A Texas Tech student became the first American to win one significant battle for religious freedom.
“Once she allowed me to I put the pasta strainer on my head, I took the biggest, cheesiest smile I probably ever took,” said Eddie Castillo, of the moment he took his ID photo at a Department of Public Safety office.
For Castillo, the pasta strainer is “religious” garb. Castillo is a Pastafarian, a religious order founded by an atheist in 2005 to protest the Kansas School Board’s effort to implement the teaching of intelligent design in classrooms.
Pastafarians worship the made-up Flying Spaghetti monster — hence the pasta strainer — and the “only dogma allowed in the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is the rejection of dogma.”
“It was created as a form of satire, but it shouldn’t be taken in a sense that discriminates or disassociates other religions and it should be looked at as a political symbol for the separation of church and state,” Castillo said…
A New Jersey man put up a fight in February when he refused to remove his strainer, although he eventually agreed to take it off when he was told he could appeal to the state. And in Illinois, a Pastafarian has been petitioning the state since May to wear his headgear.
As for Castillo, he just hopes he has set a better standard for freedom of religion, and even freedom from religion.
“I don’t want to say its poking fun at religious headwear in other people’s faiths,” Castillo said. “I would like to think that it actually opens the doors for new-age religion, and just it kind of symbolizes acceptance and kind of celebrates, in a sense, that we are a melting pot of a country.”
Ah, freedom from religion. What a concept.
Yahoo! Let’s celebrate with a Eucharist of gluten free pasta, garlic bread and a bottle of Chianti!! “Oh Happy Day!”
Since the Eucharist is a form of cannibalism, don’t forget the fava beans.
It’s a silly belief that communion wafers actually become the body of Christ. Transubstantiation is an incorrect teaching perpetuated by the Catholic Church.
Gluten free pasta must be some kind of a sin against nature, like decaffeinated coffee or non-alcoholic beer.
Shame !
Oh, and if you are one of the .001% of people who can’t tolerate gluten, skip the garlic bread.
But Do double up on the Chianti.
And, to Mr. Castillo, I wish Sauce Speed!
http://cdn.breitbart.com/mediaserver/Breitbart/The-Conversation/2013/08/27/TryGodBillboard2jpg.jpg
Congrats to the Pastafarian and as long as they pay taxes and stay out of politics, I’m A.O.K with it !
Pay taxes as individuals – yes. Stay out of politics – sorry, un-Constitutional.
If their org is filef as a religious organization , I say pay up and stay out of politics. As individuals, I agree w you
Remember, “Religion” is the LONGEST RUNNING FRAUD IN HUMAN HISTORY !!!
Awesome. People’s superstitions should always be open season for ridicule.
The down side to this is that it adds a smidgeon of legitimacy to the wearing of burkas.
In a episode of The Simpsons, Homer advocated wearing a “grave boat” as head gear. Symbolizing what, I forget. Basically exposing some political nonsense, as entertainment. But it seems a simile to the Pasta Strainer. Maybe that’s what the writers had in mind.
Atheism isn’t a religion therefore it doesn’t need any religious protections.
The way some atheists go on about it, its their religion.
Ipso Facto, it can be taught in US public schools, right?
Atheism is an issue of FREE SPEECH and as rational, non tax based, and non-coercive, it needs all the protection it can.
……………against you know who and what: power seekers. Slimy overbloated blood sucking slugs known as politicians.
Agreed. Therefore, it isn’t entitled to freedom of religion protections.
I can’t prove it but I suspect the vast majority of people who consider themselves to be deeply religious would have nothing to do with that (or any) religion if they had not been raised with it since birth. You are, in large part, what you have been taught.
i kill turtles.
In the catholic church they have what they call “the age of reason. Its supposed to occur at about seven years old. I’m just amazed that there are any catholic over eight years old.
Actually the guy has it right. It is freedom of religion. The opposite of a believer is an agnostic. They don’t claim to know and they pretty much don’t care until somebody can prove something one way or the other. The atheist is walking by faith and things unproven just like the theist.
Dawkins does a good riff on that issue. He calls himself an agnostic only because of his scientific tradition. “Can’t disprove anything.”
So–if you mean agnostic as you don’t know if the earth is hollow and filled with unicorns….then rant on, never recognizing that by equating the dogma of religion with the desire to be free from religion, you make religion even more the farce that it is.
“If the religious could be reasoned with, there wouldn’t be any.” /// Someone on DU.
I’d argue that the pasta strainer was not a required garb of that faith, thus deserves no protection. I can’t wear my cap that says “Jesus is awesome” to take my drivers licence photo.
A Sikh must wear the turban and the little silver bracelet thing so that should be allowed.
Hooray for the Pastafarians they have just as much proof of their God as any other religious institutions God.
Mars Attacks!
President Dale: Why can’t we work out our differences? Why can’t we work things out? Little people, WHY CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG ?