Bobby Henderson (activist)

Bobby Henderson is an American physics graduate, known for being the founder of Pastafarianism.

Bobby Henderson
Born (1980-07-18) July 18, 1980 (age 44)[1]
Alma materOregon State University
Known forFounder of Pastafarianism

Early life and education

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Henderson was born in 1980 in Roseburg, Oregon.[2] He studied physics at Oregon State University.[3]

Pastafarianism

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In 2005, Henderson founded the religion of Pastafarianism in response to the Kansas State Board of Education's decision to teach intelligent design alongside evolution in schools.[4] He requested that "Pastafarianism" be taught alongside intelligent design and "logical conjecture based on overwhelming observable evidence".[5] After his protest letter to the board was ignored, he posted it online and the beliefs quickly gained traction.[3]

In 2006, he wrote The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster,[6] a book detailing the core beliefs of the religion.[7]

In 2019 Henderson repeated his belief that religion should be kept out of government schools and money kept out of religion.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster". Facebook. July 18, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  2. ^ "About « Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster". Archived from the original on January 13, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Timms, Peter (May 17, 2019). "Pasta strainers and pirates: how the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster was born". The Guardian. Archived from the original on November 16, 2019.
  4. ^ Natanson, Hannah (September 20, 2019). "A Pastafarian opened a council meeting wearing a spaghetti strainer. He says it's about separation of church and state". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 21, 2019.
  5. ^ Millhiser, Ian (September 22, 2019). "A Pastafarian hilariously trolled a town council meeting. The stakes are profoundly serious". Vox. Archived from the original on December 16, 2019.
  6. ^ Slisco, Aila (September 19, 2019). "Pastor from the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster led "Pastafarian prayers" at a government meeting in Alaska". Newsweek. Archived from the original on February 4, 2020.
  7. ^ Henley, Jon (August 16, 2018). "Spaghetti injunction: Pastafarianism is not a religion, Dutch court rules". The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 19, 2019.