The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, the Satanic Temple, the Supreme Court and government-sanctioned religion.

Touched by His Noodly Appendage

While I wouldn't "join" the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster any more quickly than the various other religions, pastafarianism might become a key element of my plans for New Albanian religious tolerance as a key element of beer tourism.

But hold the tomatoes. I prefer white clam sauce with my pasta, please, and the real point of the essay linked here is whether the Satanic Temple counts, too.

Devil’s Advocates, by Mark Joseph Stern (Slate)

Thanks to conservative Supreme Court rulings, the government must support the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and the Satanic Temple.

When Rosenberger first came down, many liberals bemoaned it as a loophole through which Christians could obtain more government funding. It may well be—but it’s also the Satanic Temple’s best shot at getting its display in the Florida Capitol. State officials claim that, because they were generous enough to open up the space to religious groups in the first place, they retain the final authority over who gets to display what. Rosenberger says: absolutely not. If officials didn’t want the Satanic Temple erecting a display in the capitol rotunda, they shouldn’t have let religious groups in in the first place. Now that they’ve opened the gates, they have no right to stop the stampede.