What do members of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster call themselves?

The Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) is the deity of the church that bears its name. Its religion is Pastafarianism and its adherents are Pastafarians. The religion is formally recognized, by law, as a legitimate religion, in both The Netherlands and New Zealand.

Pastafarians wear colanders—footed strainers for kitchen use—as a symbol of their faith. According to a post on the church’s website, Australian Pastafarians have won the right to wear their colanders for their driver’s license photographs. This, according to church officials, equated to official recognition that Pastafarianism is a genuine religion.

In New Zealand and the Netherlands, Pastafarian officiants are authorized to perform weddings. The first Pastafarian wedding ceremony was conducted in April, 2016, in New Zealand.

The foundation of the admittedly satiric religion is that the FSM is both undetectable and invisible. The earth is flawed, Pastafarianism explains, because the FSM was extremely drunk when it created the universe. Pirates, according to the church’s belief, were the world’s first Pastafarians.

Another tenet of the religion is that the dwindling number of pirates is the primary cause of climate change. Rejection of all dogma is the only Pastafarian dogma.

One becomes an ordained Pastafarian official by signing up on the church website and making a small donation.