Flying Spaghetti Monster

The Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) is the deity of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, or Pastafarianism, a parodic new religious movement that promotes a light-hearted view of religion. The parody originated in opposition to the teaching of intelligent design in public schools in the United States. According to adherents, Pastafarianism (a portmanteau of pasta and Rastafarianism) is a "real, legitimate religion, as much as any other". It has received some limited recognition as such.

The first documented description of the "Flying Spaghetti Monster" was in a satirical open letter written by Bobby Henderson in 2005 to protest the Kansas State Board of Education decision to permit teaching intelligent design as an alternative to evolution in state school science classes. After Henderson published the letter on his website, the Flying Spaghetti Monster rapidly became an Internet phenomenon and a symbol of opposition to the teaching of intelligent design in state schools.

Pastafarian tenets (generally satires of creationism) are presented on Henderson's Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster website (where he is described as "prophet"), and are also elucidated in The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, written by Henderson in 2006, and in The Loose Canon, the Holy Book of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. The central creation myth is that an invisible and undetectable Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe after drinking heavily. Pirates are revered as the original Pastafarians. The FSM community congregates at Henderson's website to share ideas about and sightings of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and display crafts representing images of it. Pastafarianism has received praise from the scientific community and criticism from proponents of intelligent design.

History

In January 2005, Oregon State University physics graduate, sent an open letter regarding the Flying Spaghetti Monster to the Kansas State Board of Education. In that letter, Henderson satirized creationism by professing his belief that whenever a scientist carbon-dates an object, a supernatural creator that closely resembles spaghetti and meatballs is there "changing the results with His Noodly Appendage". Henderson argued that his beliefs were just as valid as intelligent design, and called for equal time in science classrooms alongside intelligent design and evolution. Henderson explained, "I don't have a problem with religion. What I have a problem with is religion posing as science. If there is a god and he's intelligent, then I would guess he has a sense of humor".

In May 2005, having received no reply from the Kansas State Board of Education, Henderson posted the letter on his website, gaining significant public interest. Shortly thereafter, Pastafarianism became an Internet phenomenon, and fan sites began to appear. Three board members, all of whom opposed the curriculum amendments, responded positively; a fourth board member responded with the comment "It is a serious offense to mock God". Henderson has also published the significant amount of hate mail, including death threats, that he has received. Within one year of sending the open letter, Henderson received thousands of emails on the Flying Spaghetti Monster, eventually totaling over 60,000,

Internet phenomenon

thumb|The FSM version of the "[[Variations of the ichthys symbol|Jesus fish" emblem has become accepted as the symbol of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. The symbol was originally created by readers of the Boing Boing web site in 2005. |alt=Drawing of the Flying Spaghetti Monster; crudely drawn with thick lines. Image shows a plain oval for the body, six noodles for the arms and two eye stalks.]]

As word of Henderson's challenge to the board spread, his website and cause received more attention and support. The satirical nature of Henderson's argument made the Flying Spaghetti Monster popular with bloggers as well as humor and Internet culture websites. The Flying Spaghetti Monster was featured on websites such as Boing Boing, Something Awful, Uncyclopedia, and Fark. Moreover, an International Society for Flying Spaghetti Monster Awareness and other fan sites emerged. The open letter was printed in several major newspapers, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Chicago Sun-Times, It was modeled as a parody of a similar challenge issued by young-earth creationist Kent Hovind.

According to Henderson, newspaper articles on the Flying Spaghetti Monster attracted the attention of book publishers; he said that at one point, there were six publishers interested in the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

In November 2005, the Kansas State Board of Education voted to allow criticisms of evolution, including language about intelligent design, as part of testing standards. On February 13, 2007, the board voted 6–4 to reject the amended science standards enacted in 2005. This was the fifth time in eight years that the board had rewritten the standards on evolution.

Tenets

Pastafarians have used their claimed faith as a test case to argue for freedom of religion, and to oppose government discrimination against people who do not follow a recognized religion.

Marriage

The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster operates an ordination mill on their website which enables officiates in jurisdictions where credentials are needed to officiate weddings. Pastafarians say that in jurisdictions where church and state are separated the government is precluded from arbitrarily labelling one denomination religiously valid but another an ordination mill. In November 2014, Rodney Michael Rogers and Minneapolis-based Atheists for Human Rights sued Washington County, Minnesota under the Fourteenth Amendment equal protection clause and the First Amendment free speech clause, with their attorney claiming discrimination against atheists: "When the statute clearly permits recognition of a marriage celebrant whose religious credentials consist of nothing more than a $20 'ordination' obtained from the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster... the requirement is absolutely meaningless in terms of ensuring the qualifications of a marriage celebrant". A few days before a hearing on the matter, Washington County changed its policy to authorize Rogers to officiate weddings. This action was done in an effort to deny the court jurisdiction on the underlying claim. On May 13, 2015, the Federal Court held that the issue had become moot, and dismissed the case. The first legally recognized Pastafarian wedding was celebrated in New Zealand on April 16, 2016. "If this is what I believe in, no matter how stupid it might sound, I should be able to express myself however I want to", he said.

