In 2005, an American physicist named Bobby Henderson wrote a letter to the Kansas State Board of Education requesting that schools be taught the precepts of Pastafarianism or the Flying Spaghetti Monster religion , which argues that the world was created by a kind of giant ball of spaghetti with meatballs.
This was not a practical joke, but a very original way of protesting against the decision of the Council to allow the teaching of intelligent design in the schools of Kansas. And it is that, although in the US you cannot teach religion in public schools, in many states this theory is taught, which is nothing more than a covert form of creationism that denies the theory of evolution and defends that the world was designed by an intelligent being superior to us.
In his famous letter, the founder of Pastafarianism wondered why, just as time is spent in the classroom talking about intelligent design, there was no space dedicated to the Flying Spaghetti Monster (MEV), a higher entity that created the world about 5,000 years ago in a drunken state. The FSM also made some modifications to his work to make it appear that the world is much older than it really is and thus test the faith of his followers. “Our Noodle Maker then put fossils, hidden under the surface of the earth, knowing that they would later be found and that this would seem to show that these creatures existed for quite some time. Dinosaur bones, for example, were located so well and in such numbers that it is widely believed that dinosaurs walked the earth millions of years ago ”, explains the website of the Pastafarians in Spain.
Another of the arguments of Pastafarianism refers to the relationship between pirates and global warming. Henderson included in his letter a messy graph showing a perfect correlation between rising temperatures and decreasing numbers of pirates in the world. It was another ironic criticism of those who make the argument that the number of natural disasters has increased as society has become more secular and religious values have been lost. The theme of pirates has become another pillar of the Pastafarian world, for them it would be divine beings, and on September 19 the International Day of Speaking like Pirates was proclaimed.
This original criticism of the spread of creationism in American schools became very popular , with people all over the world declaring themselves fervent devotees of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Pastafarianism has its own gospels, a symbol of the cross with a fork to eat spaghetti and even its own prayers, which always end with the word “Ramén” (a Japanese noodle soup):
“Oh noodles that are in heaven gourmets
Hallowed be your flour
Your nutrients come to us
His will be done on Earth as it is on plates
Give us today our daily meatballs
and forgive our gluttons just as we forgive those who do not eat you.
Do not let us fall into the temptation (of not feeding on you)
and free us from hunger …
Ramén ”.
Another of the symbols that identifies the devotees of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is to wear a pasta strainer on their head. In some countries, such as Australia, it has been possible for Pastafarians to appear in this unique outfit in the driver’s license photograph. Again, it is not a trivial question, as the Pastafarians argue that it is as valid an option as the veil of Muslim women or the habit of Catholic nuns.
Pastafarism in Spain
Some countries like New Zealand, Australia, and the Netherlands recognize Pastafarianism as an official religion. This is not the case in Spain: in the summer of 2017 the General State Attorney denied that the Pastafarian community met the requirements to be considered an official religion. Despite this, the Pastafarian Church continues to fight for its recognition.
Pastafarians in Spain also have an open signature petition for the City of Cádiz Gold Medal to be awarded to the Flying Spaghetti Monster. The request arose in response to the mayor’s decision to grant said recognition to the Virgen del Rosario, arguing that it was a popular petition that obtained more than 6,000 signatures.
On its website in Spanish, the Pastafari Church uses its arguments and its religious beliefs, including a fun question and answer section. It is also updated with the latest news in the Pastafarian world and includes downloads of its “sacred texts”.
