After reading an entry by Westcli (at Temple of the Jedi Order), some things came to mind.
He stated that he believes we are intolerant of other's religions, and in a way I can see the same intolerance, but in a much different light than what he described. I see intolerance in the fact that there are a number of people which want to make Jediism/Jedi Realism/etc into a group that is universal, rather than recognizing the differences that we have to other religions. There are no problems with people referring to themselves as (insert primary religion here) Jedi or simply calling themselves Jediists- because that tells us not necessarily their philosophy heavy on one over another, but their loyalty to a specific deity/pantheon of deities.
When I refer to tolerance of religions, I also want to see someone flourish in their religion, by getting them to dig down deep and discover themselves in that religion. The true intolerance we have in the community, is the intolerance of Jediism/Jedi Realism. By making a statement that anyone can call themselves a Jedi without putting in the work to do so, and without adopting the ideals of the religion/philosophy/way of life, it is allowing for people to push aside the beliefs that are the Jedi Path. The same is true of someone which walks the path of Christianity, but disregards about half (or more) of Christ's teachings. They are not truly tolerant of their own claimed religion.
Something that has been weighing on my mind since New Year's Day was a conversation I had with my first fiance ages ago. We talked about the type of martial arts we wanted to get involved with, I mentioned Ninjitsu was something I was interested in. He told me that he would never take Ninjitsu because he felt it would be a disgrace to learn the art and not give in to the full philosophy behind it. That without the philosophy, which he did not believe he could live fully, the heart of the practice is defiled. He had too much respect for such systems to allow himself to be party to disgracing it. His attitude on the matter was very Japanese. Having lived in Japan for 3 years, I cannot express the amount of dedication to every little thing they did. They take care to make sure that you have the highest quality they can offer, because if you're going to do something DO IT WELL BY GOD! On New Years, I realized that this is the way that I believe every person should look at their chosen path. Being a Jedi is something you choose, it is not something forced upon you. The same is true of your religious affiliation, you always have a choice. No deity, I have encountered, likes to be followed by people that follow them with a hollow respect. Each one wants commitment, and to see their children/servants/insert term here, flourish- because those people reflect the sort of deity they are.
So this is my challenge to anyone that wants to stake claim to the Jedi Path- take a good hard look at you're order's by-laws/standards and ask yourself: Can I commit myself completely to this, or am I just here because I felt the need for friendship. And if the latter is true, understand that there is nothing wrong with that- that you don't need to call yourself a Jedi to be accepted as a person in our community. You CAN just be here to socialize, no strings attached. Just have the fortitude to be honest about why you are here.