Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

How it began, and what happened next

From one letter to a worldwide movement

Pastafarianism didn't start as a religion — it started as an argument about a science classroom. What follows is the documented history since, told carefully: what happened, what was actually ruled or approved, and what wasn't.

Bobby Henderson's original hand-drawn sketch from the Open Letter to the Kansas State School Board.

2005

The Open Letter

Bobby Henderson, a physics graduate of Oregon State University, wrote to the Kansas State School Board while it was deciding whether Intelligent Design belonged alongside evolution in science class. His argument: if one unproven designer counts as science, so does his — a Flying Spaghetti Monster that created the universe. He asked for equal classroom time.

A small dating note: the Church's own About page says the letter "came into the mainstream in 2005," while the page hosting the letter itself carries a 2006 dateline. We haven't resolved which is exact — both point to the same event.

Read the Open Letter
Cover of The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster by Bobby Henderson.

2006

The Gospel

Henderson expanded the letter into a full book, The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, turning a viral argument into a lasting text — origin myth, pirates, and all — and giving the movement something to hand to a newcomer beyond a single letter.

Niko Alm's Austrian driver's licence photo, wearing a pasta strainer on his head.

2011

Niko Alm wins his colander

In Austria, Niko Alm was permitted to wear a colander in his driver's licence photo, after satisfying a psychological fitness assessment the authority required first. It's a real, well-documented administrative outcome — not a court ruling, and not a government declaration that Pastafarianism is a recognised religion. See The Colander for what it means as a symbol.

Read the original post

And since then

The record continues — wins and losses both

  1. 2016 New Zealand grants marriage-celebrant status First ceremony held that April, on a pirate ship in Akaroa — the full story lives on Community.
  2. 2014 A minister takes office Christopher Schaeffer sworn onto a New York town council wearing a colander.
  3. 2019 Recognition, denied Austria's Federal Administrative Court declined to list Pastafarianism as a state-recognised religion. Austrian Pastafarians said they'd appeal.
  4. 2023–24 Still here Exemption letters, civic voting messages, and a holiday e-card tool — ordinary activity, not archive dust.
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