How To Draw Flying Spaghetti Monster

Spotted at ComicCon Brussels via twitter: @nwbrux

We just got in a bunch of these FSM vinyl auto window decals. If you desire one you can requite me your address hither. I just ask that you lot share the Pastafarian faith with people who inquire about "what is that sticker on your window?" They're about 4″ across and can be stuck inside or outside the window.

Update one/8 — stickers are almost gone and so let me know presently if you want a few. Lots of people are asking to donate for shipping price … thanks but not worried about it on these. Next batch perchance we'll do a drove pot for the postage stamp fund just definitely don't want to sell these.

Gary Smith, fighting for equal rights. Photo Vancouver Sun.

The Vancouver Sun has a overnice article about Pastafarian Gary Smith'southward fight to have his commuter'due south license photo taken while wearing a Colander. He too dresses in Pirate Regalia for formal occasions, as do many serious Pastafarians.

His headgear, a colander, is part of his religion: Smith is a Pastafarian, a fellow member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

ICBC has informed him information technology doesn't qualify as religious headgear, take refused to accept a photo of him wearing information technology for his licence, and Smith has now filed a complaint with the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal.

"My religious head covering is an expression of my beliefs," he said. "I am being denied the right to express myself in a style afforded to members of other behavior and other faiths . There is no test of faith that whatever government agency, including ICBC, can apply to judge whether or not a person earnestly believes what they profess when they ask to be photographed with a religious head roofing."

Canada is, surprisingly, not e'er tolerant of Pastafarian rights. British Columbia, particularly. Besides not allowing u.s.a. to wear religious headgear in regime photos, they sometimes get in difficult for our Ministers to annals as nuptials officiants.

Vancouver is such a multi-cultural place, I find it difficult to understand the intolerance to religions outside of the mainstream. I'd love to hear if other "fringe" religious groups run into these bug with the BC authorities.

Big thank you to Mr. Smith for pushing back against religious intolerance. My feeling is that, even when we lose these fights from time to time, it helps in the long run to point out the inequality.

You tin read the article here.

Just a reminder, the FSM Holiday e-Card machine is ready – you lot can send festive greetings to your friends and family here. Send as many as you like. Emails will be kept private.

There are a few designs available. This one beneath is probably the most controversial and besides my favorite.

Submitted by Ordained FSM Minister Matthew K.

We heard a rumor that the Chinese Communist Party asked schools to report Pastafarian students. That's very disturbing if true … If anyone has more than information about this could you let us now? Thanks

Hither'southward what was reported in detail … looking for more info

Update —

It sounds like it may have been a misunderstanding. Nosotros're hearing that schools are enlightened of the Pastafarian students but the students don't feel too alarmed. Let's hope information technology stays that style. Thanks for all of the letters.

A Vox article made the rounds a few months ago suggesting the U.s.a. Supreme Court may somewhen squash our efforts at what Vox described essentially as Trollish Activism — the thing we've done for 10+ years, where, when government opens the door a bit to religion, nosotros walk in (dressed in Total Pirate Regalia) enervating equal treatment. [See: Homo Gives Pastafarian Invocation to Assembly Meeting , Spaghetti Monster Statue Displayed at Tennessee Courthouse , Boondocks Council Fellow member Sworn in Wearing Colander, …] From Vox:

"The question, even so, is whether the courts — including a Supreme Court that has sometimes been very unsympathetic to minority religions — will allow these tactics to keep. Eventually, it is likely that a state or local government that'southward targeted by Pastafarians or Satanists will bring a case all the fashion to the justices. And the Court'south electric current majority could exist sympathetic to such a government."

Have the courts had enough of our antics, and will they endeavour to stop us by declaring us a definitely-not-legitimate religion? I don't know. But in lite of recent news (below), I'd similar to share a few thoughts on the Church building of FSM'southward ongoing struggle for Official recognition and how that sometimes clashes with authority.

The Austrian courts rejected us :(

We've just heard that the Austrian courts ruled Pastafarianism volition not be included in their listing of Official country religions. This has been in the courts for years and, to exist clear, the fight is not over — Pastafarians will appeal this decision with the European Court of Human Rights. But information technology was a disappointing result for Pastafarians everywhere. From the Austrian Pastafarian's press release (translated from it's original German):

The Federal Administrative Court has unequivocally established the existence of a faith, but withdrew in its dismissive recognition to the view that there was no sufficiently "organized community " of the more than than 300 accredited members. Likewise "The essentially daily consumption of pasta and the 'transcending' of beer – due to the lack of specific religious references – did not institute a rite. "

Essentially the court said the Church of FSM is not legit considering our community is too modest, nosotros meet online rather than in person, and when we practice get together nosotros're drinking beer and eating Pasta. The Austrian Pastafarians in their press release indicate out the hypocrisy in that statment, because Christians gather to ingest wine and wafers.

The fact that the consumption of dough flakes and alcoholic beverages in other religions is assessed as a rite without any bug, just that no "religious reference points" could be identified in the Pastafarian Transubstantiation, can be classified as authority arbitrariness in addition to several criticisms of the judgment of the Federal Administrative Courtroom.

It'southward not legitimate communion unless you can buy it in majority.

Simply I wonder … if we had more in-person meetups, and if our communion looked (more than) like what is recognized every bit a rite by the Christians – would the Austrian courts have viewed united states of america as a legitimate religious group? I doubt it — it always feels the reasoning comes after the conclusion to exclude united states of america.

Does winning thing?

As long as we don't go discouraged, I'm not sure the losses affair much in the long run. This is public news, and each fourth dimension an say-so decrees that we're not part of the Legit Religion Club, because of Reasons, in that location are a whole bunch of people who meet that and call up, await, that's bullshit, and our membership grows.

Information technology's true we're non all True-Believers hither. Only as a group, I feel we are uncommonly sensitive to hypocrisy and injustice, and when nosotros get discriminated confronting for what feels similar arbitrary and capricious reasons, a lot of otherwise-casual Pastafarians are compelled to care more about our "faux" faith. That is, the very act of bigotry pushes our organization towards what can just be seen as legitimacy, in the long run.

The truth is, the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, in information technology's nearly recent course^[i], would not have lasted long without the continued insistence by authorities that ours is not a legitimate religion, that other groups can believe supernatural nonsense and sometimes exist immune extra privileges by government and institutions, but not our group — because 1, our supernatural nonsense sounds too out-at that place and 2, that perhaps nosotros don't believe in that out-there supernatural nonsense plenty for them to consider ours a legitimate organized religion.

Now, ten-plus years on, we accept members – and practicing ministers – all over the globe. Nosotros're getting more organized and in every way more than of a substantive real-world organization.

Where do we go from here?

My hope is that as we grow and become more than organized, we don't lose what fabricated our group special. My favorite thing is to see a Pastafarian in the news doing something obnoxious and clever. If I had no idea it was coming beforehand, so much the meliorate. I hope we never lose that spirit.

So far we've been able to avert a lot of the bug of mainstream organized religion, I'd guess a lot of that is because nosotros don't fundraise, and don't collect dues. I would similar for the states to find a fashion to build more physical churches, and put on more existent-world activies and especially outreach to our communities. And, it would be nice to one 24-hour interval get the Pirate Ship and float around converting heathens and so along. Maybe we'll find a rich benefactor or someone volition include the church building in their volition. F the relatives, put it all towards a pirate ship.

I would beloved to hear thoughts on the future of the church and thoughts nearly official recognition.

Footnotes

The Church of the Flying Spaghetti monster has existed for thousands of years in secrecy, only recently coming back into the mainstream.