Added on January 18, 2016  The News Wheel   , , , , ,
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Pastafarian Gets Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster Recognized by Russia, Moscow Police Peeved

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Driver’s-license-dispensing government agencies around the world are facing the same conundrum over the past decade or so—does the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (CFSM) count as a legitimate religion, and if so, does a colander constitute religious headgear?

pastafarian driver's license

Lindsay Miller

On the one hand, the Church of the FSM asserts firmly that it is a legitimate religion and not, as many see it, a thought experiment or satire. On the other hand, many see this as an attempt to poke fun at religious exceptions to no-headgear rules.

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Moscow police are clearly of the second opinion, especially when it comes to the case of Andrey Filin, a devout Pastafarian who finally won a legal battle in Russian courts to have the Church of the FSM recognized as an official religion and allow him to wear his knitted colander in his driver’s license photo. His religion, Filin argued, required he wear the colander.

It is also nice and cozy in the winter.

In addition, he posted a 7-minute video to YouTube on how to circumvent Russian religious laws.

So, the now thoroughly-annoyed Russian police have vowed that, should Andrey ever be found driving without that colander on his head, his license will immediately be taken away.

Police spokesman Vladimir Kuzin said, “The picture on the license would not show him as he is.”

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News Source: The Mirror, The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster