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 “Flying Spaghetti Monster” was first described 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. 

In the letter, Henderson demanded equal time in science classrooms for “Flying Spaghetti Monsterism”, alongside intelligent design and evolution. According to adherents, Pastafarianism (a portmanteau of pasta and Rastafarianism) is a “real, legitimate religion, as much as any other”.

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.

RAMEN: 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.”

Pastafarian beliefs extend into lighthearted religious ceremony. Pastafarians celebrate every Friday as a holy day. Prayers are concluded with a final declaration of affirmation, “R’amen” (or “rAmen”); the term is a parodic portmanteau of the terms “Amen” and “Ramen”, referring to a Japanese noodle dish and to the “noodly appendages” of their deity. The celebration of “Pastover” requires consuming large amounts of pasta, and during “Ramendan”, only Ramen noodles are consumed; International Talk Like a Pirate Day is observed as a holiday.

“With millions, if not thousands, of devout worshipers, the Church of the FSM is widely considered a legitimate religion, even by its opponents—mostly fundamentalist Christians, who have accepted that our God has larger balls than theirs.” – Bobby Henderson.

DIVINE CARBOHYDRATE: Some excerpts from The New Testament of The Flying Spaghetti Monster: Dinner 2.0 include: We need never doubt our Divine Carbohydrate, for even our DNA is shaped like a noodle so we know that pasta is holy.

— Book One: The Holy Book of Lasagna

It’s Better If You Do’s
. It’s Better If You Find A Thing You Are Good At
. It’s Better If You Live in Harmony With the World
. It’s Better If You Make Art
. It’s Better If You Lead An Untethered Life
. It’s Better If You Work Together

It’s Better If You Don’t’s
. It’s Better If You Don’t Put People In Cages
. It’s Better If You Don’t Work Too Much
. It’s Better If You Don’t Value Possessions
. It’s Better If You Don’t Hurt Others
. It’s Better If You Don’t Censor Things

— Book Four: The Holy Book of Tortellini.

ALMIGHTY COLANDER: 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.

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 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. 

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. – Wiki – 😁