thumb|right|Two Pastafarians dressed as the Flying Spaghetti Monster and a pirate respectively|alt=A man dressed in pirate regalia standing next to a person costumed as the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

thumb|upright=0.9|Nudelmesse sign in [[Templin]]

In March 2008, Pastafarians in Crossville, Tennessee, were permitted to place a Flying Spaghetti Monster statue in a free speech zone on the courthouse lawn, and proceeded to do so. The display gained national interest on blogs and online news sites and was even covered by Rolling Stone magazine. It was later removed from the premises, along with all the other long-term statues, as a result of the controversy over the statue. In December 2011, Pastafarianism was one of the multiple denominations given equal access to placing holiday displays on the Loudoun County courthouse lawn, in Leesburg, Virginia.

In 2012, Tracy McPherson of the Pennsylvanian Pastafarians petitioned the Chester County, Pennsylvania Commissioners to allow representation of the FSM at the county courthouse, equally with a Jewish menorah and a Christian nativity scene. One commissioner stated that either all religions should be allowed or no religion should be represented, but without support from the other commissioners the motion was rejected. Another commissioner stated that this petition garnered more attention than any he had seen before.

On September 21, 2012, Pastafarian Giorgos Loizos was arrested in Greece on charges of malicious blasphemy and offense of religion for the creation of a satirical Facebook page called "Elder Pastitsios", based on a well-known deceased Greek Orthodox monk, Elder Paisios, where his name and face were substituted with pastitsio – a local pasta and béchamel sauce dish. The case, which started as a Facebook flame, reached the Greek Parliament and created a strong political reaction to the arrest.

In August 2013, Christian Orthodox religious activists from an unregistered group known as "God's Will" attacked a peaceful rally that Russian Pastafarians had organized. Activists as well as police knocked some rally participants to the ground. Police arrested and charged eight of the Pastafarians with attempting to hold an unsanctioned rally. One of the Pastafarians later complained that they were arrested "just for walking".

In February 2014, student union officials at London South Bank University forbade an atheist group from displaying posters of the Flying Spaghetti Monster at a student orientation conference, and later banned the group from the conference, leading to complaints about interference with free speech. The students' union subsequently apologized.

In November 2014, the Church of the FSM obtained city signage in Templin, Germany, announcing the time of Friday's weekly Nudelmesse ("pasta mass"), alongside signage for various Catholic and Protestant Sunday services. However, a decision by the regional court in Frankfurt (Oder) forced the Pastafarians to take down their signs. The Church appealed unsuccessfully to the Federal Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights. In October 2021, the Templin City Council took a majority decision that the Church of the FSM would be permanently authorized to install their signs.

Headgear in identity photos

thumb|right|A woman wearing a colander as Pastafarian headgear|alt=smiling woman wearing a colander on her head being "blessed" by a brass Flying Spaghetti Monster in the style of a Roman Catholic scepter.

thumb|Pastafarian protester wears a colander while showing an icon of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Origins and overview

In July 2011, Austrian pastafarian Niko Alm won the legal right to be shown in his driving license photo wearing a pasta strainer on his head, after three years spent pursuing permission and obtaining an examination certifying that he was psychologically fit to drive. He got the idea after reading that Austrian regulations allow headgear in official photos only when it is worn for religious reasons. Some sources report that the colander in the form of pasta strainer was recognized by Austrian authorities as a religious headgear of Pastafarianism in 2011. This was denied by Austrian authorities, saying that religious motives were not the reason to grant the permission of wearing the headgear in a passport.

Alm's initiative has since been replicated in several (mostly Western) countries around the world, with mixed successes. or that wearing a colander could not be demonstrated to be a religious obligation as other head-covering items were claimed to be in other religions, such as the hijab in Islam and the kippah/yarmulke in Judaism.

Some anti-clerical protesters wore colanders to Piazza XXIV Maggio square in Milan, Italy, on June 2, 2012, in mock obedience to the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

In March 2013 a Belgian's identity photos were refused by the local and national administrations because he wore a pasta strainer on his head.

The Czech Republic recognized Pastafarian religious headgear in 2013. In July that year, Lukáš Nový, a member of the Czech Pirate Party from Brno was given permission to wear a pasta strainer on his head for the photograph on his official Czech Republic ID card.

A man's Irish driving license photograph including a colander was rejected by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) in December 2013. In March 2016, an Equality Officer of the Workplace Relations Commission reviewed the RSA's decision under the Equal Rights Acts and upheld it, on the basis that the complaint did "not come within the definition of religion and/or religious belief".

