identified as a Jedi – it would mean the estimated number of Jedi Knights in the area fell to just three people in 2021.

While the trend of identifying as a Jedi began in the 2001 Census as a joke for many, there are others who believe in the philosophy.

The Temple of the Jedi Order, an organisation in Texas, even sought charitable status in the UK in 2015. However, the Charity Commission ruled it did not meet the criteria under UK charity law.

The commission said in its report that Jediism lacked the "necessary spiritual or non-secular element".

Despite the census figures turning to the Dark Side, the Star Wars franchise is still expanding. The second season of Andor on Disney+ – a critically acclaimed prequel to the movie Rogue One – has generated rave reviews since its release last month.

And Marvel’s eagerly awaited Star Wars comic book series will be released on May 7. It will follow the adventures of Luke, Leia, and Han and show fans what happened after the Return of the Jedi.

With the franchise continuing to grow 48 years on from the first film, there is a new hope the 2031 Census will see the return of the Jedi.