An American woman who identifies as a member of a parody religion has won the right to wear a colander in her driver’s licence photo.
Massachusetts resident Lindsay Miller, a member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, had previously been told she could not wear the pasta strainer in her licence photo by her state’s Registry of Motor Vehicles, CBS Boston reported.
The RMV does not allow people to wear hat or head coverings, except for medical or religious regions, according to its website.
Ms Miller was put in touch with a lawyer from the American Humanist Association who filed an appeal on her behalf, which Ms Miller won.
She received her driver’s licence, complete with a photo of her wearing a colander, last week.
“I feel delighted that my Pastafarianism has been respected by the Massachusetts RMV,” Ms Miller told The Humanist, the American Humanist Association’s magazine.
“While I don’t think the government can involve itself in matters of religion, I do hope this decision encourages my fellow Pastafarian atheists to come out and express themselves as I have.”
The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, whose members refer to themselves as “Pastafarians”, is a parody religion which takes the view that the existence of a Flying Spaghetti Monster is as likely as the existence of other gods.
The movement was sparked 10 years ago by a satirical letter written to protest Kansas schools teaching intelligent design — an alternative form of creationism.
This post originally appeared on ABC News.
© 2015 Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved. Read the ABC Disclaimer here.
Top Comments
YAY - and given much of the news I read daily I think in 2015 atheists need to be louder. I'm not going to debate faith or an individuals need for that faith or indeed what they gain from that faith I'm just saying that religion(all of them) is a very powerful movement globally. In 2015 it is time that saying no - no being - no force - if anything showing a love for the earth, its creatures and each other without an imaginary friend is a strong legitimate answer to problems of religion.