Jedi (/ˈdʒɛdaɪ/), Jedi Knights, or collectively the Jedi Order are the main heroic protagonists of many works of the Star Wars franchise. Working symbiotically alongside the Old Galactic Republic, and later supporting the Rebel Alliance, the Jedi Order is depicted as a monastic, academic, military, and meritocratic peacekeeping organization whose origin dates back thousands of years before the events of the first film released in the franchise. The fictional organization has inspired a real-world new religious movement and parody religion: Jediism.