From the StarWars series of movies, an inherent energy force in living organisms that could be harnessed to affect the organisms and the world around them.

Comparable to the concepts of chi, ki, prana, etc.

See MitochondrialEve for possible inspiration.

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''These movies then present TheForce as stronger in some than others, and inheritable. This implies that members of ruling dynasties have a divine right to live where commoners would typically die.''

Nah, it just implies that we're not all born with equal strengths.  Fortunately, study and training can compensate for any lack of talent.

	 :	''Er, I don't believe that.''

There is no evidence that the "ruling dynasties" of the StarWars universe are strong with TheForce.  The evil Emperor is the only ruler who is so endowed; other politicians and diplomats do not seem to use TheForce themselves, but instead must secure the loyalty of those who can.  The above assertion implies that personal strength will bring political power, but that is no more true in the StarWars universe than in the real one.

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It should be noticed that there seems to be an extreme PointOfDiminishingReturns in use of the Force, that only rare individuals have enough inherent strength in the Force to be able to use it effectively.  Everyone else's Force strength is so insignificant that they can't be trained to use it.

OTOH, the Force may manifest in unexpected ways in those untrained, like psychic powers or unusual luck.  It's just that only those with sufficient strength and training can actually control/direct the Force.

I think that there's a tendency to see the Force simplistically, as a simple power that the Jedi can use at will, not unlike magic in a fantasy environment.  However, this exchange from Star Wars Episode IV illustrates that the Force is more complex than that:

	 :	Obi-Wan: "A Jedi feels the Force flowing through him."
	 :	Luke Skywalker: "You mean it controls your actions?"
	 :	Obi-Wan: "Partially.  But it also obeys your commands."

So, the Force is controlling you as much as you control it.  This undoubtedly manifests mostly in Force powers like high jumps, where the Force is controlling your body and enabling it to do powerful things.

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See JediMindTrick.

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TheForce is also a recognized religion (Australia declared it one of its official recognized religions because of the high number of worshipers in the country.
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See http://www.jediism.org/