The Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) is the deity of the parody religion the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster or Pastafarianism, a satirical movement that promotes a light-hearted view of religion and opposes the teaching of intelligent design and creationism in public schools. Created in 2005 by Oregon State physics graduate Bobby Henderson, it was originally intended as a satirical protest against the decision by the Kansas State Board of Education to permit the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to evolution in public schools. In an open letter, Henderson parodied the concept of intelligent design by professing belief in a supernatural creator which closely resembles spaghetti and meatballs. Henderson further called for his theory of creation to be allotted equal time in science classrooms alongside intelligent design and evolution.
In his letter he wrote, ‘I think we can all look forward to the time when these three theories are given equal time in our science classrooms across the country, and eventually the world; one third time for Intelligent Design, one third time for Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, and one third time for logical conjecture based on overwhelming observable evidence.’
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Flying Spaghetti Monster
SubGenius
The Church of the SubGenius is a religious organization often seen as a ‘parody religion,’ that satirizes religion, conspiracy theories, Ufology, and popular culture. Originally based in Dallas, Texas, the Church of the SubGenius gained prominence in the 1980s and 1990s subculture and maintains an active presence on the Internet. In 1996 the legal entity SubGenius Foundation was incorporated in Cleveland, Ohio. The Foundation’s president and founder is Ivan Stang. It’s mascot is ‘world’s greatest salesman’ J. R. ‘Bob’ Dobbs. ‘Bob’ is depicted as a cartoon of a Ward Cleaver-like man smoking a pipe. It’s symbol is the ‘Dobb’s Mark,’ a stylized cross with three bars and a pipe, placed in a pattern that matches the eyes, nose, mouth, and pipe of ‘Bob’s’ image.
The central belief in the Church is the pursuit of ‘Slack,’ which generally stands for the sense of freedom, independence, and original thinking that comes when you stop worrying about personal goals. In essence, slack is about finding satisfaction with what you have and who you are, as opposed for searching for satisfaction in accomplishment.