The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster originated in America. It was founded in June 2005 by Bobby Henderson, a physics graduate of Oregon State University.
Its Believers believed the universe had been created by a flying monster made of Italian pasta "after a serious bout of heavy drinking."
That pasta monster was the one true god, also known as the "Flying Spaghetti God."
Unlike traditional religions, the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster was a joke religion. Everything about it was absurd, from the god made of Italian pasta that its followers had invented to its heaven of beer-spewing volcanoes and strip clubs.
To spread their faith, its followers wrote The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. It proclaimed that only women and some men could be fashionable, that only water could be pure, and that fat people should turn off the TV, go for a walk, and lose weight. It declared that anyone who ate steamed buns, dumplings, wontons, bread, or drank milk for breakfast was a heretic. Only those who ate pasta were orthodox.
Joining the church required nothing at all. There were no dues, no oaths, and no need to understand its teachings. You only had to say you had joined the Flying Spaghetti Church.
After the Flying Spaghetti Church was founded, countless people joined because it sounded fun or they wanted to give it a try. In a remarkably short time, more than two million people claimed membership. The church won the legal right to proselytize in many countries and even acquired places of worship.
But as enthusiasm faded and Mystic Power manifested, the Flying Spaghetti Church rapidly declined.
Compared with religions that had long histories and strong ties to gods of myth, a joke religion was fine for a bit of fun. Actually believing