Flying Spaghetti Monster
What the hell is that?
The Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) is the deity of the parody religion the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster or Pastafarianism. Created in 2005 by Oregon State physics graduate Bobby Henderson, it was originally intended as a satirical protest against the decision by the Kansas State Board of Education to require the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to evolution in public schools. In an open letter sent to the Kansas State Board of Education, Henderson parodied the concept of intelligent design by professing belief in a supernatural creator which closely resembles spaghetti and meatballs. Henderson further called for his "Pastafarian" theory of creation to be allotted equal time in science classrooms alongside intelligent design and evolution. He explained that since the intelligent design movement uses ambiguous references to an unspecified "Intelligent Designer", any conceivable entity may fulfill that role, even a Flying Spaghetti Monster. After Henderson published the letter on his website, it rapidly became an internet phenomenon and a symbol for the case against teaching intelligent design in public schools.
Pastafarian beliefs—generally satires of creationism—are presented both on Henderson's website, where he is described as a "prophet", and in The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, published by Villiard Press in 2006. The central belief is that an invisible and undetectable Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe. Pirates are revered as the original Pastafarians, and Pastafarians facetiously assert that a steady decline in the number of pirates has resulted in a significant rise in global temperature. Pastafarians celebrate every Friday as a holy day; this is the holiest of Pastafarian holidays, which include Ramendan, Pastover, and a vaguely defined holiday named "Holiday".
On Henderson's website visitors can purchase t-shirts, trinkets, and bumper stickers and share pictures of crafts devoted to the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Such communal activities attracted the attention of three religious scholars, who organized a panel at the 2007 American Academy of Religion meeting to discuss the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Due to its popularity and exposure, the Flying Spaghetti Monster is often used as a modern version of Russell's teapot. While generally praised by the media and endorsed by individual members of the scientific community, the Flying Spaghetti Monster has received criticism from the intelligent design hub Discovery Institute, the ministry Answers in Genesis, and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Self-described Pastafarians spearheaded efforts in Polk County, Florida, to dissuade the local school board from adopting new standards on evolution and have engaged in other disputes.
History
The first public exposure of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster can be dated to January 2005 when Bobby Henderson, then a 25-year-old Oregon State University physics graduate, sent an open letter regarding the Flying Spaghetti Monster to the Kansas State Board of Education. The letter was sent prior to the Kansas evolution hearings as an argument against the teaching of intelligent design in biology classes. Henderson, describing himself as a "concerned citizen" representing ten million others, stated that both his theory and intelligent design had equal validity.
According to Henderson, since the intelligent design movement uses ambiguous references to a designer, any conceivable entity may fulfill that role, including a Flying Spaghetti Monster. 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, 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. Henderson published the responses he then received from Board members. 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 more than 15,000 emails on the Flying Spaghetti Monster, of which he has said that "about 95 percent have been supportive, while the other five percent have said I am going to hell". During that time, his site garnered more than 350 million hits and used about 700 gigabytes of bandwidth per month.
As word of Henderson's challenge to the Board spread, his website and cause received more attention and support. The satiric 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.com. Moreover, an International Society for Flying Spaghetti Monster Awareness and other fan sites emerged. As public awareness grew, the mainstream media picked up on the phenomenon. The Flying Spaghetti Monster became a symbol for the case against intelligent design in public education. The open letter was printed in many large newspapers, including the The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Chicago Sun-Times, and received "worldwide press attention" according to one journalist. Henderson himself was surprised by its success, stating that he "wrote the letter for [his] own amusement as much as anything".
Beliefs
Henderson proposed many Pastafarian tenets in reaction to common arguments by proponents of intelligent design. These "canonical beliefs" are presented by Henderson in his letter to the Kansas State Board of Education, the Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and on Henderson's web site, where he is described as a prophet. They tend to satirize creationism.
The central belief is that an invisible and undetectable Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe "after drinking heavily". According to these beliefs, the Monster's intoxication was the cause for a flawed Earth. Furthermore, according to Pastafarianism, all "evidence" for evolution was planted by the Flying Spaghetti Monster in an effort to test Pastafarians' faith—parodying certain biblical literalists. When scientific measurements such as radiocarbon dating are taken, the Flying Spaghetti Monster "is there changing the results with His Noodly Appendage". The Pastafarian belief of Heaven contains a beer volcano and a stripper factory. The Pastafarian Hell is similar, except that the beer is stale and the strippers have sexually transmitted diseases.
Pastafarians' beliefs extend into religious ceremony. Pastafarians celebrate every Friday as a holy day. Prayers are concluded with a final declaration of affirmation, "R'amen"; the term is a parodic portmanteau of the Semitic term "Amen" and the Japanese noodle dish, ramen.
Significance
The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster now consists of thousands of "followers," primarily concentrated on college campuses and in Europe. According to the Associated Press, Henderson's website has become "a kind of cyber-watercooler for opponents of intelligent design". On it, visitors track meetings of pirate-clad Pastafarians, sell trinkets and bumper stickers, and sample photos that show "visions" of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. In August 2005, the Swedish concept designer Niklas Jansson created an adaptation of Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam, superimposing the Flying Spaghetti Monster over God. This became and remains the Flying Spaghetti Monster's de facto brand image. The Hunger Artists Theatre Company produced a comedy called The Flying Spaghetti Monster Holiday Pageant in December 2006, detailing the history of Pastafarianism. The production has spawned a sequel called Flying Spaghetti Monster Holy Mug of Grog, performed in December 2008. This communal activity attracted the attention of three University of Florida religious scholars, who assembled a panel at the 2007 American Academy of Religion meeting to discuss the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
In November 2007, three talks involving the Flying Spaghetti Monster were delivered at the American Academy of Religion's annual meeting in San Diego. The talks, with titles like Holy Pasta and Authentic Sauce: The Flying Spaghetti Monster's Messy Implications for Theorizing Religion, examined the elements necessary for a group to constitute a religion. Speakers inquired whether "an anti-religion like Flying Spaghetti Monsterism [is] actually a religion". They were based on the paper, Evolutionary Controversy and a Side of Pasta: The Flying Spaghetti Monster and the Subversive Function of Religious Parody, published in the GOLEM Journal of Religion and Monsters. The panel garnered an audience of one hundred of the 9,000 conference attendees, and conference organizers received critical e-mails from Christians offended by it.
Since October 2008, the local chapter of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster has sponsored an annual convention called Skepticon on the campus of Missouri State University. Atheists and skeptics give speeches on various topics, and a debate with Christian experts is held. Organizers tout the event as the "largest gathering of atheists in the Midwest." On the non-profit microfinancing site, Kiva, the Flying Spaghetti Monster group tops all other "Religious Congregations" in donations. The group's motto is "Thou shalt share, that none may seek without finding". As of 28 January 2010 (2010 -01-28)[update], it has donated more than $190,000 in loans.
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