Is Pastafarianism a real religion?

Discussion in 'Off Topic Area' started by aikiMac, Nov 18, 2015.

  1. aikiMac

    aikiMac aikido + boxing = very good Moderator Supporter

    I saw this article today: A lady who self-professes to believe and follow the religion of Pastafarianism gets to wear a spaghetti strainer on her head in her driver's license photo.

    Says the article, the rule for those pictures is "no hats!" except for religious headcoverings. Hence, the spaghetti strainer.

    I saw that several news sources are carrying this, but this one here has a nice picture of the lady with her "religious" head covering.

    http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/offbe...in-license-photo/ar-BBmYQSt?ocid=ansmsnnews11

    I have never even once thought that Pastafarianism is a real religion. Did I miss something? Is it real? :eek:
     
  2. Late for dinner

    Late for dinner Valued Member

    ''Which brings us back to Miller and her colander. Talking to a television reporter with her spaghetti strainer proudly placed upon her head, she may not come across to casual observers as reason personified. But first impressions can be deceiving. Pastafarianism is indeed a weapon in the arsenal of reason, a rebuke of religions that rationalize violence, treat women as property, and promise eternal rewards to those who take innocent lives. The FSM apparently disapproves of such things.'' https://www.psychologytoday.com/blo...ench-terror-maybe-pastafarians-arent-so-crazy

    http://www.venganza.org/

    £25 for ordination certificate

    ;' )

    LFD
     
  3. Moosey

    Moosey invariably, a moose Supporter

    I think the point is that it meets the same criteria for being a religion as any other religion does. It's a religion designed to make a point about religion.

    Personally, I think the Church of Satan in the US have been doing a better job recently at making the same point by taking any laws designed to privilege religion (which in the southern states usually comes with the implicit meaning of "christianity") and insisting on their right to have statues of satan and religious satan holidays and satanic iconography on display and all this kind of thing.

    edit: e.g. http://time.com/3972713/detroit-satanic-statue-baphomet/
     
  4. Giovanni

    Giovanni Well-Known Member Supporter

    so let's turn the question around a bit....

    what makes islam a "real" religion? what makes christianity a "real" religion? what makes judaism a "real" religion? what makes odinism a "real" religion?
     
  5. Ben Gash CLF

    Ben Gash CLF Valued Member

    The fact that adherents actually believe in the deity?
     
  6. Mangosteen

    Mangosteen Hold strong not

    "true believers" and strong adherent, which is also the main problem with religion
     
  7. Hannibal

    Hannibal Cry HAVOC and let slip the Dogs of War!!! Supporter

    This kinda works, but if you look at some religions they view deities as archetypes rather than actual entitites, so you can argue that pastafarians ARE following such a path regardless of their belief in the FSM physical existence
     
  8. Moosey

    Moosey invariably, a moose Supporter

    People are always very biased against people being facetious. What if they have a strong and genuine belief in being facetious?
     
  9. Johnno

    Johnno Valued Member

    Pastafarianism is no dafter than Mormonism or Scientology, both of which sound more like spoofs of religion than actual religions.
     
  10. aikiMac

    aikiMac aikido + boxing = very good Moderator Supporter

    Scietology was actually the one I was thinking about when I read that news article and then posted here. It kept getting a "no!" from the U.S. gov't and the federal courts when it claimed (at the national level) to be a "church" and a "religion." And then one day, magically, poof, the IRS said "okay, we agree, you're a church, you're a real religion." :eek:

    On Monday it wasn't but on Tuesday it was. Who can explain it? No one.

    I'm with Mango: the fact that their adherents actually believe in the deity. :dunno: I have nothing against Spaghetti Monsters at all, but it just seems to me that no Pastafarian actually believes there's a Spaghetti Monster.
     
  11. PointyShinyBurn

    PointyShinyBurn Valued Member

    Where does that leave Buddhists?
     
  12. Bozza Bostik

    Bozza Bostik Antichrist on Button Moon

    Is Buddhism a religion? Is Buddha a deity?
     
    Last edited: Nov 18, 2015
  13. holyheadjch

    holyheadjch Valued Member

    Whether a Buddhist believes in god(s) really depends on which tradition they are a part of
     
  14. Bozza Bostik

    Bozza Bostik Antichrist on Button Moon

    Tibetan is pretty wacky with all kinds of gods and demons and weird rituals. Zen, which I mess about with, then no...unless you want to have that stuff.
     
  15. Pretty In Pink

    Pretty In Pink Moved on MAP 2017 Gold Award

    Fixed :p
     
  16. Giovanni

    Giovanni Well-Known Member Supporter

    i get what you're saying. but let me ask you this: how do you know someone believes? we can't get into anyone's head. there is a lot of familial and societal pressure to "believe" in most communities, or at least to perform the "acts of belief". right? like being kosher, going to church, etc.

    you say you believe aikiMac. and it's not that i don't believe you. but, i'll never really know, right?

    why can't satire be a "belief"? why can't "reason" be a belief? certainly, reason has yielded more good in our current society than religious belief ever has.
     
  17. Dean Winchester

    Dean Winchester Valued Member

    Anyone got a hour or ten?

    Depends on the tradition and the practitioner but it's most certainly a religion, imo.

    This works rather well.

    For example one practitioner might simply connect with the qualities of Amitabha Buddha during meditation but another might well whole heartedly believe that performing nembustu will result in actual rebirth in his Pure Land.
     
    Last edited: Nov 18, 2015
  18. Bozza Bostik

    Bozza Bostik Antichrist on Button Moon

    We'll have to agree to disagree...or it will be like discussions about eating meat on Buddhist forums. :zzz:
     
  19. Ben Gash CLF

    Ben Gash CLF Valued Member

    The question was directly relating to Pastafarianism.
     
  20. Dean Winchester

    Dean Winchester Valued Member

    I think in the West there can be a somewhat misguided view that Buddhism is not supernatural, mystical or religious. It's very flexible and can fit in with most cultures but there are certainly elements in most sects that are religious.

    My daily practice involves restating my vows, confession, chanting the Heart Sutra, and meditation.
     

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