LONDON (RNS) A British judge has ruled that a psychic fired by police for practicing his beliefs in spiritualism must have his views respected as a legitimate religion that should be tolerated in the workplace.

Police trainer Alan Power claimed he was forced out of his job in Manchester, England, because of his conviction that souls of the dead can and should be contacted to help solve crimes.

Judge Peter Clark at London’s central employment tribunal upheld an earlier ruling that Power’s views were “capable of being religious beliefs” under British law, and as such there was no “justification for (his) dismissal by the Greater Manchester Police.

Power, who has attended a spiritualist church for 29 years, told the judge he was fired after only three weeks from his job of training police constables when his bosses learned he believed messages from the grave could be useful in criminal investigations.

Power told journalists that the judge’s ruling “proves spirituality is a religion worthy of respect” and that he intends to sue Manchester police on grounds of religious discrimination.

But Mark Hill, a lawyer for the police, warned the ruling could lead to a “Jedi Knights” defense — a reference to a campaign in Britain eight years ago in which thousands of fans claimed to be followers of the Jedi “religion” in the Star Wars movies.

In Britain’s 2001 census, spiritualism was the eighth largest faith group in the country, with 32,404 people claiming allegiance. The Jedi Knights, at 390,000, were fourth.