In the Netherlands, Dirk Jan Dijkstra applied for a Dutch passport using a colander on his identity photo, which was rejected by the municipality of Emmen, after which Dijkstra successfully registered the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster as a church association (kerkgenootschap) at the – initially hesitant – Dutch Chamber of Commerce in January 2016. However, the municipality continued rejecting his application, arguing that registering as a church association did not mean that Pastafarianism was now a (recognized) religion, leading Dijkstra to sue the municipality for discrimination, and gathering dozens of colander-wearing FSM Church members and sympathizers at the trial in Groningen on July 7, 2016. Meanwhile, other Pastafarians succeeded in obtaining colander-featuring passports and driver's licenses from the municipalities of Leiden and The Hague. On August 1, 2016, the Groningen court ruled that, although Pastafarianism is a life stance, it is not a religion, nor is there a duty in Pastafarianism to wear the colander, and therefore the religious exemption to the prohibition on wearing headgear in identity photos did not apply to Pastafarians. In January 2017, Nijmegen Pastafarian and law student Mienke de Wilde petitioned the Arnhem court to be allowed to wear a colander in her driver's license photo. She lost the petition, both at first instance in February 2017 and on appeal at the Council of State in August 2018.

In August 2013, Eddie Castillo, a student at Texas Tech University, got approval to wear a pasta strainer on his head in his driver's license photo. He said, "You might think this is some sort of a gag or prank by a college student, but thousands, including myself, see it as a political and religious milestone for all atheists everywhere".

In January 2014, a member of the Pomfret, New York Town Council wore a colander while taking the oath of office.

In November 2014, former adult film star Asia Carrera obtained an identity photo with the traditional Pastafarian headgear from a Department of Motor Vehicles office in Hurricane, Utah. The director of Utah's Driver License Division says that about a dozen Pastafarians have had their state driver's license photos taken with a similar pasta strainer over the years.

In November 2015, Massachusetts resident Lindsay Miller was allowed to wear a colander on her head in her driver's license photo after she cited her religious beliefs. Miller (who resides in Lowell) said on Friday, November 13 that she "absolutely loves the history and the story" of Pastafarians, whose website says has existed in secrecy for hundreds of years and entered the mainstream in 2005. Ms. Miller was represented in her quest by The American Humanist Association's Appignani Humanist Legal Center.

In February 2016, a man from Madison, Wisconsin won a legal struggle against the state, which, reasoning that Pastafarianism was not a religion, had initially refused him a colander photo on his driver's license. The man's attorney successfully defended his request on the basis of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, arguing that it was 'not up to the government to decide what qualifies as a religion'.

After the Drivers Services of Schaumburg, Illinois initially granted Rachel Hoover, a student at Northern Illinois University, a colander-featuring photo in her driver's license in June 2016, the Illinois Secretary of State's office overturned the decision in July 2016, stating that such a photo was 'incorrect' and a new one had to be taken before her old license expired on July 29. The office did not recognize Pastafarianism as a religion, with a spokesperson saying 'If you look into their history, it's more of a mockery of religion than a practice itself'. Hoover lodged a religious discrimination complaint with the American Civil Liberties Union, but was unsure to pursue further legal action since it did not fit into her college budget. Previously, Pastafarian David Hoover from Pekin, Illinois had his request for a driving license featuring a colander picture rejected in May 2013.

In October 2019, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles rejected a Cincinnati man's driver's license colander photo, saying its policy allows people to wear religious head coverings in driver's license photos only if they wear them in public in daily life.

Commonwealth of Nations

In June 2014 a New Zealand man called Russell, an ordained minister obtained a driver's license with a photograph of himself wearing a blue spaghetti strainer on his head. This was granted under a law allowing the wearing of religious headgear in official photos.

In October 2014, Obi Canuel, an ordained minister in the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster residing in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, effectively lost his right to drive. After initially refusing Canuel's request for a license renewal in autumn 2013 because he insisted on wearing a colander on the photo, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia granted him temporary driving permits while it was considering whether to definitively reject or grant his request. ICBC claimed their October 2014 definitive refusal was based on the fact that it would only 'accommodate customers with head coverings where their faith prohibits them from removing it', and that 'Mr. Canuel was not able to provide us with any evidence that he cannot remove his head covering for his photo'.

The states of Australia have differed in dealing with applications for official documents featuring colander photos. Sydney science student Preshalin Moodley got a provisional driver's license from New South Wales in September 2014, while Brisbane tradesman Simon Leadbetter was denied a license renewal by Queensland's Department of Transport and Main Roads the same month. Earlier in 2014, South Australia refused Adelaide resident Guy Ablon a gun license with a photo of him wearing a colander; the authorities even seized his legally obtained guns, questioned his religion and forced him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation before his weapons were returned.

Critical reception

With regard to Henderson's 2005 open letter, according to Justin Pope of the Associated Press: