Pastafarianism

Pastafarianism is a parody religion. It emerged from a satirical creature (the flying spaghetti monster or FSM) imagined by intended to mock intelligent design during the Kitzmiller trial where they were trying to include intelligent design as part of the science curriculum (due to their deeply held Christian beliefs) with questionable rationale. Initially the flying spaghetti monster was a character in satirical letter penned to the Dover Area School district, asking them to consider teaching an "alternative" scientific theory rooted in the flying spaghetti monster based on their "deeply held beliefs" with questionable scientific evidence and appeal to textual authority (written accounts), appeal to popularity (millions of believers) and legal threats if their voodoo science wasn't taken seriously. 
A mock religion grew around the FSM, as semi-serious movement known as Pastafarianism (a word play on rastafarianism).http://spaghettimonster.com/the-flat-earth-society/what-is-intelligent-design/ Some adherents consider themselves "genuine" believers in Pastafarianism (to different levels of seriousness/parody) while others are members claim adherence only in protest of the very idea of organised religion. Some members have used Pastafarianism as a way to mock or exploit rules/laws that only favor religious believers (having extra privileges in prison or being allowed to ignore dress codes).
==Origins==
During the Kitzmiller trial, many thousands of people wrote in to the Kansas School Board. Many were scientists, appalled at the lack of scientific standards in the intelligent design that the 6 (out of 10) conservative board members were pushing, and somewhat abrasive.
Bobby Henderson added humor to an otherwise humorless decision, when he wrote his open letter to the Kansas School Board. Choice comments:
Four school board members responded to the letter, only three of them positively.
==Reply from the Kansas School Board==
Three replied thanking Bobby for the humour and common sense. Others did not reply as favourably with one reply a short:
Which fairly easily betrays that for some on the Kansas school board, teaching intelligent design in a science curriculum was really about their "deeply held beliefs".
==Pirates==
Extending his parody from the controversy over ID to that over global warming, Henderson added:
The Church of the Flying Spaghetti monster has kept up the good fight, publishing incontrovertible evidence of the pirates-temperature link.http://www.venganza.org/2008/04/pirates-temperature/http://www.venganza.org/2007/11/startling-evidence-piracy-vs-global-warming/ Luckily, as the Church notes, "[p]irates, in many ways, are experiencing a renaissance in America right now."http://www.venganza.org/2007/06/cincinnati-beacon/ The unpirate scourge shall walk the plank any day now!
==See also==
*Intelligent falling
*Scientific storkism
*Intelligent design
*Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District
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==References==
==External links==
*Venganza - Pastafarianism site
*FSM sightings
*Hate mail that Pastafarian adherents had received
Category:Intelligent alternatives
Category:Parody religions
ru:Пастафарианство