So this religion is a hoax?
It seems just as legit as another religion I can think of.
Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster
by joey jojo 9 Replies latest social current
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Phizzy
Look at its origin, and it was started for a laugh, as a piss-take against "Christianity" being force fed to our kids in school. It is now recognised by some Governments and other Authorities as being as you perceptively say "as legit as another religion " that you can think of, which a man made up only a 100 years before Pastafarianism.
I would venture to say it is even more legit than all other religions, in that the motive for starting it, and for its members to continue it, is Pure !
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Overrated
Where do you join? Must be way better than Watchtower! I believe in the Invisible Flying Spaghetti Monster.
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Anony Mous
The question is how/why can the Australian government decide that the tenets of a religion are a hoax or not. By the purest of interpretations, any religion can be considered a hoax.
The First Amendment in the US prevents the government from interpreting or interfering with religious texts. I guess Australia doesn't have free speech or freedom of religion.
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Rivergang
We do have freedom of religion in Australia - I attend the Rev Harley Davidson’s Church of the Righteous Hog, and nobody hassles me too much about that!
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joey jojo
Good point anonymous, I had to check what the laws on religious freedoms were and I found this, which is actually close to the wording of U.S. laws:
"The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth."
The application of these laws is up to the courts I guess?
I totally agree with you, what is the acid test that determines if a religion is a hoax- is it scientific, historical?
This was a finding in regard to Scientology's claim to be a religion in Australia:
Church of the New Faith v Commissioner for Pay-Roll Tax (Vic)[edit]
In the 1983 judgment of the High Court in Church of the New Faith v Commissioner for Pay-Roll Tax (Vic), the court was primarily concerned with whether Scientology was a religion (and therefore entitled to tax exempt status). In judgement, the Court found that Scientology was a religion and argued that the definition of religion must be flexible, but also remain sceptical of false claims. Justices Ronald Wilson and William Deane set out five "indicia" of a religion:
(i) That the collection of ideas and practices involved a belief in the supernatural (being something that could not be perceived by the senses); (ii) That 'the ideas relate to man's nature and place in the universe and his relation to things supernatural' ; (iii) That the adherents accept certain ideas as requiring them or encouraging them to observe particular codes of conduct or specific practices having some supernatural significance; (iv) The adherents themselves form an identifiable group or groups; (v) The adherents themselves see the collection of ideas, beliefs and practices as constituting a religion.[16]
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Anony Mous
@joey: the interpretation of those justices is very narrow, wouldn’t even pass muster in the US Supreme Court.
Looking further into this particular case: the decision was made because the reviewer found the viewpoints of the church to be ... rrrrrrrrrrr ... yes... rrrrrrrrrrr.... racist and sexist. Thus if it is a religion that does not conform to critical race and gender theory, it is not a valid religion in Australia.
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jwundubbed
I think Pasafarianism is more of a satire than a hoax.
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Rivergang
I think Pasafarianism is more of a satire than a hoax
You have nailed it there!
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OnTheWayOut
The last line of the article is part of a statement from a spokesperson:
"Satire does have a serious purpose, because satire makes people think."